Tuesdays are "I Tried It Tuesdays" where I'll tell you about something I recently tried -- an item, a movie, an activity, etc.
Today's topic: Smoothies
What are they: Drinks -- usually cold -- that you mix up in the blender. They're usually the consistency of a milkshake, but contain healthier ingredients like yogurt and peanut butter.
Why I tried it: Last night's Daisy meeting ran long (very long) and it was nearly 8 p.m. and I was faced with two kids who hadn't had dinner and needed to get to bed....and, they're not going to bed without a snack.
Why I tried it II: I thought...hey...why not combine dinner and a snack and mix up a healthy smoothie. My husband has been making low-fat milkshakes with them as a snack & I thought I might be able to sell them on the packaging.
What I used: See...here's where I get in trouble every time...I do not use recipes and think I know what I'm doing. I just started dumping stuff in -- applesauce, banana, low-fat ice cream, milk, yogurt, peanut butter, ice. I even seriously considered tossing in some raisins (but, I didn't). I mixed it all up -- poured it into some big mugs and even sprinkled it with some candy sprinkles.
Did they eat it? Are you kidding? It was gross. Even my husband made a face. And, I have to admit they were pretty disgusting. So...there they were eating hot dogs and rice at 8:30 p.m. Whatever.
What I should have done: used a recipe. Here's one from my friend Lisa that she swears by (should've tried this last night, eh?):
This is our fave. It’s really fast to make and it’s easy to keep the ingredients around since the fruit is frozen. Makes two servings.PBJ Smoothie
3/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup 1% milk
2 teaspoons natural peanut butter (we usually add a bit more). Natural peanut butter has no sugar added and way more peanut flavor and protein.
1/2 cup frozen strawberries (we never measure this so I'm sure we add one or two more berries)
1 ripe banana, broken into pieces
4 ice cubes