At this point in my blogging career ("career" used loosely here), I've talked to quite a few people and received some truly fantastic recommendations. Obviously not everything I've been compelled to try has been amazing, but I thought I'd share the really good ones. One at a time. Because blog series.
Awesome Thing that was Recommended: this Smoothie Recipe
Awesome Blogger Who Recommended it: Taylor @ The Daily Tay
So... it's a smoothie. But you see, this particular smoothie (as well as promises of svelteness and lengthy locks in the original blog post) came at a very crucial time in my life. I had just begun meal planning.
And so, in my frenzy of beginner enthusiasm, I was searching for quick, easy, healthy breakfast items. The Daily Tay complied. For a few weeks, I was mixing things up. So I'd have smoothies one week, and then coconut quinoa (delicious!) the next. I made a really tasty peach cobbler oatmeal for one. But gradually the convenience of the smoothies phased out all the other options.
As a huge, added bonus, smoothies make it possible to cram so many food groups into one item. You can add anything you want to that blender! And most of the time it still tastes good!
The exception was a particularly spectacular fail, so I will share.
I still like the whey protein powder, though. I think I might implement it as a tasty, after-workout snack. I discovered, to my sorrow, that it's not optimal to get all your protein from powder (imagine that! Whole food proteins are recommended!), so I can't go on a smoothie only diet, but I won't lie. It's tempting.
Which is crazy, considering that a mere 5 months ago, my life had no smoothies in it! Thanks, Taylor. It's been a life-changer.
Awesome Thing that was Recommended: this Smoothie Recipe
Awesome Blogger Who Recommended it: Taylor @ The Daily Tay
So... it's a smoothie. But you see, this particular smoothie (as well as promises of svelteness and lengthy locks in the original blog post) came at a very crucial time in my life. I had just begun meal planning.
And so, in my frenzy of beginner enthusiasm, I was searching for quick, easy, healthy breakfast items. The Daily Tay complied. For a few weeks, I was mixing things up. So I'd have smoothies one week, and then coconut quinoa (delicious!) the next. I made a really tasty peach cobbler oatmeal for one. But gradually the convenience of the smoothies phased out all the other options.
As a huge, added bonus, smoothies make it possible to cram so many food groups into one item. You can add anything you want to that blender! And most of the time it still tastes good!
The exception was a particularly spectacular fail, so I will share.
How to Make a Completely Unpalatable Smoothie
Ingredients
- Mandarin Orange Segments
- Crushed Pineapple
- Kiwi
- Cottage Cheese
- Juice? Water? I don't remember
Steps
- Decide that 3 weeks of making the same smoothie recipe with minor tweaks has made you an expert! It's time to experiment wildly.
- Tropical fruits taste good together, right? Instead of simply eating oranges and pineapple on cottage cheese, let's blend them together!
- What about that old, leftover kiwi? It looks lonely on the counter by itself. Let's throw that in there.
- Take a big swig.
- Try not to cough at the sudden rush of citrusy acids and cottage cheese lumps that were in no way altered by blending.
- Painfully choke down the rest of it because you don't have time to make anything else before work and you don't want to waste all that wholesome fruit you threw in there.
- Never experiment again.
Except that I did eventually begin to change things. But it took a few weeks before I was brave enough.
The original recipe has kale, spinach, blueberries, a banana, lemon juice, honey, chia seeds, and water. After going through several small changes, my current version looks more like this:
A More Palatable Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 Banana
- Blueberries or Strawberries - really any berry that doesn't go bad in 2 days (darn you, raspberries!!!)
- Kale or Spinach (or whatever green, leafy stuff I happen to grab)
- Greek Yogurt
- V8 Fusion
- Lemon Juice
- Chia Seeds
- Whey Protein Powder (maybe - this is a new addition and might not stick around)
Tips
I was going to put "instructions" but you guys know how to blend. Really, I just have to explain a couple idiosyncrasies and I do have a couple of real tips, to my own surprise.
- I don't measure anything. So it goes something like this: toss in a banana, 1/5 of the fruit in the container (because I need enough for the other 4 days), 1/5 of the lettuce-y stuff, a couple scoops of greek yogurt (probably close to 1/3 cup), a splash of V8 fusion (just enough to make it liquidy), and the others are small amounts or none. You don't need my measurements, though, because everything can be adjusted to your taste and it will still come out fine.
- ADD THE CHIA SEEDS AFTERWARDS! They are a pain to clean out of the blender! And they embed themselves into my dish scrubbie and have to be picked out one by one. So after I blend everything up, I dump my tablespoon of chia seeds directly into the glass I poured my smoothie into, and stir it with a butter knife.
- Lemon is lemon-y. Ryan won't drink it with lemon, because he says it's too acidic. I don't notice anything.
- It's ugly. It's sort of pink and mostly grey, and it has lots of greenish bits floating in it. But it really is delicious, I swear!
 |
| Yummm... |
On the subject of whey protein, I'm a little torn at the moment. I bought some chocolate flavored stuff for Ryan, and tried it, and it is DELICIOUS! But I've read that it's most effective after a workout and my smoothie already has a source of protein and already tastes pretty good. And, honestly, I keep adding so many things that the calorie count is surprising for something comprised mostly of fruits and vegetables (it's not terrible - about 400 - but no matter what I add, I still get hungry at 10am, so I need a few extra calories for a pre-lunch snack).
I still like the whey protein powder, though. I think I might implement it as a tasty, after-workout snack. I discovered, to my sorrow, that it's not optimal to get all your protein from powder (imagine that! Whole food proteins are recommended!), so I can't go on a smoothie only diet, but I won't lie. It's tempting.
Which is crazy, considering that a mere 5 months ago, my life had no smoothies in it! Thanks, Taylor. It's been a life-changer.
What blogger recommendations have changed your life in some way? Do you do smoothies? What do you think of whey protein?
