So I bought that Greek yogurt earlier this week with the sole intention of using it in smoothies. If you've ever had Greek yogurt, you'll know it has a biting taste more like that of sour cream than what we associate with yogurt, which I'm sure causes most non-nutrition obsessed customers to turn up their noses. But funny fact: Greek yogurt is what plain ol' yogurt used to be until the days of additives and thickening agents. The only ingredients in it are skim milk, cream, and a plethora of good-for-your-belly cultures. Because of this, it has substantially more protein than regular yogurt (24g per cup vs. 7g per cup in Yoplait light vanilla). But, you're a real trooper if you can handle it plain. I can't. They sell different flavors in small containers but they are more expensive. So instead I bought the big one and a bag of frozen mixed berries (I already had frozen mango chunks) and decided to try my hand at the art of smoothie-making. What I got was more like frozen yogurt. I was so giddy about the delicious results I decided to post this pseudo-recipe in the hopes that you will try it out!
The only thing I really measured was the yogurt (not because I'm a fantastic chef by any means, I am just lazy and hate doing dishes) but I eyeballed the approximate measurements of the rest:
2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
~10 chunks of frozen mango
~1/2 cup frozen berries
drizzled honey over it all
splash of skim milk (maybe 1/2 cup?)
Then blend blend blend. If you have a super shitty hand-me-down blender like mine, this could be... a process, mainly because this smoothie is pretty thick. I probably should have given my ancient appliance a break by adding more milk, (I realized while digging mangled mango chunks out of my dull blender blades), but I didn't, mainly because I got really excited when I realized it was like ice cream. But you can feel free to add more milk, different fruits, whatever. It's your discretion.
Which is probably the greatest part about home-made smoothies: you can make them however you want! To hell with recipes! And if you put in healthy ingredients (yogurt instead of ice cream, frozen fruit instead of ice cubes), you're gonna get a smooth, guiltless treat. I know smoothies are and have been a huge health craze for awhile, but if you buy them at some fancy shop they are usually pretty expensive and can add extra crap and calories. But if you make your smoothies at home, then you know what exactly is going into that blender and how much. No surprises there (except the extra cash in your pocket).
And remember, just because you are drinking it doesn't mean it's not a meal/snack. I think our waistlines all learned that several years ago from Frappucinos.
Word. I'm convinced that frappucinos are the sole reason that I've gained 25 pounds since highschool. Isn't it weird when you look at old photos and realize how skinny you were when the whole time you felt overweight?
ReplyDeleteGood idea for edible Greek yogurt, I hate that stuff.
ditto ellen. on the thinking you were overweight thing. i wonder if this is solely a female thing? couuulllddd be a blog topic in there!
ReplyDeleteIm excited that you posted about smoothies because I am quite the homemade smoothie fan. Ever since I was little, and loved fruit not veggies (probably because Im a sugar addict), I have blended things together. Smoothies are great for energy and fill you up nicely. I usually have them for breakfast. Something that is worth looking into, but pretty expensive, is juicing. My mom is on a big juicing kick now that all of us kids are out of the house. She just bought a juicer for about $100. Im not sure if you can get them for cheaper on ebay, but juicing is a super healthy habit to get into. In the meantime though, Im guessing that smoothies have the same nutritional benefit and are a lot cheaper.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.living-foods.com/articles/benefits.html