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petra_r
Community Member

I've discovered Smoothies

OK, so maybe I've lived under a rock but somehow the whole smoothie thing had bypassed me until now. I didn't even really know they were "a thing"

 

The other day, faced with all the tangerines  (small but super intense flavour) on the tree in the garden and the shameful memory of so many of them going to waste last year, I thought I had better do "something" with them before they all start falling off the tree again.

 

Frozen segments of three small tangerines

3 fresh small tangerines straight from the tree

little bit of water

 

 

blitzed until it becomes a semi-frozen smooth, frothy yummy drinkable slush

 

I AM ADDICTED

 

smoothie.jpg

 

Ordered a proper blender from Amazon (My handheld one struggles with the frozen fruit) and looking forward to experimenting with other fruit and "stuff"

 

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Petra

Don't faint at the price of a Vita-Mix. Just realize it is the very last blender you will ever buy. They last forever.

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32 REPLIES 32
martina_plaschka
Community Member

now I know what's wrong with my life - no freaking tangerine tree in the garden! darn...


Martina P wrote:

now I know what's wrong with my life - no freaking tangerine tree in the garden! darn...


tangerines.png

 

michael_skaggs
Community Member

And now you'll start too see just how deep this particular rabbit-hole goes. There are mind-boggling numbers of combinations to discover.

 

Being homemade also makes them 10x better automatically.


Michael S wrote:

And now you'll start too see just how deep this particular rabbit-hole goes. There are mind-boggling numbers of combinations to discover.

 

Being homemade also makes them 10x better automatically.


I know lol, I am already planning! The tangerines will likely be ok another couple of weeks or so -The superpower blender arrives Monday 🙂

 

I was told to get something called a Vitamix but nearly fainted at the price...

 

Yes, Smoothies are fabulous!  Try adding some yogurt sometimes-Yum!

Petra

Don't faint at the price of a Vita-Mix. Just realize it is the very last blender you will ever buy. They last forever.


Cheryl K wrote:

Petra

Don't faint at the price of a Vita-Mix. Just realize it is the very last blender you will ever buy. They last forever.


too late, and I can not justify 600 ++ Dollars on something that might end up in the big cupboard with all the gadgets I bought and used twice...

I got an Omniblend V and felt faint at the price of that.

I've had cars I paid less for...

 

It supposed to handle ice and frozen fruit with ease as well.

I need to make sure it's not yet another phase I'm going through.

 

lysis10
Community Member

I miss the smoothie place in FL by me. I went ultra low carb for my diet since October, so these things are usually too sugary for me, but they really are goooood. That look dang delicious, Petra.

petra_r
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

I miss the smoothie place in FL by me. I went ultra low carb for my diet since October, so these things are usually too sugary for me, but they really are goooood. That look dang delicious, Petra.


I have developed a huge craving for fresh / raw stuff recently and getting up to that icey / smooth / super tangerine-ey thing's been wonderful. I also don't feel hungry right through to dinner after that.

 

Somehow super low carb currently doesn't work for me at all, (it used to be my winter go to", but this year it's doing nothing...) so I'm trying to not worry and eat nice but healthy stuff. I'll also try making my own almond milk and stuff like that. I've never had a proper (not handheld) blender - lots of discovering to do. Soups, Pesto, nut butter and so on......

lysis10
Community Member


Petra R wrote:


I have developed a huge craving for fresh / raw stuff recently and getting up to that icey / smooth / super tangerine-ey thing's been wonderful. I also don't feel hungry right through to dinner after that.

 

Somehow super low carb currently doesn't work for me at all, (it used to be my winter go to", but this year it's doing nothing...) so I'm trying to not worry and eat nice but healthy stuff. I'll also try making my own almond milk and stuff like that. I've never had a proper (not handheld) blender - lots of discovering to do. Soups, Pesto, nut butter and so on......


Yeah, the ultra low carb thing has to be something you like or I think you won't stick to it. 

 

Do you have a crock pot? I can't cook to save my life, but the one thing I've found I can do is crock pot recipes. It's no hassle cooking which is good for me. You can make soups in them, and that's what I do especially now since it's cold.

Sure, a Vitamix is expensive. But it will make short work of fruits, vegetables, frozen foods, and old electronics that need to be broken down for recycling! =P

allergywriter
Community Member

I hope the blender you ordered is a Vita-Mix. They are the bomb! I've been having a smoothie for breakfast since 2006 when I bought my Vita-Mix.

 

I like the Vita-Mix because you can put the fruit or veggie in almost whole. No need to seed them. For example, when I add citrus, I just pull off the peel.  If I am using it to make a marinade, I just leave the peel on. A Vita-Mix and purify a lemon, lime, or orange.

 

The best smoothies have a bit of banana for mouthfeel and I always add just a bit of oatmeal, flaxseed or wheat germ for fiber.

 

This morning's smoothie was yogurt, apple, carrot, 1/2 banana, strawberries, spinach, oatmeal and instead of ice I use frozen blueberries. Almost every week I buy some sort of fruit and toss it in the freezer to be my ice.

 

Smoothies are an addiction, but can be a healthy one.

gilbert-phyllis
Community Member

Your tangerine tree has strengthened my resolve to try growing citrus fruits. My next-door neighbors (much more accomplished gardeners than I) grow limes, lemons and kumquats.

 

My favorite breakfast smoothie has kefir (or equivalent yogurt & milk), frozen fruit, a tsp or two of oatmeal (rolled, not steel-cut), a tsp or so of slivered almonds (not whole, my blender just polishes those), and sometimes a scoop of protein powder (if I anticipate a late lunch). I buy whole pineapples and papayas when they're in season, cube and freeze them. (Freezing cubes on a baking sheet and then dumping them in a ziplock bag was the game changer.) 

 

For smoothies, I use an inexpensive Oster Blend N Go because it's super-easy and quick to wash and I'm lazy. (But I already had a regular blender for other stuff.)

 

My small appliance experiment this year was a yogurt maker and it's been well worth it. I live in a rural area where it's usually impossible to find plain, low-fat yogurt. Making my own is way better.

 

Petra, almost any fruit will work perfectly fine for smoothies.  As well as combinations of ones you like.  

Avocados work as well. And cold soups  - veggie based.  I make gazpacho all the time - both regular and almond/garlic version. Chilled broccoli soup also.

 

My food preferences are similar to yours - and my blender didn't cost anywhere near $600.  😉

Wendy, you sent me googling, that almond-garlic gazpacho sounds delicious!

 

One of my summertime go-to recipes for the blender is cold cantaloupe soup: 3 lb melon, peeled and chunked, 3/4 tsp sambal oelek, 3 T fresh lime juice, 1/4 tsp coarse salt. I have always sub'd sriracha because couldn't find sambal oelek until last fall. Looking forward to melon season when I can try it as written.

 

Also, pineapple-cucumer gazpacho.

 

Can't wait for summer produce!

 

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

I have this feeling Petra got herself a new blender or something. Blenders (and anything that can turn food into something else) are the best.


~ Avery
Upwork
martina_plaschka
Community Member


Petra R wrote:

OK, so maybe I've lived under a rock but somehow the whole smoothie thing had bypassed me until now. I didn't even really know they were "a thing"

 

The other day, faced with all the tangerines  (small but super intense flavour) on the tree in the garden and the shameful memory of so many of them going to waste last year, I thought I had better do "something" with them before they all start falling off the tree again.

 

Frozen segments of three small tangerines

3 fresh small tangerines straight from the tree

little bit of water

 

 

blitzed until it becomes a semi-frozen smooth, frothy yummy drinkable slush

 

I AM ADDICTED

 

smoothie.jpg

 

Ordered a proper blender from Amazon (My handheld one struggles with the frozen fruit) and looking forward to experimenting with other fruit and "stuff"

 


I just realized that you got yourself a slushy, not a smoothie. The slushy is the half-frozen kind. The smoothie is liquid. I do smoothie every morning, the base is banana + orange juice, add anything from kiwi, peach, red beets, plums, spinach, whatever is handy. Best secret ingredient: radish greens. You will never throw them away again, you will use the greens and throw away the radishes... 😉 They puree very well and have a fine sweetish taste. 

The next good thing is fresh ginger, pureed with lemon juice, put through a sieve, and use for anything from the above smoothie, chinese food, or with plain water. Very healthy!


Martina P wrote:


I just realized that you got yourself a slushy, not a smoothie. The slushy is the half-frozen kind. The smoothie is liquid. I do smoothie every morning, the base is banana + orange juice, add anything from kiwi, peach, red beets, plums, spinach, whatever is handy. Best secret ingredient: radish greens. 


I like the slightly frozen kind 🙂 I call it a smoothie but yes, "slushy" is probably correct.

I so can't wait for the blender... A world of possibilities ahead!

petra_r
Community Member

TADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

My blender arrived and matches my kitchen units exactly colour-wise!! So far so good! It is also twice as big as I expected 😮

 

blender.jpg

 

 

I live in a world where there is a Smoothie store every couple of blocks.  Smoothy King was invented in New Orleans.  I usually just buy one - although they're getting kinda expensive.  When I make one, I just use an older Oster blender that my son handed down to me years ago.  Works just fine.  Reminds me I have frozen blueberries in the freezer and I should use them in a smoothie soon.  I often add some yogurt.  Also bananas and cocoa powder are pretty awesome in a smoothie.

mtngigi
Community Member


Petra R wrote:

OK, so maybe I've lived under a rock but somehow the whole smoothie thing had bypassed me until now. I didn't even really know they were "a thing"

 

The other day, faced with all the tangerines  (small but super intense flavour) on the tree in the garden and the shameful memory of so many of them going to waste last year, I thought I had better do "something" with them before they all start falling off the tree again.

 

Frozen segments of three small tangerines

3 fresh small tangerines straight from the tree

little bit of water

blitzed until it becomes a semi-frozen smooth, frothy yummy drinkable slush

 

I AM ADDICTED

 

Ordered a proper blender from Amazon (My handheld one struggles with the frozen fruit) and looking forward to experimenting with other fruit and "stuff"

 

Petra,

Google "Orange Julius" if you've never heard of it. They're usually found in malls ... haven't seen or been to one in ages, though. At any rate, you may want to try this variation of an Orange Julius with your tangerines.

Tangerine Julius.jpg

 

I had totally forgotten about Orange Julius.  They were great for hangovers --- or so I've heard.


Mary W wrote:

I had totally forgotten about Orange Julius.  They were great for hangovers --- or so I've heard.




They were good, weren't they? Didn't know about the hangover thing ... doesn't seem like orange juice and milk would do much good.

Back in the day it certainly did.  And beat the normal go to cure of a burger and fries ... except possibly for In-&-Out fare.

My hangover fare was a bean burrito. Something about the beans, cheese and warm bread made you feel better right away.

 

We used to put OJ, an egg and vanilla in a blender with ice and call it Orange Julius

Thanks so much for the "Julius" idea! I always though citrus makes milk curdle! Lemon does.

I will try it (once I bought milk which I gave up a year ago as I only used it in coffee anyway!)

 

I'll also try it with almond milk (which I will try to make from scratch!)

 

Today I made tangerine slushy at 5 am which I drunk across the day, then made my first EVER spinach with cream cheese and some prawns for dinner.

That's all and I am really full!

 

As a recall, Orange Julius would add a raw egg if you asked...

Petra,  you are making me hungry while making yourself super healthy.


Mary W wrote:

As a recall, Orange Julius would add a raw egg if you asked...


I think there's a Julius recipe that uses whipped egg whites ... I'll post if I can find it.

 

ETA: Yep ... found this Q&A: What is the powder used in Orange Julius?

The Orange Julius is a mixture of orange juice, milk, powdered egg whites, sweetener, vanilla flavoring, and ice.

 

And here's the copycat recipe: https://topsecretrecipes.com/orange-julius-orange-julius-copycat-recipe.html

That reminded me of my mother's recipe for syllabub, which she would make on Christmas morning (and no other time, I don't know why). Looked it up: cup of whipping cream, 2 cups milk, juice of 4 oranges, 1/2 c. sugar, 2 T. sherry.

This may have come from the German side of the family (via SW Georgia) or from her south Louisiana grandma (also German connections). Mary, does it sound familiar?

I've had syllabub in the Midwest - never in Louisiana or Mississippi.

tangerine, pomegranate and almond milk slushie / smoothie.

pomegranate seeds frozen the night before.

 

tang_pom_alm.jpg

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