# My new Smoothie (question)



## 247 (2) (Feb 27, 2014)

I finally started making a smoothie (one I would like myself)

Here is what I use:

3 ice cubs
10 oz Vanilla Almond Milk (Low Sugar, Almond Breeze)
3 BIG spoonful's of Organic Almond Butter
2 organic bananas
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Now my question is if I add 2 spoonful's organic honey, could I use 'Unsweetened' Almond Milk (vanilla)?

Trying to cut down on sugar overall but want to taste good (without adding vanilla extract)--and that Unsweetened Almond Milk is horrible by itself..


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Honey is still sugar...but at least it's natural and not processed. Try to get raw local honey. Better for you and good for allergies if you suffer from them.

I find that adding frozen fruit like blueberries make it sweet enough. Plus they are good for you. Add fresh spinach in there as well. You barely taste it and it's a great nutrition boost. As it is...there's not much in the smoothie that you're posting up.


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## head gamez (Dec 6, 2013)

I agree with you that the unsweetened vanilla almond milk sucks. However, the plain almond milk (no flavor or sugar) makes a great smoothie base. 

Throw in some frozen or fresh fruit, and some spinach and Kale. Smoothies are a great delivery method for leafy greens that you might not normally eat. If you include fruit, you will not need any sweetener. However, I use local honey as mentioned above for the perceived allergy benefits.


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## Bizman (Oct 11, 2010)

Make sure your bananas are pretty ripe as they are sweeter. I cut 2 bananas up and put in a container and freeze them 24 hours before using them. I then pound them on the counter to separte them in the container before putting them in the blender. Try a tsp of cinnamon, a little flax seed, 1/4 tsp ground turmeric, fresh coconut, juice from fresh coconut, a couple oranges, an apple and a pear (pealed unless organic) 6 ice cubes. Delicious!

My base recipe is put into blender in this order:
Atleast one chopped ring fresh pineapple 
2 peeled oranges (or 1 peeled orange and 1 peeled grapefruit with membranes removed)
1 apple chopped
1 pear chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped coconut
1 Tbsp flaxseed
1/4 tsp ground turmeric 
1 tsp cinnamon
3-4 brussel sprouts chopped
1-2 cups fresh spinich chopped
1-2 cups fresh kale chopped

Blend until smooth then add 2 frozen chopped bananas, blend till smooth, then add 6 ice cubes and blend till smooth. Drink right away, enjoy!

Feel free to mix, add, or substitute anything or as much as you want! I would also use fresh honey as a sweetener if you would want it sweeter (which I doubt), not white sugar.


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## Poe4soul (Nov 18, 2012)

Sounds decent but that like a ton of juice. How much juice is that?

Again, if you guys aren't grinding those seeds, you're not getting the nutrients. They'll just pass right through you. That goes for all of the seeds. Also, most are best if ground just prior to consumption. It's better to buy them whole and then grind them.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

I grind my flax seed in a coffee grinder. Works awesome.

When I make a smoothie...if it's packed full of goodness it'll be probably 40+oz. Sometimes if it's just a quick one with a couple things it's about half that. I try not to get crazy like the smoothie above me. That's a lot of different things for the body to digest. Personally, I prefer to keep it to 3-4 ingredients at the most. Last night is a good example. I had a smoothie with:

Strawberry
Blueberry
Banana
Spinach

I was tasty and didn't bloat me like a smoothie with too many things will.


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## Poe4soul (Nov 18, 2012)

I do the same with the seeds. Soaking the ground chia seeds is good too. They bind up a ton of liquid. 

My juice this morning was

1/2 cup of kale
1/2 cup of spinach
1/2 cucumber
2 carrots
2 sprigs of celery
small handful of parsley
3 quarter sized slices of ginger
plant based protein powder
squeeze of lime for flavor

It fit in a large pint glass. 

My juices are usually veggies. My smoothies usually have berries and almond milk/coconut milk. I generally don't use citrus, bananas or other fruit. I just eat them alone as a snack.


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## head gamez (Dec 6, 2013)

I use ground flax as it is readily available at Costco. For other seeds, my assumption has been that the vitamix does the grinding for me. After the smoothie program runs, there are no seeds left, as they have been pulverized along with everything else. 

Is that sufficient? I don't know.... Probably a good learning opportunity.


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## Poe4soul (Nov 18, 2012)

head gamez said:


> I use ground flax as it is readily available at Costco. For other seeds, my assumption has been that the vitamix does the grinding for me. After the smoothie program runs, there are no seeds left, as they have been pulverized along with everything else.
> 
> Is that sufficient? I don't know.... Probably a good learning opportunity.


Grinding them fresh is better than buying them pre-ground. Pre-ground can oxidate or go rancid if not stored properly.

I don't know about the Vitamix. I know it will grind the dry seeds. I wonder if it will grind them once they are suspended in liquid. If it does, that's one thing it does better than my blender...

Edit - 
I dry ground my chia seed in my regular blender this morning and it worked great. That's one less step. Still see no reason to have a vitamix over my cheap blender...


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## head gamez (Dec 6, 2013)

I agree with pre-ground vs. grinding them fresh. The flax from Costco, however is hard to beat since we use it so fast. 

With the other seeds, I never notice them in my smoothie. It appears that the Vitamix completely grinds them while running the smoothie program. I will pay more attention to it the next few days and report back if I can remember. I may even throw a hand full in by themselves before the other ingredients and see how it turns out.


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## Bizman (Oct 11, 2010)

In my smoothie I never see any whole flax seeds so the blender must be grinding them up. It may seem like allot of things to some but you are getting all your daily fruits an vegetables at one shot and then some. You could also use less if you think its to much for you? 

It makes 6 cups and I will usually give my wife about 1 to 1 1/2 cups and I drink the rest. I do this after a bike ride or before eating my supper (usually meat potatoes and another vegetable). Keeps me regular and all I can say is don't knock it until you try it!

I make another one more in the summer months with more vegetables including carrots, celery, red beets, ginger, lemon and lime, peaches strawberries etc. Really it's up to how much time you want to spend preparing it and what you have on hand to put in it, sky's the limit!


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## 247 (2) (Feb 27, 2014)

I get organic honey.. Yeah I eat organic spinach and broccoli Twice a day Monday to Friday, and Saturday and Sunday once a day (so get enough of that)--only eat those green veggies at home (corn, etc. is not as healthy)..

but yeah, it is just so good with organic bananas and almond butter (that is all you need!!) keep it simple...


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## 247 (2) (Feb 27, 2014)

Oh yeah, I get the Almond Breeze (not SILK)--Almond Breeze is cheaper, has less sodium, 4 times the potassium also..

But I get the low sugar vanilla (and it only has one more gram of sugar than original Almond milk)---don't see the one (at least refrigerated brand I buy) besides the Unsweetened, that does not have sugar. The original has 7 grams (and low sugar vanilla has 8 grams.)

I drink it by itself also so can't do the Unsweetened almond anymore (but thought about getting that with honey added for taste..)---But now decided to use honey with my smoothie (and just use the low sugar one..)

here is my labels on the Almond Breeze brand:

Almond Breeze : Our Products

the only sugar I eat (at home) are a few sips of powdered Gatorade and this Almond milk.. Now when I am out I get anything (but don't eat out that much..) everything in moderation (but at home I eat strict!!)


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## mizzaboom (Jun 2, 2010)

My morning smoothie is really simple:

1 cup of TrooMoo chocolate milk
1/2 cup frozen berries
1 banana


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