I went slightly off-script for this one. The recipe calls for banana, pineapple, and mango for the fruit and then vanilla yogurt and orange juice as the liquid. I found a bag of frozen "tropical fruit blend" at the grocery store yesterday. It did contain pineapple and mango, but it also had a lot of strawberry and honeydew in the mix. I figured that sounded tasty and let me buy only one bag of frozen fruit rather than two, so I just rolled with it. As for the liquids... We already had a bunch of really nice honey yogurt, so I opted to use that with a little vanilla extract mixed in. And for the orange juice... I did juice the orange that we had, but it didn't produce quite enough, so I just rounded it out with a bit of milk and called it a day. So, not quite the smoothie of the recipe, but good nonetheless.

Tropical Smoothie

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 2 c. frozen fruit (preferably a 3:1 mix of mango and pineapple)¹
• 1/2 c. honey yogurt
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2-3/4 c. orange juice and/or milk

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in blender and purée until smooth.
2. Add more liquid as needed to achieve desired consistency.
3. Pour into glasses and serve.

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¹ I think mine was more like 8:6:3:3 strawberries to honeydew to mango to pineapple. ^Back

I'm way behind on write-ups and have a huge backlog of older recipes left to do, but I wanted to get this on in before I forgot. Especially since everyone liked it so much! TF and the Kidlet were both very enthusiastic about these bowls for breakfast.

The recipe as written calls for 2 c. of yogurt and 2 bananas and said it made two servings. I did this and served half of the resulting smoothie to the Kidlet and TF and I split the remaining half. So, I guess it makes either two or four servings depending on how hungry you are. Personally, I think a half serving of smoothie with a full serving of toppings is just about right for me.

The recipe below makes half as much smoothie as the original recipe (so, 1-2 servings depending on your appetite), but I've left all the toppings at their original quantities (because I like less smoothie and more everything else in my bowl). And I've actually suggested a range for the granola (because I really like granola, especially when it's a nice home-made) batch!

Protein Smoothie Bowl

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. almond butter
• 1 banana
• 1 c. raspberries
• 1/4-1/2 almond granola (or store-bought granola)
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa nibs
• 1 Tbsp. Rice Krispies

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, almond butter, and banana in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Pour into a bowl (or two) and top with raspberries, granola, cocoa nibs, and Rice Krispies.

Fruit Smoothies

We'd previously done write-ups for some of the smoothie flavours listed below, but it was a little helter-skelter and disorganized. I wanted to collect them all in one post.

I think, at this point, we've tried all but the kale-pineapple smoothie. I have to admit that I'm pretty wary of kale in a smoothie, but I'd be willing to at least try it at some point. I just haven't done so yet. (Honestly, I can think of many better uses for kale, but at this point, the completionist in me just kind of wants to be able to check off all the flavours in the magazine.)

Strawberry-Peach Smoothies

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2016

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 1 c. frozen peaches
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or milk

Directions

1. Place banana, honey, and salt in blender and blend until combined.
2. Add strawberries, peaches, yogurt, and juice/milk and purée.
3. Pour into glasses and serve.

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Variations

Cherry-Almond Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/4 c. almond butter
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. frozen cherries
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. milk or almond milk

Mixed Berry Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. frozen mixed berries
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or milk

Tropical Fruit Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 c. frozen mango chunks
• 1 c. coconut yogurt
• 1/4 c. pineapple juice or coconut water

Kale-Pineapple Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 c. frozen kale
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or pineapple juice

A while back, I found a recipe for "gingersnap sippers" that involved chai concentrate, milk, bananas, and spices. I liked the idea, but didn't have any chai concentrate easily to hand and, while I could make some, wasn't sure I wanted the tea in there anyway. So I decided to do my own version of a gingerbread-flavour protein shake. I started out with a full teaspoon of ginger, but I think that may have been a bit too much. The recipe below reflects this. (Although I haven't had a chance to test the reduced ginger version yet.)

Gingerbread Protein Shake

Ingredients

• 1 c. milk
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 Tbsp. molasses
• 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp. mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2-4 ice cubes

Directions

1. Combine everything in a blender, mix thoroughly, and enjoy.

I know I already posted a Chocolate-Mint Protein Shake but, if you happen to have fresh mint on hand, this is a great way to use it up. And I like this one better too! The yogurt and the pudding mix help give it a rich, decadent texture. The fresh mint also works really well here. It somehow simultaneously has more presence and less harshness than the extract I used before. It's quite a nice effect overall.

I think I initially got the idea for this recipe from PopSugar. Their version was more reminiscent of mint chip ice cream, with a minty green base and a few chocolate chips blended in. I kept the fresh mint (and Greek yogurt), but went in a more chocolate-y direction. I took out the spinach, added a couple scoops of chocolate protein powder, and swapped out the maple syrup for chocolate pudding mix.

Thin Mint Protein Shake

Adapted from PopSugar

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. skim milk
• 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
• 1 Tbsp. chocolate pudding mix
• 1 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips (pref. dark)
• 1/4 c. fresh mint
• 4-6 ice cubes

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and blend.

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

I can't claim that this shake is as good as the magical Chocolate-Hazelnut-Caramel Protein Shake, but it's still pretty darn good! The egg white gives it an almost airy texture as well as a few extra grams of protein. And, of course, you can't go wrong with a shot of hazelnut creamer. All-in-all it's a nice combo.

Peanut Butter Cup Shake

Slightly adapted from Bodybuilding.com

Ingredients

• 1 c. skim milk
• 2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder
• 2 Tbsp. peanut flour
• 1 egg white
• 2 Tbsp. fat free hazelnut creamer

Directions

1. Blend and enjoy!

Chocolate-Hazelnut-Caramel Protein Shake

I know it probably seems boring (and possibly excessive) to be posting yet another protein shake recipe, but I really like this one! And besides, I want the recipe to be easily accessible so that I can ask TF to make it for me sometimes. ;P

I didn't have great expectations for this one, but I think it's actually my favourite yet! Sadly, it's also got quite a bit of sugar in it, but you could cut at least some of that out by using a "fat free"/"no sugar added" pudding mix. Or you could experiment with using caramel extract/flavouring instead of pudding mix.

Chocolate-Hazelnut-Caramel Protein Shake

Adapted from BodyBuilding.com

1 c. skim milk

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

1 Tbsp. butterscotch pudding mix

2 Tbsp. fat free hazelnut coffee creamer

3-4 ice cubes

1. Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Chocolate-Mint Protein Shake

I've actually been having a lot of fun experimenting with flavours. Historically (besides the obvious milk and protein powder) I've only put things like fruit and yogurt into my protein shakes. Things like pudding mix and baking extracts never would've occurred to me. But now that someone's put the idea in my head... oh the possibilities!

Chocolate-Mint Protein Shake
1 c. skim milk
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 Tbsp. instant chocolate pudding mix
1/4 tsp. mint extract
3-6 ice cubes

1. You know the drill. Dump everything in the blender and give it a whirl.

The Hulk Protein Shake

I tend to have a lot of trouble getting enough protein. Taking meat out of my diet doesn't really seem to have made this issue much worse, but it certainly hasn't made it better either!

Sometimes I will have a protein shake after dinner to try to balance out my macros a bit and give those all-important amino acid chains a bit of a boost. Historically this would be a sort of strawberry milkshake with skim milk, vanilla protein powder, and a bunch of frozen strawberries. The problem with this is that a shake like that now contains more carbs than protein! I guess I could just cut back on the strawberries, but I decided I'd poke around and see what other folks like to do for their protein shakes.

I actually found some really great ideas! Most of which I don't have the ingredients on hand for at the moment, but that's okay. Given that I do have a packet of instant pudding mix kicking around, I figured I'd try one of the recipes that'd put that to use. Great success!

The Hulk Pistachio Protein Shake
From Bodybuilding.com
1 c. skim milk
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 Tbsp. pistacho instant pudding mix
4-6 ice cubes
1-3 drops green food colouring

1. Blend.
2. Drink.
3. Hulk out!

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a gourmet milkshake. But it's tolerably tasty and contains nearly 50g of protein (along with 24g of carbs and 4g of fat). You could probably trim down the carbs a lot by using a "no sugar added" pudding mix, but I was using what I had on hand. Still... not too shabby!

PB&J Smoothie

I spent a while looking for new smoothie recipes a few weeks back and came across one for a PB&J smoothie that appealed to me. I jotted down the ingredients and was fully intending to follow the recipe, but one tweak lead to another and I ended up with something fairly different from the original in the end. Tasty, but not very much like the recipe at all.

PB&J Smoothie
1 c. strawberries
1/2 banana
1/4 c. plain yogurt
1/4-1/2 c. vanilla almond milk
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 Tbsp. honey

1. Blend and enjoy. (You may need to adjust the amount of almond milk depending on whether or not you're using fresh or frozen fruit and how thick you like your smoothies.)

Tropical Fruit Smoothie v2.0

I wasn't planning on making any smoothies yesterday, but the toddle-bot had other ideas. Sifting through the freezer, I realized that I had most of the bits for a tropical fruit smoothie, so I figured I'd give that a try. Using coconut yogurt instead of plain really upped the deliciousness quotient though!

I didn't really do a lot of measuring for this one and I made it again today with slightly different proportions, but it turned out to be one of my favourite smoothies so far, so I figured I'd jot something down anyway.

More Delicious Tropical Fruit Smoothie
1/2-3/4 c. coconut Greek yogurt
1/2-1 banana
~1/2 c. frozen pineapple
~1/2 c. frozen mango
~1 Tbsp. honey
0-4 Tbsp. cashew milk

1. Blend and enjoy!

Cranberry Smoothie

I used to sometimes make cranberry smoothies that consisted of nothing but plain yogurt, frozen cranberries, and a tiny bit of honey. They were probably reasonably healthy, they were certainly nice and thick, but they were also almost inedibly tart. I recently came across an actual recipe for a cranberry smoothie, so I figured I'd give that a try. I'll admit, I tweaked it a bit, but the original was gonna be hella watery. Honestly, I'll probably tweak it even more if I make it again. I'll share three versions here: the original, the tweaked version I made today, and what I'd do next time.

Cranberry Smoothie
1 c. cranberries
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. almond milk
1/4 c. raw cashews
1/8 tsp. stevia
4 ice cubes

Cranberry-Yogurt Smoothie
1/2 c. frozen cranberries
3/4 c. vanilla almond milk
2-3 Tbsp. raw cashews
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt

Better Cranberry-Yogurt Smoothie
1/2 c. frozen cranberries
1/2 c. vanilla almond milk
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. almonds
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. frozen raspberries

Cherry-Almond Smoothie

I usually just bung a bunch of complimentary fruit in a blender with a bit of yogurt and/or juice and/or coconut water when I make smoothies. It works reasonably well. Pineapple and coconut water on its own actually makes a really nice smoothie. However, Cook's Country published some actual smoothie recipes in their latest issue and I have to say, I'm really impressed with the results. Their version uses a banana-honey base and quite a bit more yogurt than I'd normally put, but it makes for an extremely creamy, mellow smoothie. It doesn't taste as fruity or acidic as what I normally make. It's a bit more subdued and more filling as well which is great for breakfast smoothies.

Cherry-Almond Smoothie
From Cook's Country April/May 2016
1/2 banana
1 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. almond butter
tiny sprinkle of salt (~1/16 tsp.)
1 c. frozen cherries
1/2 c. plain yogurt (original recipe recommends whole milk yogurt; I used 2% because that was the only variety available in lactose-free)
2 Tbsp. milk (again recipe recommends whole milk; I used LF 2%)

1. Puree banana, honey, almond butter, and salt together until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Enjoy!

Summer Fruit Smoothie (for Wintertime)

I was on an oatmeal kick for a while, and that was great. Now I'm giving smoothies a go. I did a few piña colada smoothies initially since they'd worked out well in the past. Still delicious, but I'm all out of pineapple and wanted to try something new this morning anyway. After rummaging around in the freezer, I came up with a selection of frozen fruits that I figured would make for a good smoothie. I think I still need to make some tweaks to the recipe, but I'm happy enough with it for now.

Summer Fruit Smoothie
Slightly adapted from The 5-a-day Menu Planner
~1/3 c. frozen mixed berries
~1/3 c. frozen pitted cherries
~1/4 c. frozen blueberries
~1/4 c. vanilla yogurt
~1/2 c. skim milk

1. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

While the flavour on this particular smoothie wasn't bad, I found it a little flat. I think I'd mix it up a bit next time to try to make it a bit more lively. I'm wondering if adding a few frozen cranberries might be the way to go. They're quite tart, but that might actually be what this blend needs to kick it up a notch. If the tartness needs to be offset a bit, I might try adding either a little bit of honey or maybe even some strawberry jam!

Hopefully I can try this one out again tomorrow (with a few modifications) and report back. I think there's definitely potential here, it just needs a little adjustment to get the balance of flavours just right.

Banana Velvet Smoothies

Every once in a while, I like to buy smoothies when I'm at the grocery store. This time, a banana-pineapple-coconut blend caught my eye. I was about to put it in my cart... but then I started thinking about how easy it would be to re-create this on my own. So I put it back and instead went and grabbed a pineapple. (I cheated and got a cored, peeled one because it worked out to be both cheaper and easier). I was already getting bananas for the froglet anyway, so now it was just a matter of deciding what to do about the coconut.

I contemplated the fresh coconuts for a while but, in the end, decided that coconut water was the way to go. (Based on the ingredients list in the smoothie, that was their only source of coconut anyway.) There was no yogurt included in the pre-made smoothie, but I decided that it might make a nice addition, so I picked up a tub of my favourite vanilla yogurt.

My smoothies came out delicious and were dead easy to make! I really should do this kind of thing more often!

Banana Velvet Smoothie
1/3 banana
1/3 pineapple, cut into large chunks
~120mL toasted coconut water
~60mL vanilla or coconut yogurt (optional)

1. Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth.

TF had his smoothie without the yogurt. I was worried that it might be too runny, but the banana gives it a nice, thick, smooth consistency and helps to mellow out the acidic pineapple.

I had been planning on adding vanilla yogurt to mine, but realized as I was getting ready to make it that there was still a bit of coconut yogurt in the fridge that needed to be used up. This worked out really well as it added an extra hit of coconut to the mix and helped it stand out a little more.

I also tried a version that omitted the banana, going for more of a piña colada sort of vibe. You definitely notice the acidity of the pineapple a lot more without the banana, but I'm okay with that. Both versions were really excellent and I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favourite. Yum!