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Homemade Smoothies Are Healthy, Easy, and Delicious

partysugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:15:24 -0800

Since my brother moved to Los Angeles four years ago, he's picked up many stereotypical LA attributes. He thinks driving below 80 MPH is slow, is permanently tan, and starts every morning with a smoothie.

He used to frequent Jamba Juice, but realized a homemade variation was more healthy and cost effective. When he was home for the holidays, he taught me how to make the perfect smoothie.

The first step to making a scrumptious smoothie is to be creative. Start with your favorite frozen fruit and go from there. Although many people put ice in a smoothie, my bro avoids it.

Frozen fruit works fine at keeping the smoothie cold; it ensures a thick, creamy, not watered-down texture. He buys frozen fruit in bulk from Costco and keeps his fridge stocked with a variety of juices like acai berry, pineapple, apple, and mango. Other occasional mix-ins are soy milk, acai berry smoothie packs, protein powder, or flax. To check out two of his ultimate smoothie recipes, read more.

The Basic Classic Smoothie
From Michael Sweeney

Ingredients

6 frozen strawberries*
3/4 cup plain, low-fat yogurt (feel free to substitute a flavored yogurt for plain: strawberry and blueberry work well)
1 banana
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon of honey
protein powder or flax, optional

Directions

Place the frozen strawberries in the blender. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, so they have time to thaw.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend. Check consistency: if too watery, add more yogurt. If too thick, add more orange juice.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Makes 1 smoothie.

*When I made this I thought I had frozen strawberries in the freezer. However I mistook them for raspberries. Instead of running to the store for frozen strawberries, I used the raspberries.

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The K-Gizzle
From Kevin Gigax

Ingredients

5 frozen strawberries
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 banana
1 heaping tablespoon vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Place the frozen berries in the blender. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, so they have time to thaw.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend. Check consistency: if too watery, add more yogurt. If too thick, add more orange juice.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Makes 1 smoothie.

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Jelly Belly's Newest Flavor: Acai Berry

partysugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:00:30 -0700

America's favorite jelly bean company, Jelly Belly, announced its newest flavor this morning. Fans voted the acai berry, a trendy energy fruit, as the latest addition to the 50 official, ever-changing flavors. The public was invited to submit ideas for new flavors in the Dream Bean Contest and five finalists - honey, sublime chili lime, Thai iced tea, mojito, and acai - were chosen. According to Rob Swaigen, marking director for the company, the decision was an easy one:

We received thousands of submissions for acai berry flavor - it's
clearly on many people's radar. The voting for the finalist flavors was
overwhelming in favor of acai. Honey came in a strong second place.

I'm curious to try the new jelly bean and wonder how close it will taste to the actual berry. Have you tried acai? Are you interested in tasting the new jelly bean?

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Yummy Links: Weekly Food News Roundup

YumSugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:03:18 -0700

Summer's here, are you ready to make ice cream? Find out which ice cream makers are the best. - Slashfood
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But what if the imitation is taking your recipes and opening up shop a few blocks away? - Serious Eats
Everyone loves superfoods. Take a minute to learn more about açai, the Brazilian superfruit. - The Daily Tiffin
If you live in the New York area, now's your chance to trade beer for a new bag. - Will Work For Food
We all know the 5 second rule, but this college class puts the rule to the test. - Baking Bites
Whole Foods opens their first store in Britain, but will the Brits embrace it? - Chow
In soda (and environmental) news, Coke is pledging to conserve water. - Apartment Therapy: Kitchen

2007 Winter Fancy Food Show - Part 5 (Superfruits)

YumSugar — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:09:29 -0800

Looks like 2007 is the year of the superfruits. Over the last few years, the solid pomegranate and his pals blueberry and cranberry have done a lot of the groundwork (now almost everyone knows what antioxidants are). With their help, the world is ready for more. While I was at the Fancy Food Show, I noticed that everyone who didn't have a pomegranate flavor, now has one, and those that already did, now have something new. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the superfruits. read more

Pomegranate - The trend is still going strong. It's now available as ice cream, soda, organic lollipops and Jelly Bellys.

Goji Berries (aka Wolfberry) - These are sold dehydrated (a bit like raisins) and are believed to enhance the immune system, improve eyesight, and a bunch of other magical medical properties. I guess the western world is finally learning what the Chinese have known for years. You can buy them plain for snacking, but expect to see them in a lot of your granola bars, cookies, etc.
Açaí - Another super antioxidant fruit (I imagine this one is going to give pomegranate a run for its money). Since these tiny Amazonian berries don't travel well, they're usually sold in the form of flavoring or juice. One of the featured items was the açaí flavored coconut water.
YumBerry - From the outside, this Chinese fruit looks like it's part of the lychee family. However, once opened, the inside is a deep hue. You'll have a hard time finding these fresh, but soon you'll be able to drink the juice.
Mangosteen - Although it has the word mango in its name, this highly antioxidant fruit does not taste anything like mangoes. It's currently unavailable in the US (except Hawaii), but that may be changing soon. Until then, you'll have to get the health benefits from the actual mangosteen nectar.

Oh and while I'm on the subject of fruits, there was a new one from Chile called Carica. It was golden yellow and tasted like a mixture of mango, papaya, apricot and pineapple and was definitely one of the show highlights (in fact almost everyone who went to the show ended up talking about this one). Currently it's not available fresh in the US, but Tamaya Gourmet is importing it jarred in a sweet natural syrup (which would be great in drinks, salads, etc.). Definitely worth seeking out.

Check out some of the images from the show:

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Know Your Ingredients: Hearts of Palm

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:50:57 -0700

You may regularly get hearts of palm as a fixing at the salad bar, but do you know what these vegetables are, exactly?

Hearts of palm - also called palmito or swamp cabbage - are the sweet, tender cores of various palm trees. When harvested, the tree's bark and white fibers are removed, leaving an edible core. Because extracting the palm's inner core destroys single-stemmed coconut, acai, and sabal palm trees, multi-stem palms known as peach palms are cultivated solely for the purpose of harvesting palm hearts.

A staple of Latin American cuisine, hearts of palm are used in spreads, eaten out of hand, tossed into salads, and served with pasta.

The plant has a mild flavor similar to that of an artichoke heart, and is crisp when fresh, though it turns softer when canned. Are you surprised to hear where this salad bar staple comes from? What are some other ingredients you've always wondered about?

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What's Your Favorite Trendy Ingredient of 2008?

YumSugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:00:28 -0800

Much like fashion or beauty, the epicurean world ebbs and flows. Certain ingredients or techniques fade away into obscurity while others suddenly come to the culinary forefront.

This year it was all about the pig - using the whole thing, from snout to tail. Exotic berries from goji to acai were all the rage. Ingredients with health benefits, such as antioxidant-rich fruits, continued to gain momentum. Which of these items do think is the Best of 2008?

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