People have emailed me, asking me for my smoothie “recipes” from the last podcast. I really don’t have any; I mostly improvise like a jazz musician using the following “chord chart” (yecch):
First Principles:
1) Spinach is basically tasteless raw (Kale is vile to me, but some people like it)
2) Almond milk is better than soy milk which is better than cow’s milk (especially if you’re lactose intolerant). Do I have evidence to back that up? Nope! Just my opinion.
3) The taste of fresh carrots is pretty good and can be masked with a single serving of fruit
so:
if you’re grain-free, you start with a handful of spinach and a handful of carrots, dump them in your nutribullet (get one or something similar…it’s worth it), then add whatever you like to make up some stuff…
Ideas:
- Almond milk + banana (simple, tasty, and 2 veggies and 1 fruit).\
- Yogurt (greek, or not)+banana+V8 Fusion+frozen black cherries (lots of sugar, unfortunately, but kids will dig it, never knowing they’re eating spinach and carrots (Not “No Sugar,” but better than a lot of stuff kids eat today).
- Apple slices + banana + almond milk.
- all of the above with or without a scoop of vegetable protein or whey protein (if you want more protein).
You can go more veggie by adding cucumber, squash, and using water+protein powder (OR WHATEVER, you getting the idea?)
if you’re not grain free, you can add some chia seeds or flax seeds or oatmeal. Remember, I always start with spinach and carrots as a “base”. You don’t have to. Do whatever you want, who am I, your smoothie guru? Find your own path, you’ll enjoy it more. If you made something and it tastes like shit, throw it out and make something else…it’s not like you’re smelting gold bars.
Basically, make stuff up. It’s fun and I HATE books with a blue-million “Smoothie Recipes” with all kinds of made-up benefits (I just saved you 10 bucks on one of those self-published pieces of crap). The main benefit is getting in more fresh fruit and veggies than you’re normally going to get with a Crappy American Diet (CAD). So make something you like that doesn’t have too much sugar in it and you’ll do fine.
Good luck and let me know if you come up with something! Experiment, you really can’t go wrong (my wife makes a “smoothie” with coffee and grass-fed butter, but that’s a whole ‘nother topic).
yr obt svt,
Steve
PS: Frozen Black Cherries > > Frozen mango >Frozen Strawberries > Frozen Blueberries > Frozen Peaches when it comes to flavor…some frozen fruit doesn’t add anything, but I’ve found the frozen black cherries you can at least taste.
If you’re not using anything frozen, you can add a couple of ice cubes to chill it. Banana always gives a nice smooth texture.
PPS: if you’re an author who wrote a book of smoothie recipes and are offended by what I said above, I wasn’t talking about you. Every OTHER book except yours is a piece of crap. Thank you.
