Thursday, July 16, 2009

Can I Interest You in a Smoothie?


Remember when smoothies first hit the scene?  Everybody was ga-ga over smoothies.  Smoothies were the latest celebrity accessory, long before tiny dogs.  Everybody who was anybody was sipping a smoothie.  And when Zuka Juice (yes, that was Jamba's original, cooler name) first settled in my neck of the woods, I gladly handed over the cost of a high-class combo meal for my oversized styrofoam cup.  Often.  Frequently.  Regularly.

And I lived happily ever after.

You know, until I started to have some doubts about smoothies.  The first doubt came in the form of an empty wallet.  I hated to admit it, I hated to crash the smoothie party, but I had to wonder--was anybody else concerned about the cost of these smoothies?

This problem was temporarily solved when I outsmarted The Man and began ordering one smoothie and two cups.  A smoothie, it turned out, could be SHARED!  It chopped the savings in HALF!

Then, The Man caught on to me and suddenly one day, the freckled fresh-faced girl behind the counter informed me that they were unable to split my smoothie.  One smoothie, one cup.  New policy.

And you'd think that would be enough to put me over the edge with smoothies, but you know, I still went back for more.  (Though I secretly snatched two straws without paying for the extra one.)

My relationship with ginormous, expensive smoothies did not really suffer until I began my education in caloric intake.  And how it affects the size of your butt.  One day, I began flipping through the nutritional information binder next to where the napkins and straws are stacked.  I haphazardly looked up my smoothie (named something like "Mystical Morning Sunrise") and ran my finger down the page to find the calories.

And then I blinked.

And blinked again.

And shook my head with a cartoon sound effect.

14 BILLION CALORIES?  FOR THE SMALLEST SIZE?

HOLY CRAP!  ONE SMOOTHIE COULD FEED THE ENTIRE CONTINENT OF AFRICA!

I glanced briefly at the fat grams and suffered a mild stroke.

It was about this time that my smoothie was handed to me--my name emblazoned on the wet receipt stuck to the styrofoam.  I didn't want to drink it, knowing what I now knew, and I considered dumping it in the garbage can by the door and making a run for it.

But I paid like $6.95 for the thing, so I drank it anyway.

That was my last smoothie.

(OK, it wasn't.  I lied there.  I was caught up in the drama.)

Anyway, all this brings me to my point today: a recipe.  My recipe for a low-calorie, low-fat, delicious smoothie that won't break your wallet.

Daybreak Dewdrop Enlightenment 
(Two can play this naming game!)
  • 2 cups ice
  • 1 cup sliced strawberries
  • 1 cup diced mango
  • 1 cup Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt
  • 1-2 cups skim milk (pick your thick)
  • 1/2 cup oats (trust me on this one)
  • 1-4 Tablespoon sweetener (sugar, Splenda, or honey)
Blend and serve in as many cups as you like!  That's my policy.

23 comments:

Mateo said...

WOW!

I made a variation of this today and was quite impressed. Here's my recipe:

1 cup cantaloupe
1 cup ice
1/4 cup milk
1 cup Dannon Light Apricot/Mango yogurt
2 Tablespoons sweetener

Whoa.

Christy said...

Thanks for the recipe & the SMILE!

Alyssa said...

mmmmmm, homemade blueberry smoothies were my addiction last summer (I'm not sure NYC has really hit true summer yet so I'm sure once it arrives and sticks around I'll get hooked again). My favorite is blueberries - and possibly whatever other berries or fruit I have around with 0% fat Greek yogurt, a little bit of milk and honey. I have a fixation with oats so my next smoothie will get a handful of those as well. Thanks!

Kim said...

Sounds delish! I do remember Zuka and struggling w/the high caloric yumminess. Oh well, we were young and had better metabolisms back then. Here's to the new low cal/low fat version!

Aimee said...

Costco has these yoplait smoothie frozen things and they are about 140 calories and 3 grams of fat for one of the frozen pouches. Super easy on a busy summer morning. Blend and go.

This recipe looks delightful too. Thanks for the tip.

kami @ nobiggie.net said...

Remember when Barbie had little dog on hand, smoothie the other. Those where the days.

I love a good smoothie - a homemade 'cheap' smoothie.

Ever since we started this meal plan thing that I don't stick to. ;) I bought a Magic Bullet blender. I have loved it! It comes with 5 cups just the right size.

Here is our shake/'smoothie' evey morning...I do stick with the shake part.

6 ice cubes
1 scoop Protein Powder
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Frozen Banana
1/4 Cup Oats

First thing in the morning, I love it!

katie said...

I love Dannon light and fit. Very good. Zuka reminds me of Maurine. She took us up there numerous times. Pretty sure it was on one of those car rides that she gave Annie and I her condom talk. But that's another story.

Angie said...

Sounds delicious!

You know, it was the sugar content in smoothies that got me. I have a sensitivity to sugar, and one of those always made me loopy. Funny how they fool you with things made out of fruit - you always assume they're good for you.

MAB said...

OK, here's my freaky, super-healthy smoothie tip. Add 2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach.

Gross you say? Surprisingly no. It doesn't change the taste at all, but it does turn it green. Which is kind of fun, if you ask me.


You do not like green smoothies you say? Try it and you may, I say.

Kate said...

I usually just throw whatever frozen fruit we have into a big plastic cup, fill it with milk, and zhuzh. Mmm. Simple and delish. I never thought of oats; I'll definately try it though.

jani vegas said...

Thank you for sharing this recipe! I have been craving your smoothies ever since you made them for us in June! I forgot the recipe and have felt a little silly asking for it again. So, hey, while you're in a recipe sharing mood, how about sharing the orange muffin recipe and the philly cheesesteak sandwich recipe--please!!!

Mia said...

Ummm not so sure about smoothies. If I am going to drink something high caloric, it might as well be a milk shake :)

Melanie said...

I think they put ice cream in all the smoothies and call it "sherbet" to make it sound calorie free.

In any case, here's one of my favorites that I've never done the calorie math on, but it's deelicious (and really non-specific on amounts - sorry)

Frozen blueberries
Frozen strawberries
Chocolate soy milk (or the "light" verson)

That's it! Blend and enjoy. My daughter thinks I'm giving her ice cream when she gets this.

Mindi said...

zuka juice was the bomb--my parents opened up 5 of them in texas. then the corporate bastards (pardon my french) took over, named it jamba, and flushed my daddy's money DOWN THE TOILET!!!!! MUST DIE!!!!!!!!!

was that the type of reaction you were hoping with your light-hearted fluff? (just thought i'd throw ya for a little yewwwtaaaahhh loop!)

i love tiffany's 'how to's' just as much as a good 'kami tutorial'.

i worship you.

Shua said...

I made a smoothie this morning. Yum. Yours sounds delicious. I had never heard of the oats idea, but I'll trust you. Your reputation according to Josh is now completely dependent upon the quality of the next smoothie I make.

shannon p. said...

I can already hear my kids asking if you can adopt them - or if they could at least just live at your house for breakfast...we have smoothies every morning, but they aren't made with a recipe or guaranteed taste approval...The suggested list of ingredients is something like this:

1 Large handful of spinach
1 banana
2 handfuls of strawberries (washed but not destemmed)
Some ground flax seeds
Water
Ice
Any other fruit or veggies that we have on hand...(On a good day that would include grapes which add a lot of sweetness, carrots, cantalope, peaches, oranges...on a not so good day, it is just another handful of strawberries or maybe a dried up apple and on a really bad day, we have to break down and add some sweetner or I wont even drink it!)

Alison said...

Yum! I love oatmeal in stuff. Too bad that's the only ingredient in my house at the moment. Sounds delish! By the way, love the shoes on the blog. I knew there was a reason we got those.

Shua said...

Mmm, good reputation :)

VTS said...

I'm so sorry Tiff! I've been neglecting blog reading as well as writing on my own blog. I'm trying to be repentant.
I just love your posts and I just tried your recipe (miraculously, I had everything in the house and did it immediately). It's amazing! I just competed today and it was just what I needed after a tough tournament!

Jenny said...

At least your vice is not a Slurpee. It is full of sugar and artificial fruit flavor. Nothing nutritious...just empty delicious calories.

Mac and Dixie said...

I don't know if it's because I hear you speaking to me when when I read your blog posts or what...but I read every word. Most of my friends' blogs are skimmed...not yours. I love every update. Who knew that reading about smoothies could be so entertaining!
-Dixie

John said...

Janet made your recipe on Sunday and all I can say is "Holy mother of Ben and Jerry" that was so good.

Omgirl said...

Actually, you want to go REALLY far back? Before it was Zuka Juice, it was Blenders. Do you remember that? They got bought out by Zuka, who then turned it into Jamba. Now I feel old.

I still dig the smoothies. They have a Smoothie King near my house and I go there bi-weekly. You can "make it skinny" where they cut 120 calories and 10 grams of fat. Don't ask me how. It still tastes great. But I am going to try your recipe. I'm very intrigued by the oats.

Related Posts with Thumbnails