Smoothies, veggie/fruit drinks...

[OldBaldHippie]

I'm getting my Vitamix tomorrow...what are some of your favorite concoctions?...do you use yogurt and/or protein powder?

[nadra24]

I don't use protein powder, and sometimes use yogurt.  I actually prefer my green smoothies without dairy in them, so I just use greens, fruit, and water.  Lately I've been blending up kale, banana, and a frozen tropical fruit blend that has pineapple, peaches, mango, and strawberries.  I also like blueberries and banana.  For greens, I prefer kale or green leaf lettuce to spinach.  Start with just a handful, and as you get used to it you can add more. 

Enjoy your Vitamix!

[GreenMan]

I'm going for nutrition more than taste, so for me it's spinach, kale, carrot and apple, maybe with lemon juice. I'm a bit worried that if I put in too much fruit then I'll start cutting back on the green stuff till I'm just eating the sweet stuff. It happens.

Protein powder isn't a bad idea! 

[onawhim]

I do spinach/greens, frozen berries and kefir or yogurt in mine.  Often I will put in some raw ginger.  I also will put pumpkin in if I have it.   

[OldBaldHippie]

Good ideas, thanks!...it will be good to have some frozen fruit on hand...I'm worried about buying too much stuff and not being able to use it before it goes bad...are there other veggies you have tried?...tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, green beans, etc?

Is ginger for flavor or for some nutritional purpose?

[onawhim]

Is ginger for flavor or for some nutritional purpose?

Both.  I tried broccoli once and it did not work well for me but I only have a cheap lousy blender. 

[witchypoo]

i often make my smoothies with oatmeal, in addition to fruits and veggies.  other times, i use yogurt.

[Run Amok]

I'm another basic blender person here. The thing I would caution about smoothies is that the calories can skyrocket without too much effort.

Your vitamix will come with a great little packet of recipes. You can make soup in it!

My go-to is a banana, 1 cup of nonfat greek yogurt, 1 cup of frozen berries, 2 cups of water, fill the rest of the bin with spinach, 2 tiny scoops of stevia. This is about 300 calories.

I also like a .5-1 avocado, a whole lemon (I peel it, not sure you need to in your vitamix), spinach, a nub of ginger, a banana + stevia

[GreenMan]

I'm worried about buying too much stuff and not being able to use it before it goes bad...

Recent Onion headline: Bundle Of Kale Placed In Fridge Knows How This Will End 

I deal with that by making my kale smoothies every day, not just "when I feel  like it". In my second week now. Oh, and weighing less than I have in months.

[OldBaldHippie]

Green Man...are you replacing a meal with a smoothie?...

Just made my first one ten minutes after it was delivered...banana, mixed frozen fruit, yogurt and kale...

Going to the health food store tomorrow to pick out some kind of powder...

[OldBaldHippie]

got some of this to add to the smoothies...

[Honey Badger]

I haven't used protein powder yet.  But all I have on hand is chocolate so I'll need to get another flavor.
One of my favorites is a green shake with a good handful of grapes, a thin slice of lemon (rind and all), a hunk of pineapple (optional) or 1/2 banana, 1/2 of an avocado and a couple big handfuls of spinach and ice cubes.  Don't over-do the lemon or it will overtake the other stuff.  Add a shot of agave syrup if you want it a bit sweeter (not needed if you use pineapple).

I was using yogurt in mine last week...for health purposes, but in general I don't.

It's true that you can rack up calories quickly if you're not careful.
I just went to Costco yesterday and bought a bunch of frozen fruit and a huge bag of spinach.

Some veggies take over the taste.  Cucumbers, carrots and celery do not seem to.  Banana seems to dominate over a lot of the other fruits so I use just a small piece (< 1/2 of a small banana) and I freeze them when they start to over-ripen.
I bought fresh beets today and am going to try one in a smoothie.  I've no idea how it will work out. 

I have found that mine binds up when using frozen fruit and carrot instead of juicy, fresh fruit.  I think I should probably add a bit of water in this case. 

I love banana, strawberry and blueberry (also with spinach added). 
You really just need to ignore the color. 

[Run Amok]

Protein powder tastes gross to me, so add a little and up it from there to find where your tollerance level is. I can always taste it, so I don't use it. Yogurt adds a creaminess, texture, and protein without the yuck factor (for me, ymmv).

[triciaflower]

Here's a site of recipes! I have not tried any.

http://blenderlady.com/recipes/

[Honey Badger]

Here's a site of recipes! I have not tried any.

http://blenderlady.com/recipes/

This is good to know!  http://blenderlady.com/the-5-magic-veggies/

The 5 magic veggies.  I talked a bit about that above but had only found out by my own trial.
I have some red cabbage that I need to use and will definitely try the summer and zucchini squash to increase volume w/o adding many calories. 

[OldBaldHippie]

This is good to know!  http://blenderlady.com/the-5-magic-veggies/

The 5 magic veggies.  I talked a bit about that above but had only found out by my own trial.
I have some red cabbage that I need to use and will definitely try the summer and zucchini squash to increase volume w/o adding many calories. 

good idea...so far I've just used carrots and kale...

[The Turtle Whisperer]

i often make my smoothies with oatmeal, in addition to fruits and veggies.  other times, i use yogurt.

Does the oatmeal sink to the bottom?  Probably a dumb question, but do you cook the oatmeal? 

The wife tried adding some Fiber One cereal and it didn't work well... might be her blender...

[OldBaldHippie]

Does the oatmeal sink to the bottom?  Probably a dumb question, but do you cook the oatmeal? 

The wife tried adding some Fiber One cereal and it didn't work well... might be her blender...

I sometimes add ground flax seed...

[triciaflower]

I add hemp hearts. 

[OldBaldHippie]

I add hemp hearts. 

Hemp...hmmm...