Day 22: Smoothie Moves

Today is my son's birthday and so we went out for a big, late lunch. When dinnertime rolled around (just three hours after we had finished eating), no one was hungry but both kids had places to go and things to do this evening, so I wanted to at least feed them a snack. Smoothies are a quick and easy way to take in fruits and vegetables as well as a fair amount of calories. I have a book of recipes for smoothies, but a quick flipping through the pages made it clear that I didn't have the right ingredients to make much in there. Instead, I looked at what I had and tried to figure out what things would go together.

This evening I had a couple of guest taste-testers (a couple of my son's friends) who gave feedback on my concoctions. Their comments are listed under each section.

Frozen Bananas and Chocolate Soy Milk

This is a no-brainer. Everyone liked this and it got high marks from all the testers.









Hachiya Persimmon Smoothie with Ginger Syrup

We love persimmons and every winter my dad buys fuyus by the bagful. Fuyus are the small, squat looking persimmons that can be peeled and eaten when they are firm. Hachiyas have a high concentration of tannins that makes them almost inedible but fortunately they decrease as the fruit ripens so this kind of persimmon is only eaten when it is really, really soft.

Someone gave my parents a box full of ready-to-eat hachiyas and I really wanted to try this in a drink. Its soft, almost syrupy texture seemed to be made for this purpose. I wanted to highlight the flavor of the fruit so I opted to use just white grape juice and ginger simple syrup (from Guy Fieri's zentini recipe) as the sweetener. This turned out  fantastic! One boy said this was his absolute favorite and it was mine too.

Raspberry Edamame

I like to have some form of protein in smoothies so that it is not all just simple carbs. I usually keep protein powder on hand for this purpose but was out. My available choices were tofu, milk and edamame. I had some frozen raspberries that I thought would stand up to the edamame. I also thought the V8 Fusion (pomegranate blueberry) would be sweet enough to counteract the berries' tartness. I was wrong on both counts. Next time I make this, I will add sugar or sweetener to brighten the raspberry flavor. I'll also use a different protein source as the edamame added a grassiness that was mild but noticeable. (I think it would work in vegetable smoothies with a tomato juice base though.)

Peachy Pomegranate with Tofu

This was everyone's least favorite. Freezing peaches causes them to lose much of their flavor and sweetness. I thought the pomegranate soda, which was quite sweet and flavorful on its own, would be enough to brighten up the peaches but I was wrong. Also, as you can see from the photo, I put in almost as much tofu as peaches, which was way too much. The final product had almost a gritty texture and no flavor. Both boys who tried it said "This doesn't taste like anything" and I agreed with them. Next time I'll add some sugar or sweetener and about a half to a quarter of the tofu.

Busy Mom Modifications and Tips

• If you're an infomercial nut like me, then you may recognize the smoothie cups with the colored rims from the Magic Bullet commercials. We have a Vita mixer, a regular blender, a stick blender, and a food processor and yet I use the Magic Bullet more than all of them combined. Its small size, ease of use, variety of container sizes, and easy clean-up makes it perfect for all kinds of jobs. When I ordered my Bullet (many, many years ago), the package came with all sorts of things - a full-sized blending container, a juicer, grater blade for cheese and spices, etc. I only use the blending blade and the small and large cups; they meet all my needs. Last year, when the blade stopped working after 4+ years of use, I called up customer support and was able to order a new one for $11 ($9 + S&H). Works just as good as the day I bought it.
• On mornings after the kids have a sleepover, I will lay out a smoothie bar as part of breakfast. All you need is some fresh and frozen fruit, milk and orange juice, and ice cubes. Other options include protein powder, ice cream, chocolate syrup, and malted milk powder. I like spinach in my fruit smoothies but most kids are turned off by the green specks. The kids love scooping their fixings into their individual cups, loading it onto the base, and making their own smoothies.
• As you can see from the photos, juice boxes and individually packaged drinks such as soda and chocolate milk are an easy way to provide a variety of liquid options.
• Some fun adult options include coffee and of course, margarita and pina colada mixes. Now that the holidays have set in, I think I'll experiment with egg nog too.
• I generally find that juice adds enough sweetness to the drink to make it satisfying and palatable. However, as in the case of the frozen raspberries and peaches, you sometimes need a little something more. Something about being a mom will not allow me to let kids  add heaping spoonfuls of straight sugar willy nilly to their food. Simple syrup and honey are great alternatives and work a little better than sugar, mainly because it takes sugar a bit more time to dissolve in cold liquids. I also recommend individual packets of artificial sweetener since it only takes one or two packets to dramatically increase the sweetness.
• It takes a little practice to figure out how much of each ingredient to use in order to achieve the creaminess and thickness that people usually associate with smoothies. It also depends on if your ingredients are fresh or frozen. I will usually fill the cup half full of fresh and/or frozen fruit, add a few ice cubes and then fill the cup half full of liquid. Leave room at the top so that you can add additional solids or liquids as needed.

Ratings

• Difficulty: Easy
• Time to prepare:  Less than five minutes
• Prognosis: Definitely a keeper!

My Shopping List

Nothing - I made do with what I had on hand.

The Tally

• The day's tally: $0
• Total this week so far: $25
• Total this month, to date: $25