Does anyone have any really good smoothie recipes that don't require bananas?
I'm not a huge fan of bananasany way other than fresh, but anytime I try to make a smoothie without them, it comes out watery and not very appetizing. What else can I use as a thickener? I've heard that yogurt is good, but haven't had a chance to try it. Suggestions?
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11 Comments:
yogurt works really well, I make smoothies all the time without bananas. i like stonyfield farms's whole milk plain yogurt or Brown Cow with the cream top. and i suppose if you want it really thick, you could try using greek yogurt.
ambienttra at 10:32AM on 07/13/07
How about using good ole' vanilla ice cream? Yum yum!
flakevanille at 11:29AM on 07/13/07
I was on a soy kick some years back. I made smoothies with some very light textured tofu and soy milk. Loaded up with all kinds of fruit (often frozen berries). Add any kind of sweetener and you've got a tasty, thick smoothie.
Library Lady at 11:45AM on 07/13/07
I've been making this for so long I forget where I saw the recipe. Thaw a small container of frozen strawberries, add a good cup (or more) of yogurt -- I'm on a greek yogurt binge right now, I love the tartness -- a couple handsful of wheat germ, and some apple cider. This is very refreshing, and good for you, too!
ride&cook at 11:56AM on 07/13/07
Ooooops!! That should be apple JUICE, not apple cider.
ride&cook at 12:18PM on 07/13/07
Thanks so much for posting this question. I have a great aversion to bananas (the smell kind of turns my stomach-been that way since I was a teenager) I'm loving the suggestions!!
psychsarah at 12:51PM on 07/13/07
This IS really great. flakevanille, I use vanilla ice cream in this fabulous peanut butter smoothie recipe I have, but if I'm making fruit smoothies I want to at least pretend to be healthy. Greek yougurt sounds interesting, but I'm not sure where I'd be able to find it, so I'll have to keep my eyes open. Last question though, is it just me, or do fresh fruits just not work very well? For some reason I don't like frozen fruit as much so I usually use fresh strawberries and such, but I'm wondering if that's part of the problem.
kfarrel3 at 2:09PM on 07/13/07
I use about 2 cups of frozen, unsweetened mixed berries from Trader Joe's, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a heaping tbs of "Very Green" powder from Trader Joe's (first 5 ingreds: alfalfa leaf extract, barley grass juice powder, pea fiber, rice flour, apple powder), a tbs of flax oil, about a cup of ice, and only enough water to keep the blender from making that burny smell.
It's really, really thick, almost too thick to get through my straw.
cathro at 2:31PM on 07/13/07
Usually, I will just use yogurt, frozen fruit, and a couple of splashes of milk to get the blender going. Using good frozen fruit instead of ice will guarantee you a nice, thick consistency that doesn't taste watered down.
My favorite is pineapple with greek yogurt. :)
helloallison at 1:30PM on 07/14/07
I would suggest that you get a good blender if you only have a 'so so' one...because: most of my smoothies have come out great and smooth.
Mostly these are the ingredients I use: fruits like peaches, pears, apricots...fresh, or I use them out of the can, I do not use the juice/syrup that would make it to runny. drain. then ice. then simple syrup...shot of lemon or lime juice. then start pulsing to get the ice broke down then kick it in high as soon as your blender can create the 'cyclone' in the middle and everything is moving...
If you want to bulk up your smoothy as well as make a good coffee drink I suggest using the fat free evaporated milk as the liquid additive. Works wonders for me and it has properties that help thicken the drink.
tyronebcookin at 2:35AM on 07/15/07
silken tofu is great for this..
wickedlady at 2:50PM on 07/16/07