Master Smoothie Recipe

I've been making this smoothie most days for several weeks now and thought it would be worth sharing. The basic recipe comes from Reader's Digest 21 day Tummy book designed for people who have digestive problems as well as for weight loss. Since it is concerned with digestive issues, it uses Greek yogurt and no milk. I don't have a problem with dairy so I do vary it some by adding some milk sometimes. 

Not my own photo, but this is how my smoothie looks....

Smoothie Master Recipe
6 ounces nonfat plain Greek yogurt -I like Tillamook Greek yogurt the best. It is much more mild tasting than other Greek yogurts. For easy clean up measuring, put the blender on your kitchen scale and zero the display then spoon in the yogurt until it weighs 6 ounces.

2 Tablespoons light Coconut Milk- This really is optional, but it adds flavor and is good for keeping you satisfied longer, and is good for your gut bacteria, stabilizes blood sugar and is anti-immflamitory.  I get a small can and put the contents in a pint jar in the fridge.

1-2 tablespoons water- (frozen fruit requires more water than fresh)

1 teaspoon real maple syrup- Expensive, but I keep a bottle for only my use and a teaspoon at a time doesn't use it up too fast. Costco is a good source. If not, use honey or even sugar. 1 tsp is only 14 calories.

4-6 ice Cubes-

Add One each from the following categories:

Fruit: For  sweetness, flavor, fiber and nutrition
1 Banana            1 cup strawberries           1 orange, peeled, and removed from membranes
2 kiwis              3/4 cup blueberries         3/4 Cup raspberries          20 red grapes
1/2 cup cubed papaya                1/2 cup pineapple chunks

For fat loss boosting magnesium and fiber:
1 Tablespoon:
Chia seeds
Flax seeds or ground flax (If your blender is not too wonderful use the ground flax)
Pumpkin seeds

Belly fat loss boosting Monounsaturated fat source:
1 teaspoon peanut or almond butter

Flavoring: One or more to suit your taste-
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger or 1 teaspoon fresh grated or minced.

Calories for the typical shake following this recipe: 281 with 20 grams protein, 8.5 grams fat, 9 grams fiber, 35 grams carbohydrates, 59 mg magnesium

Notes: 
I have a really good blender, a Blendtec. I use the pre-programed smoothie setting and it produces a perfectly blended smooth drink with the flax seeds in flecks I can hardly notice. If I were using a regular blender I would get ground flax seed. Keep it in a glass jar in the fridge or freezer since it goes rancid quickly. Chia seeds will probably add a little more body to the smoothie.

I usually make a banana smoothie because it is sweeter, and I like the flavor. I don't like the seeds you get if you use raspberries or blackberries, but the flavor with berries is really good. I do better with blueberries.  I want to try oranges, but the directions say to remove it from the membranes, and I'm not sure if that means each section needs to be taken apart. If so, that is too much work for me! I'll try it eventually and see how it turns out just dropping in the sections after peeling. I think the creamsicle flavor would be really good.

My Variations:
I have whey powder I bought from Costco. It is high in protein but very low in carbs, but even so it adds enough sweetness and flavor to make the difference for me between gag it down and slurp it up. It is expensive, but it's a big bag and lasts quite awhile, and stays good for a long time. I chose CytoSport 100% Whey Vanilla. You really have to read ingredients with whey powders so you don't get one with a lot of sugar in it. This one smells and tastes fantastic. A full serving has 140 calories. When I use it I cut the Greek yogurt in half (3 ounces) and use half a scoop of protein powder. That way I still get the probiortics in the yogurt and still get lots of protein and no extra sugars. A full scoop only has three grams Carbs, but it is amazing what a difference it makes in adding flavor and sweetness 

I also often start by adding 4 ounces of 1% milk, which adds 50 calories. Since the smoothie is my whole breakfast, I don't worry about that much extra calories. When I use milk I leave out the water.

The peanut butter flavor is good with banana, but 1 teaspoon is not very detectable. Still, it is very high calorie, so I watch how much I use.

Dieting with Harry is no fair

So hubby got on board with the eating plan last week, and there's an upside and a downside to that. First the upside-When we're on the same page with what we're eating there's a lot less sabotage-from him or from myself. From him because I'm not juggling what he wants to eat with what I want to eat and getting sidetracked eating with him. From me because if he knows what we're eating and not eating, it's hard to eat off the plan when we're eating together. Our recent four day weekend away did way less damage to either of us because we were discussing and making food choices with the eating plan as a guideline.

The downside-It takes awareness and effort not to get discouraged losing weight along with Harry. He's one of those guys that carrys a lot of muscle weight along with the optional weight, so I have to keep in mind the adage that he will lose twice as much twice as fast on twice the food and not let that discourage me.

You don't believe me? Here's what I mean. I'd been on the new eating plan two and a half weeks by the time he'd been on it two and a half days. At that point I'd lost two and a half pounds. He had lost three. Then we go away for four days, with a plan to stick to the diet two meals of three and have a little slack on the third meal, with one splurge meal on Valentine's day. Our goal was to come out of the weekend at least at the same weight we went into it.

So, Tuesday evening, after our first day back at home, we checked in with each other. Harry was despondent. 'How was your weight this morning?" I asked him. 'Higher than it should have been.' he groused. 'Wow. How bad was it?' I sympathized. 'I was up a pound.' 'oh.' 'How about you?' he asked. 'Um. I was up three pounds.' 'Good lord...'his eyes widened. Like I said. Twice as much, twice as fast, or more...

The better news postscript is that at least two of my three pounds was water weight from excess salt and a long car ride and was all gone this morning. I'm afraid to check in with him, he'll most likely be down three pounds today...