Are smoothies in a bag faster? or better?
I've seen these in grocery stores for a while now, and I've always been a little confused by them. I mean, really, how hard is it to make a smoothie?
(hint: not very.)
But I thought it would be fun to buy one and compare it to a homemade smoothie.
What's in the Bag?
Here's what's in the bag:
Frozen fruit, plus chunks of yogurt with banana puree.
Here's the official ingredient list:
Strawberries, Blueberries, Water, Raspberries, Nonfat Yogurt (Skim Milk, Yogurt Cultures), Sugar, Fructose, Milkfat, Corn Starch, Banana Puree, Nonfat Milk, Gelatin, Xanthan Gum, Pectin, Carrageenan, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Tocopherols (Preservative).
You dump all that in a blender, add a cup of milk, puree it, and voila! You have a smoothie.
The package makes enough for 2 smoothies, which is obviously a smaller batch than I usually make.
The kids and I all tried some, and while the smoothie was ok, it wasn't great. It had a bit of an artificial flavor to it, and the texture was a little odd too. I imagine that's from the starches and such in the yogurt.
So, then we tried to approximate the smoothie as well as possible, using our own ingredients. I weighed out 7 ounces of frozen fruit (local blueberries, frozen strawberries and raspberries from Aldi, plus a banana chunk).
And we blended it up with a cup of homemade vanilla yogurt.
(I wasn't about to freeze my yogurt into chunks, thank you very much.)
And here's the result.
Which was tastier?
All of us thought the homemade one was tastier, and surprisingly enough, my children said it's because the Yoplait one was too sweet.
I didn't even know they thought there was such a thing as too sweet. Huh.
Which was more expensive?
The bag of Yoplait smoothie costs about $4.
It's a little difficult to say exactly what my homemade smoothie cost, but here's an approximation:
-1 cup of commercial yogurt: $0.62 (homemade is more like $0.25 a cup)
-banana chunk: $0.10
-6 ounces of mixed berries*: $1.12.
So, that's $1.84 or so, which means a homemade smoothie is less than half the price.
*I used this to make the price comparison simple, even though it's not what I personally used and even though it's more expensive than the fruit in the Yoplait bag (strawberries, the most inexpensive berry, aren't included in the mixed berry bag in question.)
On a somewhat related note, the homemade smoothie didn't have any of these ingredients: Gelatin, Xanthan Gum, Pectin, Carrageenan, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Tocopherols.
That's always lovely.
Which was faster?
I honestly don't think the Yoplait smoothie was faster. It takes maybe a minute more to make a smoothie from scratch, and that's if you're combining several different fruits.
If you bought a bag of mixed berries and dumped it into the blender with some yogurt, I can't imagine that it would take any longer than the Yoplait kit does.
So, I'm really wondering why people are buying these smoothie bags. I can understand buying pre-prepped food if it saves you time, but this product doesn't even seem to do that.
I'm thinking that maybe some people just don't realize how easy it is to make a homemade smoothie. If you're among that group, let me tell you something wonderful:
Homemade smoothies are VERY simple to make.
Just blend up frozen fruit with milk or water or yogurt (vanilla yogurt will make your smoothie sweeter as will a banana). Play with the proportions and try different fruits...smoothies are very customizable and it's sort of difficult to make one that tastes bad.
Don't just take my word for it! I'm sure the experienced smoothie makers in my audience would be happy to share their best smoothie-making tips in the comments.
I typically make smoothies in the summer, and my family loves them. Like you, a couple of years ago, I bought a smoothie kit once to see if we would like it. It was disgusting! Very artificial, and not enough berries. Thanks for sharing your comparison, I'm sure that others will find it helpful!
I've been reading your blog for about a year now but have never commented. I love being frugal, was homeschooled, and love being crafty/making old things new. Finally coming out of the woodwork for smoothies? Yes! It's about time! 🙂
I worked at a smoothie shop (a la Jamba Juice) in high school and my husband and I now make smoothies at home all the time for a fraction of the cost as well! There are some good things to know about how the ingredients work together. 1. Frozen fruit makes a 'smoothie' consistency, whereas fresh fruit makes it more of a 'juice.' 2. Banana makes it creamier. 3. Ice can help thicken it up (to be more smoothie-like).
Experiment with orange juice, apple juice, papaya juice, etc for your base. You can add regular yogurt like Kristen or frozen yogurt/sherbet for a different flavor/thickness. Frozen berries, peach slices, pineapples, melon....experiment, but don't go too crazy or the individual flavors will get lost in the jumble.
I prefer home-made but sometimes it requires too much planning. Seems like I always want one when I don't have the ingredients on hand! For that reason, it is nice to use the frozen type. But you're absolutely right, all of those "strange" ingredients in the store-bought kind can't be good for you! I'd rather go home made and do without those!
One can make smoothies that are just as good (or better!) with frozen fruit - either store bought or home-frozen - and milk/yogurt/nothing. Same convenience, less expense.
For the record my smoothies are 100% fruit, usually berries and bananas. No milk, no yogurt, nothing else.
We love making smoothies. We use bananas, frozen berries, milk, juice and lots of honey. Sometimes we add spinach leaves which amazingly my kids beg for. They are So yummy and good for you. I make a huge batch so I wouldn't even bother w the premade pkgs.
I tried those in Costco when they first came out, and I totally agree-disgusting! My mom was asking about Them this weekend (she hates any form of cooking) and I also told her it doesn't take any longer to make one from scratch.
On a separate note, if you don't normally keep yogurt around, you can freeze it in ice cube trays to have it ready for smoothies. You could even make your own bags with frozen fruit too do you just have to dump. I did that for my hubby before we had our new baby a few weeks ago and it worked great.
I was going to say the same thing! Maybe buying the pre-made smoothies isn't necessary, but for a busy family or for people who like smoothies for breakfast before work, having the frozen (homemade) ingredients in the freezer might be a good idea!
Stacy, that's an awesome idea to put yogurt in ice cube trays!
Wow! Thank you so much for the yogurt in the ice cube tray idea! We have family with special needs, and sometimes we have to stay with them for several days to help. Being away from home makes having fresh yogurt difficult at times. But if I could freeze it... Excellent! A big help.
I make smoothies at home all the time with kefir, milk, berries, and kale. It takes me a little longer though, because kale does NOT want to blend up smooth! I use my immersion blender and that works fairly well, but it takes a little time.
Hi Jessie,
I agree with you on the kale. Here's what I do: When I bring the kale home I immediately wash and dry it, then will prepare it for smoothies by slicing out the stem, then chopping up the leaves with either a knife or (kitchen) scissors. I put all the chopped kale into a container in the fridge and then take a portion out for my smoothies as needed. Actually on Sundays I spend about half an hour or so prepping most of my veggies for the upcoming week; you're only pulling out your chopping board once, your knives once, your lettuce spinner once, etc. Doing it all at once saves me so much time.
I am doing green smoothies daily. I am usually using kale, spinach, cucumber, carrots, basil, parsley, mint, coconut water and avocado. The taste is great and everything is coming out smooth. No need to chop everything small if you use the Vitamix blender http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/189-5981789-7026825?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=vitamix . It is absolutely worth the money. I cut a large carrot in maybe 4-5 pieces.
Put everything in the blender, start the the machine, count till 30 and the smoothie is done. Enjoy!
Could I get your exact recipe/proportions? I'm looking for a good, healthy smoothie recipe w/ lots of veggies & I haven't done so well with my own attempts to create one.
1 cup coconut water, 1 cup pineapple, a handfull of spinach, 2 kale leaves, a few leaves of mint, half a cup of alfalfa sprouts, 2-3 leaves of basil, one avocado, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground flaxseeds. It will be a nice creamy smoothie. If you want you can add anbout 3-4 ice cubes too. I do it without ice cubes and sometimes I put it in bowls and sprinkle a bit of coconut and cinnamon on top and eat it with a spoon. Enjoy!
Sorry Melissa - I forgot to add a pealled cucumber to the mix. ALso instead of pineapple you can use juice too.
I leave out the yogurt and add skim milk to frozen and fresh berries. It's absolutely delicious, and VERY easy to make. The Yoplait smoothies are too expensive, and I would never buy it.
I have often wondered why anyone buys those prepackaged smoothie kits. My daughter has been making her own smoothies since she was nine!
I now make my own smoothies out of almond/coconut milk, a frozen banana, some defatted peanut butter powder and ice. Oh, they are good!
Kathy, which defatted PB do you buy? I recently found PB2 and am a fan, though it is rather expensive.
Molly, I also use PB2. It is expensive but wonderful - I am in the middle of a major weight loss campaign and feel it's worth the cost because it makes my smoothies taste like a treat!
Where do you find PB2? That sounds great.
I've seen pb2 at grocery stores, target and Wal-Mart, which is great since when I started buying it years ago, I could only get it online. I used it in smoothies when I wanted peanut butter flavor, but not all the calories.
My husband accidentally bought the Yasso brand smoothies (their yogurt pops were on the list, and he got confused) so we tried them a few weeks ago. They were okay, but I agree that they weren't very good. I often forget about making smoothies, which is funny because I always have all the ingredients on hand. It's kinda convenient to have everything but the liquid in one bag, but not nearly enough so to make up for the difference in flavor, much less the difference in price.
I have been trying to convince a friend of mine that those smoothie bags are just silly and overpriced! I'm going to send her a link to this post 🙂 I throw a cup of protein powder in it as well...and it's STILL cheaper than the store bought. I love homemade 🙂
I used to work at a smoothie bar in a gym and drink one every day because I thought they were healthy. The longer I worked there the more bored I got so I read ingredient labels. As it turned out, the non-dairy base had artificial sweeteners and an entire host of terrible and difficult to pronounce ingredients! The "flash frozen fruits" were sitting in syrups. The only thing truly fresh were the bananas.
Last week I started making my own smoothies from frozen strawberries from Aldi, bananas, and yogurt or soymilk. I tossed in some raw oats or flaxseeds for a little extra healthiness. That's all the sweetness I need!
I use yogurt in my smoothies only if I have it on hand. If not, it's just skim milk, frozen fruit, and a little Splenda. I'm on Weight Watchers and fruits are now zero points, so this is a very good snack for me!!
I have never had the prepackaged ones. thought about buying it to try, but like you said they were a bit on the pricey side.
I have made a home made once, my kids didn't like the seeds in them.. oh brother! LOL
If people think its takes too much time, why not prepack it in single serving size?
I do prefer to make my own smoothies. It's just easier and cheaper. I actually occasionally add a pinch Xanthan Gum to my smoothies as it thickens the mixture. Xanthan Gum isn't a bad thing IMO-it's a great thing for those of us who are GF.
Try adding some avocado to your smoothie. It makes the smoothie very nice a creamy.
I have 3 kids who have to go GF; if you have any ideas that would be great. Wasn't there a post on here about GF things. I cannot seem to find it.
Excellent post! One of my favorite smoothies is frozen bananas, peanut butter, milk and sometimes a little cocoa powder. 😛
I had a free coupon for those once and I wasn't impressed. It tasted fine, but homemade smoothies are much yummier...and really, how hard is it to dump some fruit and yogurt in a blender?
mmmm, now I want a smoothie.
It has taken me a long time to get on the smoothie bandwagon - they just aren't filling enough for me. Then one of my weight watcher friends raved about different "recipes" for them, so I tried one, and I got hooked. Granted, those recipes are not the cheapest, but they are filling, and there's no gelatin (important to me!).
Try using Greek yogurt instead. It has a lot more protein. I usually strained our gallon of homemade yogurt for about an hour.
And either way you have to clean the blender!
Exactly!
Not sounding critical I hope but I would remind you that what becomes boring to you will not bore newly-come readers. I'm thinking of your weekly shopping photos and menu plans. I'd recommend keeping them coming.
By the way, how about a printable version of your hot cross buns? I a working through all your bread making recipes and they are all winners. We have bought a bamboo bread bin and oh the joy of eating counter-stored breads which stay fresh for over a week. I don't think we will ever go back to store-bought breads unless there is an emergency.
This is my favorite kind of post. I love when you compare homemade with store bought!
We make homemade smoothies too...so very simple!
I love smoothies! I know mine are a bit more expensive than that because I've been using green juice (spirulina blended with fruits) for a base, and that costs a bit more, but it's still a good value, and it stretches the green juice out for a longer time. I have been using yogurt, flax oil, frozen blueberries, mango, and pineapple, and a little honey. I don't love breakfast, but smoothies don't bother my stomach the way a lot of more solid foods do early in the morning.
I have tried these. The artificial sweetener taste was so strong, I couldn't stand it. I am not a HUGE smoothie fan (I don't care for the thick texture) but when I do want one, homemade is definitely the way to go!
Oh my... I am guilty of this! I totally buy the prepackaged smoothie mixes - although I like Jamba Juice brand. I can just never seem to recreate the same taste when I make them myself. This has given me encouragement to try homemade again though. Plus, I don't like the weird ingredient list either!
Thanks for sharing! I've been wondering about those bags and sort of unsure about what would be so great about them. The draw for me was that I don't typically have yogurt on hand, but I can always use milk instead. You've confirmed my hunches that they are pricey and taste artificial. Good to know!
I had the same reaction- this is not as good as I can make, and it didn't save anything- time, money, or energy. My favorite is frozen strawberries and blueberries, half a banana, orange juice, and a little yogurt or whey protein.
Love this comparison. I often wondered what the draw was - they seemed so expensive. If one package makes 2 smoothies, each one is $2.00/ serving plus the cost of milk. That's quite an expensive breakfast, especially for something that can be made so easily. We usually buy several large bags of fruit and then mix them up in different varieties and store in separate 2c. twist top containers in the freezer. Then, if we feel like a smoothie, we just plop one container of fruit in with a banana or two and some juice. I've posted about it here- http://thesaucykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/02/kitchen-lifesaver-easy-morning.html
Great post! Thanks! I have made your home made yogurt twice now! I'm very proud of myself and it tastes great! I noticed in your picture, however, that yours looks a lot thicker. I'm wondering how long you leave yours in the cooler for?
I have about a dozen of these in my freezer right now. I'll tell you why - I coupon and I got them for about $1 a bag plus when I bought the dozen I got two free movie tickets from a grocery store promo. So net cost might have been better than free! Would I have bought them otherwise - no!
They are reserved for when I am feeling lazy or forgot to pre-freeze fruit. They ate definitely an inferior product to fresh, but aren't all pre-packaged foods?!?!?
I make a lot of smoothies, I won't buy the prepacked stuff and I prefer not to order one at a smoothie shop but I will if I'm in a bind and need something quick. I usually just add fruit and some water, occasionally almond milk instead of water. We like to add kale or spinach sometimes too. When berries are in season I try to freeze a lot. When they are not in season I'll buy big bags at Costco.
Gotta have my smoothies!
Sometimes I make smoothies out of purposely frozen fruits, but here is another method I've learned to love.
I serve fruit with almost every meal. Sometimes it's just slices or chunks of one fruit and sometimes it's a fruit salad made with a few items. Whatever is left after the meal gets thrown in a 2 cup container in the freezer.
About once a week, the container in the freezer gets full. I throw that in the blender with a frozen banana and some yogurt, milk, or juice. It really depends what I have on hand. My husband and I have the smoothie with homemade toast for breakfast.
No two smoothies taste the same, but this has drastically cut down on our food waste. What seemed like a pointless couple of scraps to save now goes toward breakfast. Even non-traditional smoothie fruits like pears, clementines, and grapes work. We've been doing this for a couple months and love every combination we've had so far. I highly recommend it!
I am with ya on the smoothie packets bought at the store in the freezer section. Tried a couple different ones because I had a coupon and they were on sale, but the texture and flavor just weren't there for me. I would much rather have one made from blueberries (my in-laws get them from the farmers market and freeze them for me), frozen strawberries, sometimes raspberries (from Aldi), banana and either 1% milk or greek yogurt. Much better flavor, cheaper and the texture is way better. I have added spinach and unsweetened almond milk, great way for me to get spinach in my diet.
totally agree with you. i laughed when i got coupons in the mail to try them because with the coupon, it was still more expensive then just making it myself.
Yuck! I always make homemade smoothies, actually almost every day since I got my Blendtec. So much better compared to the expensive juice bars or smoothie shops! It is like buying a coffee maker instead of going to get one at starbucks. My kids hear the motor and are often anxious to have a taste!! They even put in their requests for snack time! I have never bought a smoothie mix, but with all the added stuff, no thanks! I often never even need to add sugar!
Thanks for the great post ! I have been making a type of smoothie since I got my first blender in the early 1970's ! I bought it with my Green Stamps ! lolol...I always use strawberries and skim milk and a little vanilla.
Green Stamps, Oh my goodness, I remember the day. for those of you who don't know what Debbie is refering to, here's what wikipedia has to say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_stamps
We make smoothies from scratch at our house too and hands down our favorite one is a green monster. Frozen strawberries (fron Aldi's), spinach and a little bit of juice.My two and six year olds can't get enough and although they are pretty good eaters anyway you can't go wrong with more fruit and veggies!
Oh Boy - having flashbacks about 'ready mixed' pancake mixture in bottles which I am still trying to get over /come to terms with.
Just finished my own post where I discuss home-made imperfection over manufactured perfection and how by buying something it doesn't make it superior.
Home-made smoothies are (as you say) super easy to make. I add whey protein to mine after running. I love the summer fruits one the most, and to grab a handful of frozen fruit, a scoop of protein and add some milk (then blend) couldn't really be easier (or cheaper?)? Could it? And there's no packaging waste each time...
most of the items on the premade list make no sense to me, but i will say that xanthan gum is an all natural thickner. it's what keeps frappacinos from seperating into rather unappitizing (to me anyway) layers. it's used a lot in gluten free cooking. personally i prefer a mixed drink that doesn't seperate because i don't like the mouth feel otherwise, but the rest of the list i can live without.
I love making smoothies, so I asked for a Magic Bullet for Christmas and it makes the process even faster because you don't have a blender to wash! I love green smoothies (homemade yogurt, frozen bananas, fresh spinach, splash of juice) but I've had a lot of fun creating new recipes with my 3yo. We play the color game, so sometimes it's red (banana + strawberry), blue (banana + blueberry), or even brown (banana + a little nutella). I can even sneak a little spinach in because you can't even taste it. Although she does love the green smoothies, too! The only task I find tedious and a little time consuming is chopping the fruit because the Magic Bullet can't handle whole frozen strawberries.
But I think you are right. Many people don't realize how easy it is to cook from scratch. I was just talking to a friend about granola and she was blown away by how easy (and cheap) it was to make at home. Basically it's just oats, sugar, and water. Most of my scratch recipes are that simple. And you can make anything out of just a few basic ingredients so there is no need for a complicated shopping list.
I love posts like this! My extended family has a difficult time understanding why I go through "all that work" to make most of my food from scratch, and I love it when you break it down like this Kristen!
I agree with your kids, too. I've been eating more homemade foods for about a year, and when I go back to the pre-made foods I used to eat, they taste cloyingly sweet and the flavors are not as deep or complex as "real" food.
However, I don't think french fries will ever taste bad :-). There's gotta be a line somewhere.
Great post. Usually homemade is cheaper and always healthier. I do want to add in my two cents for another aspect of this post.
Let's not forget all the plastic you can avoid by making your own. Also by making your own you avoid unwanted plastic having to be recycled (if it even can).
Lets not forget saving you from exposure to BPA and who knows what preservatives.
I find smoothies are a PERFECT way to reduce food waste. Just throw in whatever produce is looking a little less than stellar.
My kids think they are a treat, so I'm the Awesome Mom when I make them.
And I rarely have to add any liquid - I try to start with a juicy fruit, and puree it first (strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon). It makes a liquid base, so no water/juice/dairy is needed. Just lots of fresh and frozen fruit - a couple leaves of kale or spinach - maybe a spoonful of maca powder or flax meal to make it even healthier - and BLEND!
I got one of those Yoplait Smoothie things for 32 cents once with a coupon/deal and I also noticed that they were really sweet. We really like to add ground flax to our smoothies and homemade with plain yogurt is the way we go as well.
In the past I might have tried them, until I read the ingredients list. Every recipe I came across called for bananas (I know they are good for you, and I wish I liked them), so I never made smoothies. Then I saw Jamie Oliver make them WITHOUT bananas! It was very exciting! I have been making them ever since.
I make homemade smoothies now, but there was a time when we bought the yoplait one. I tried making my own first, but SUCKED at it. Couldn't ever get the taste or texture right. My hubby and I were on a strict $30/week budget for groceries, and couldn't afford to be making mistakes like that. Added to that, we rarely had smoothies anyway. Maybe once or twice a summer. So back then it actually saved us money over screwing it up five times before calling it quits! Now though, we have a little more every week for groceries, and three kids to boot. So I took some time (and resources) and figured it out. They ARE way better homemade! But really, for someone who was as inept as I was (and sometimes still am) in the kitchen, those bags can feel like life AND money savers.
I would guess that people buy the product because of the marketing. If they just see a bag of frozen berries, few people will think, "Hey, I could add this to some yogurt and make this into a smoothie." But if they see a bag of frozen berries that is marketed for that purpose, it puts the idea in their head. I am guilty of this too. If I walk past pre-made cookie dough, sometimes I am tempted to buy it, even though I have all of the ingredients at home, and it would take me less time (and less money) to whip up a batch than to pre-heat my oven.
Yep, I think that's it. It's really clever marketing.
It's just wild isn't what people will buy? I've been stuck on a pineapple smoothie lately but am hoping to experiment with some greens this week.
Hi Kristen,
This might have been mentioned already (haven't read the comments yet). I meant to write this the other day when you said your spinach froze. Anyway, I pre-make my smoothie fruit and freeze it. I buy lots of fruit when in season and spend about an hour cutting it up, mixing differents fruits and putting each serving in freezer baggies. In your case you could freeze more than one serving. If I have fresh spinach or spinach that really needs to be used pronto, I shove a bunch in the baggie with the fruit. When I take it out to use it sometimes the spinach is wilty, sometimes in it's whole leaf form. I mostly use skim milk for my smoothies so I put the fruit in the blender, add the fruit mix and maybe some flax and have a fairly thick milkshake in minutes.
You can't taste the spinach and gives an little boost of iron.
I wash the baggies and reuse many, many times.
Patti
The easiest way to be prepared for smoothies is to take fruit that is getting to soft to eat and freeze it. I do it all the time with berries, bananas, pineapple,strawberries, and anything else that will freeze. I have even used unsweetened applesauce as one of the fruits.
I bought some of those pre-made smoothie bags for the first time today and now I wish I hadn't.
I'm with you they had some sort of odd texture I didn't like very much. The homemade smoothies I make taste much better, don't have a bunch of odd sounding ingredients, and take just a few minutes to make.
I won't be buying this stuff again!
Yes! It was almost....chalky?
Huh, I can't even imagine buying a pre-prepped thing like that. It's ridiculous in my book, because it defeats the purpose of having the healthy treat that a smoothie normally is. I make smoothies almost every day, just throw in whatever fruit I have around, especially if it seems close to going bad. We always have yogurt, so that's a no-brainer, and sometimes I go "wild" and throw in spinach or other greens for even more of a health plus.
The only downside is, our rental-apartment-typical fridge has a teeny tiny freezer so I have to plan pretty well if I want frozen berries.
I also make my own smoothies a lot. When I buy fruit, I buy enough to freeze some too so there is also some frozen to throw in. I always add bananas frozen and then add yogurt, and other fresh or frozen fruit. I know sometimes frozen blueberries are cheaper to buy, but lately theyve been more expensive than fresh at our grocery. And when i make green smoothies, I even use frozen spinach and it turns out fine. And I use yogurt (homemade) or unsweetened apple sauce sometimes. I have always wondered about who buys the smoothie package because they seem so expensive.
And speaking of sweet - I once was ordered a banana and mango smoothie for my toddler and they told me I they didn't add syrup it wouldn't be sweet enough!
We have homemade smoothies all the time. I used to always add yogurt, but now we prefer them all fruit. Our favorite is 2/3 strawberries, 1/3 mixed berries (all frozen of course), a squirt of lime juice, a dash or two of orange juice to help the blender along, and a bit of sugar.
Delicious!
I've seen those frozen smoothie bags, too, and figured there was no way they could taste as good as homemade nor could they be economical. Nice to see I was right!!
i have a smoothie almost every day for breakfast. i use home made plain yogurt, one banana, tablespoon of smuckers creamy peanut butter (nothing but a bit of salt added), some canned veggies like carrots and/or green beans, canned spinach - almost anything but canned beets because of the very peculiar color they turn the smoothie, then whatever other fruit i have on hand - applesauce, grapes, berries, one scoop of whey protein powder (can't use the soy one which is much cheaper), some sweetener, and a tray of ice. adding a bit of canola oil also makes this a heartier smoothie.
having a blender that will handle the ice is a must. no smoothie maker for me. with all of the above, i get a blender full of smoothie which translates to about two full meals or one full meal and a treat for DH and daughter who each get about 8 oz.
i find most places (like smoothie king) make the smoothie so that it's too thin. i want it to have some substance - but no texture. recently i had some overripe pears which were wonderful in the smoothie. i was afraid they'd be gritty but weren't. i do not use fresh apples, avocado, etc.
when i don't have protein powder on hand, i'll use a couple tablespoons of some canned beans for protein. no need to have a full day's protein allotment in one meal so that works for me.
have also tried things like canned yams, leftover sweet potatoes, and canned cranberry sauce. these work fine if you can get the blender to completely break down the yam or potato. cranberry sauce leftover from thanksgiving was a nice treat.
jd in st louis
I tried these and thought they tasted "off" as well. While I knew I would continue to make my own I had high hopes for what I thought might appeal to the convenience minded crowd who may like a healthy snack in a jiff. I was quite let down, too sweet and almost too dairy like? If that makes sense. I like my smoothies to feel light and fresh and found these to be heavy and bloated belly inducing. I'll stick with our fresh ingredients!
YUMMMM!!!((:
I have been trying to make more smoothies lately - I have so many recipes lying around! I must say though that I didn't care to much for the banana/PB smoothie. Sounded awesome, but tasted nasty. I'll stick to the blueberry/strawberry combo. Yum!
The prepackaged stuff can be a first step for many of us who are trying to take charge of our diet. I'm new to the healthy eating gig. My mother used to give me a glass of warm Coke before bed. Besides wanting to be healthy myself, I have a one year old daughter who is interested in everything I eat. That's motivation to change!
The prepackaged bag was approachable. I could try it at home and see what I liked. This was especially helpful given all of the judgement I experienced from many who are passionate about eating healthy. I wanted to eat healthy, but was quickly overwhelmed by agendas and criticism, then discouraged. And, since we ate badly to begin with, I would not notice the product being too sweet.
Your ideas have me ready to move on to the real thing.
My thanks to each of you who have posted in kindness. It seems like the judgement is limited to the products or the food; I see very little criticism of people. Your site is approachable, and I'll be using it as a guide for the future. I already make my daughter's baby food from healthy recipes. Now, it's my turn to cook for myself.
A final note, that many of you posted your gracious responses several years ago. You are proof that one kind word can save a lives for years to come. A very large round of applause, and my thanks!
I make my own Smoothies. I use fresh strawberries that I freeze, blueberries that I freeze and sometimes orange juice frozzen. I use Apple Juice and sometimes I put in yogurt. It cost way less and tastes way better.
Great now I want a smoothie lol.
I've always wondered about those kits as well. We don't have smoothies very often in our home, mainly because we don't eat a lot of yogurts but they are so simple to make. I may stock up on some yogurt for the summer.