So, I bought a blender

[Rapscallion]

I've been meaning to do this for a while. Bought a blender and got a load of fruit and stuff. First go was a pretty good result.

One very ripe banana, handful of red grapes, juice of two lemons and one orange, peeled kiwi fruit, three or four ice cubes, and a dollop or two of zero-fat yoghurt (no added sugar either). Ended up with two glasses of very tasty gloop.

I had one glass instead of a bit of fruit juice with my breakfast and have a spare glass in the fridge. Could easily have had it instead of breakfast. I think I may need to go easy on this gear.

Any particular recipes you like?

Rapscallion

[Rapscallion]

Mmm, it's begun to separate already in the fridge. Still tastes great, but that was surprising to see.

Raspcallion

[ArcticChicken]

You can freeze some of the fruit, then you won't have to put in any ice. Personally, I think the ice makes it taste too diluted.

[Kittish]

I'd expect some separation with the gloop sitting in the fridge, just give it a stir or a quick whirl in the blender and you're good to go.

And what ArcticChicken said about freezing some of the fruit. One way would be to chop the fruit you're gonna use into chunks and toss it all into a bowl with your yogurt and stick that in the freezer for 30 minutes or so right before you make your gloop.

[firecat88]

I'm quite partial to the peanut-butter-chocolate-and-banana combo. Also, a while back, my mom made fruit salad with strawberries, melon (both honeydew and cantaloup), grapes, pineapple, and bananas to go with breakfast. We still had some leftover the next day, so we threw it into the blender with a little water. The result was a pleasantly pink, surprisingly not to sweet smoothie.

[LillFilly]

Mmmm, tasty gloop. You can smooth it out and get more by adding yogurt, or for a treat ice cream. Great idea on freezing the fruit! Oooooh, you could even freeze it afterward and have a sort of sherbert.

I like mixing banana, strawberries, blueberries together; those are mild flavors that work with each-other; maybe I'll even have it in a bowl over nilla waffer cookies.

[Docmayhem]

Disclaimer - Salmonella is very bad for you. Consuming raw or undercooked eggs is dangerous.

12 oz of lowfat milk, chocolate syrup to taste, 1 raw egg - blend until frothy.

Beats canned protein drinks hands down.

Note: if you can get pasteurised scrambled eggs, they work OK. Personally, I put uncracked eggs in boiling water for about 25-30 seconds, just to be sure.

[Marmalady]

1 small banana, two dessertspoons-ish of natural yogurt, 2 tsp honey, then equal amounts of orange juice and fresh milk (depending on how thick you like your smoothie to be)

(This combination used to be sold in Harrods' juice bar as a 'Pick-Me-Up' The ingredients were given, but not the amounts, so I just experimented until I got it more or less the way they'd done it. It really does pick you up too - I drank this a lot in the early stages of pregnancy, when I knew I needed nourishment but the whole idea of actually eating anything seemed just plain nasty....)

[bhskittykatt]

Another one who uses frozen fruit. My freezer is full of frozen berries: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries...chuck them in a blender with a banana, some milk and some vanilla protein powder.

I recently bought a little frozen fruit packet that had mango, strawberry, and peach...mixed it with my usual banana, milk, and protein powder, and it was great. Light, citrusy, and made me forget about the grey skies outside for a few moments...

[bacchinalus]

handful of strawberries/blueberries, about 1/4 of a banana, 2 teaspoons of honey, a large handful of baby spinach, some grated fresh ginger, and about 1/4 cup of vanilla soy milk (or, regular soy milk, with some vanilla added to the recipe)

seriously yummy. i wouldn't have ever tried it if my ex hadn't lived across from a vegan/vegetarian smoothie shop, and they made me taste it. delicious!

[Rapscallion]

Sort of interested in low-calorie (where possible) and filling contents, if anyone has recipes for those.

Rapscallion

[Food Lady]

I like nonfat strained yogurt, frozen tart pie cherries, frozen blueberries, a bit of milk, and some stevia or other sweetener. Cherries/berries are low-cal and just full of anti-oxidants.

[Rapscallion]

I've seen some recipes with oats in them. Any idea if they are any good?

Rapscallion

[Bronzebow]

A note of caution with frozen fruit. It's convenient and tasty, but certain frozen berries (blackberries and raspberries especially I've noticed) tend to turn into a paste-like consistency in a blender and can easily kill a weak motor.

Not that I've had blenders catch fire or anything from a blackberry smoothie... or it could just be my (lack of) luck playing in again.

As for recipes, I have to favor any combination of the banana-strawberry-orange smoothies. Sometimes with a little peanut butter or chocolate, but more often with a few ice cubes and milk.

Edit: I used to do oats too. Don't do rolled oats, as those don't blend as well. Flat oatmeal adds a really nice texture and flavor.

[Seraph]

Not that I've had blenders catch fire or anything from a blackberry smoothie... or it could just be my (lack of) luck playing in again.

Uhhhh....never had that happen to me with *fruit*, persay.


....it did happen to me when I stuck in ice cubes.


........yes I've also set a blender on fire beforehand DONT JUDGE ME.