Articles
Tropical Fruit Smoothie
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
1 cup orange juice
1 cup vanilla yogurt
2 medium bananas, cut in large chunks
2 cups frozen tropical blend fruit
Directions:
- Place ingredients in blender jar, liquid ingredients first.
- Cover and blend on AUTO SMOOTHIE setting or PULSE a few times, then blend on HIGH for 30 to 45 seconds.
Non-Dairy Peaches and Coconut Frozen Treat
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 pounds peaches, peeled, pitted and halved
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Coconut milk, peaches, sugar and vanilla extract to blender jar. Cover and blend until smooth.
- Pour mixture into ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions.
- Pour into freezer containers and store in freezer.
Test Kitchen Tip:
Let container of frozen treat stand at room temperature 15 minutes before scooping.
Spinach, cranberry and avocado salad
Serves 4
with poppy seed vinaigrette
Ingredients:
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. nonfat milk
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. poppy seeds
Directions:
- Place above ingredients into the 40-oz. processing bowl and blend until well-combined.
- Makes approximately 1/3 cup.
Salad ingredients:
4 cups spinach, rinsed
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted almonds, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Directions:
- On 4 chilled salad plates, layer the salad ingredients in the order listed.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over all and serve at once.
Apricot Protein Blast
Serves 1 (1 cup)
(from the book "Drink Your Way to Gut Health" by Molly Morgan, RD, CDN, CSSD)
The tangy flavor of buttermilk is great when blended with the mostly sweet, slightly tart flavor of apricots.
Ingredients:
2 fresh apricots, pitted
1/2 cup low-fat or nonfat buttermilk
1 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) vanilla protein powder
2 or 3 ice cubes
Directions:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Serve, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.
Nutrition facts (per serving)
150 calories, 2 1/2 g fat, 1/2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 260 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 14 g sugar, 15 g protein, 30% vitamin A, 15% calcium, 15% vitamin C, 2% iron
Beets in Yogurt with Dill
Serves 8-10
40 cal per serving
From the book, "Real Baby Food" by Jenna Helwig
Forget the fact that these beets are smooth, creamy, and surprisingly sweet. They are worth making for the bright magenta color alone.
Try this kale and pear green smoothie by blending it in your Vitamix, or home blender.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups chopped, cooked beets (about 10 ounces)
2 tablespoons plan, whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/8 teaspoon chopped dill
Directions:
- Puree the beets in a blender until smooth.
- To serve, stir together 2 tablespoons beet puree with the 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt. Sprinkle with the dill
Makes 1 1/2 cups:
Nutrition per serving (1/4 cup): 40 calories; 3 g protein; 2 g fat (1g sat. fat); 4 g carbohydrates; 1 g fiber; 3g sugars; 37 mg sodium; 44 mg calcium; 0 mg iron; 87 mg potassium; 5 mg Vitamin C; 438IU Vitamin A
Drink Your Veggies
4 cups (960 ml)
Time: 11 minutes
Consuming green smoothies each day can help you meet your daily vegetable requirements. Liquid vegetables are also easier to digest than their raw counterparts, and can be absorbed into your system faster than if you chewed them.
You can also mix vegetables with fruit to make smoothies that are more pleasing to the newbie palate. Just one fruit and vegetable smoothie daily can add variety to the fruits and vegetables you may already be consuming, and will give you a natural energy boost. You can blend smoothies in under a minute, store extra servings in the fridge, and drink them on the go.
Try this kale and pear green smoothie by blending it in your Vitamix, or home blender.
Kale and Pear Green Smoothie
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 cup green grapes
1 orange, peeled, halved
1/2 ripe Bartlett pear, seeded, halved
1 small to medium size banana, peeled
1 cup (70 g) kale
2 cups (480 ml) ice cubes
Directions:
- Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid.
- Select Variable 1.
- Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
- Blend for 45 seconds or until desired consistency is reached.
Makes 1 1/2 cups:
Nutrition per serving (1/4 cup): 40 calories; 3 g protein; 2 g fat (1g sat. fat); 4 g carbohydrates; 1 g fiber; 3g sugars; 37 mg sodium; 44 mg calcium; 0 mg iron; 87 mg potassium; 5 mg Vitamin C; 438IU Vitamin A
