My Atkins friendly low carb smoothy..... Half a cup of choc unsweetened almond mink half cup reg unsweetened almond milk a little bit of unsweetened cocoa powder a tad bit of cream 1 oz raspberries and a tspn of splenda and some ice. Add more splenda if your not counting carbs and like it sweeter.

Share your smoothie!
 

I've been on a real smoothie kick lately and I am always looking for new ideas.

My current smoothie of choice is 1 banana, half a scoop of plant based vanilla protein powder, about 3/4 c almond milk, and some ice.
Simple but it tastes just like a banana milkshake to me!

What is you favorite smoothie?

Cup of homemade kefir, tablespoon of maple syrup, and a handful of whatever berries (rasp, straw, black, blue) I have in the freezer. I think I like rasp/blue smoothies the best but I love the smell when i open a bag of frozen strawberries - they smell like summertime and remind me of the warm sunny day when they were picked.

I've been on a PB2 kick lately. Here are my favorite smoothies:

1 banana
3tbsp PB2
1 Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt

1/2 cup strawberries
3tbsp PB2
1 Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt

Annnd there's been times when I wanted to up the protein (both of those have ~12-13g though) so I've added in some egg beaters.

I've been lurking for a while and getting all of your good ideas. Here is my current smoothie recipe.

I have developed a sort-of smoothie that really fills you up for about 60-90 calories, depending on what kind of milk you use. This is not a nutritional smoothie, but rather a treat that will make you feel like you are having a big dessert, but really you are just getting some milk and a few calories from the other ingredients.

You must use a regular sized food processor, not a blender, not a mini-chopper. It will NOT WORK in a regular blender. It might in a vita-mix or something like that, but I don't have a fancy blender.

You must also buy xanthan gum and guar gum powders. These are available at health food stores, and cost quite a bit, but will last you a long time since you use a tiny bit of each. Some people's digestive systems don't tolerate these, but most people are fine with them.

Detailed instructions:

Put approximately 1 cup to 1.5 cups of ice cubes in your food processor. Blend until a fine ice powder is reached. You don't want chunks of ice, but more snow-like texture.

Add 1/2 cup of milk. I use 2%, but if you wish, you can use skim.I have never tried this with alternative milks, but I know that it doesn't work well with water, as the milk is necessary to get the creamy texture. Again, process in FP until well mixed. You may need to use a rubber spatula to combine well.

Add a packet of crystal light, or if you want, 2/3 or so of a packet of sugar-free Jello powder, whichever flavor you like. The jello has more calories. I LOVE the pink lemonade, and orange jello. I also like the lemon lime Crystal light, and raspberry is ok too. I have not tried all flavors. Again, process in FP. Start it on a slow speed so that the powder doesn't go flying around in you FP and coat the top of the machine.

Note: If you want this to be really filling, use the Crystal light that has fiber in it, or add a tsp or so of fiber yourself. It will make you feel quite full. It can also give you a stomach ache, so watch how much fiber you can tolerate.

Once well blended, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum and 1/4 teaspoon guar gum. Again, start your FP slowly so the powder doesn't go flying. Then process on high for 30 seconds or so. DO NOT OVERPROCESS or it will get a very weird texture.

Serve! I eat it in a frosted glass with a spoon. This makes two servings, or one really big serving. I keep the leftovers in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes, but it will degrade as the ice melts or if it freezes completely.

Variations with slightly higher calorie content:

Chocolate

Use four tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder instead of Crystal Light or Jello with sweetener (I like Splenda, or Stevia sometimes). Cocoa usually has between 15-20 calories per tablespoon, but it also has valuable anti-oxidants, so it is good for you, unlike the alternatives. I cut down on the ice when I do the cocoa version.

Coffee

Add instant coffee granules (I use decaf so I am not up all night!) and sweetener.

I am sure there are other variations, but these have been my most successful experiments to date! Sometimes I feel like a mad food scientist doing this.

I use a mini-blender and I don't necessarily measure carefully, but my favorite smoothie consists of:

1/2c 0% plain greek yogurt
1/2c frozen blueberries
1 banana
1/2-3/4c orange juice

My favorite one is:

2/3 frozen banana
1.5 tbsp instant coffee
1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 scoop protein powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
2/3 cup almond breeze unsweetened vanilla

check a picture of this one on my blog, i recently posted this actually :)

and this sounds so good! nice smoothie

This may sound weird, but its really REALLY good.

Orange smoothie
WW vanilla smoothie powder (Or any vanilla flavor protein powder or even vanilla extract)
1 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup water
1 - 2 frozen banana
1 cup diet orange soda

Orange Creamsicle smoothie, yum.

I'm on a PB2 kick lately too.

Banana-Strawberry-Peanut Butter Smoothie
1/2 Banana (I eat the other half)
3-5 Strawberries (Depending on size)
2 Tablespoons PB2
1 Scoop Vanilla Soy Protein
1 cup Almond Milk (I'm lactose intolerant other milks would work fine!)

This makes about 2 cups worth. I need to make it a bit smaller because I can never finish it!

I made smoothies a lot last summer and will start up again soon. I use homemade lowfat yogurt and frozen berries - that's it. I might add a bit of splenda for sweetener. Adding protein powder is a good idea too - I'll have to try that to boost the protein a bit.

I make green smoothies - a banana, a handful of berries and a handful of whatever greens I have on hand, usually spinach. Mix it with a little bit of water and that's it! It always comes under 200 calories and fills me up really well.

My go to smoothie is:

1 Banana
1 sup of fresh or frozen Strawberries
1 cup of unsweetened Almond Breeze
1 box of soft tofu

Put all ingredients in the blender and give it a whirl.

Mmmmm!

I do not add sweeteners of any kind as I don't like really sweet things.

I kind of take an everything but the kitchen sink approach to smoothies. I don't measure things, but it always ends up tasty. Depending on what I have around a typical smoothie might contain:

1 Banana
1 fresh orange
handful or 2 of whatever frozen fruit I have in the freezer (typically strawberry, blueberry, mango, peach, pineapple)
~ 1 c plain soy yogurt (I like Wildwood or WholeSoy brand)
Hemp protein powder
Flax milk (or almond or soy or hemp milk) to desired consistency

I usually end up with 2 pint mason jars full plus a little left to chug while I'm getting ready to go. I like the mason jars because they're portable. Smoothies get me through long days at school and 12 hour clinicals at the hospital. Can be a real saver for afternoon hunger pangs and fuzzy brain!

Here's our two favorites at the moment since we got a blender (LOVE my blender!).

2-4 frozen bananas + glass of water + A couple spoonfuls of hot chocolate powder.

2-4 frozen bananas + 2 glasses of water + 1 cup of frozen blueberries.

These are both REALLY delicious. They've become a staple for us, because we both have a big sugar tooth (especially near the end of the day), so we usually have one of these before/with/ or as dinner. Both of these "recipes" give us nearly two glasses each.

I've tried orange and carrot mixtures as I love orange carrot juice, but unfortunately our blender leaves them VERY pulpy. Usually I love pulp but this is way too much.