Smoothies

[VeganMan]

I used to make great DAIRY smoothies before becoming vegan. Does anyone have any recipes for smoothies. I saw one fruit smoothie in the archives of just banana, mixed berries, and liquid (water/soy milk). I'd like to add greens, oats, potatoes perhaps. I'm not particular about adding juice either, just want something healthy and tastes good.

I've read on other discussion boards about some smoothies, but none sound too good. Please help.

[hope101]

An excellent base of any kind is a frozen fruit (we use bananas getting overripe, cut them into chunks and freeze for these occasions), some soy or rice milk, and add what flavourings you like--vanilla, nutmet, cardamom, cinnamon, etc. I have made them thicker in the past by adding a few tbsp. of oatbran. By using the frozen fruit in place of icecubes I find the taste is improved.

Also excellent, but not strictly McDougall legal are the following, which our family swears are as good as the original product.

Fake Orange Julius: In a blender add 4 ice cubs, then top with enough orange juice to make 2 cups. Add a dash of vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp. of icing sugar approximately 1/4 c. soy milk, and blend.

Fake iced cappucino: In a blender add 4 icecubes, enough chocolate soy milk to make 2 cups. Add one heaping tsp. decaffeinated instant coffee and blend. (This is excellent with a dash of cinnamon as well or almond extract in place of decaff coffee).

Hope that gives you a few ideas.

[S B]

My husband is a picky eater and I have trouble getting enough veggies in him. So, I blend them into fruit smoothies. He loves them in smoothies! I no longer use soy milk in smoothies because it is high in fat. However, I do use oat and rice milks in them -- and make my own oat and rice milks RIGHT IN the smoothies!

I do not measure, but a typical fruit-veggie-oat-rice smoothie is something like this. This makes approx. two large smoothies.

Blend in blender until liquified:
*1 or 2 medium raw carrots cleaned and cut into small chunks
*1 cup (or less) of chopped, well washed, raw collard greens (measured after chopped)
*2 to 3 cups of water (start with 2 and add more ONLY if needed)

Add and blend until creamy:
*1/4 cup of dry old fashioned (rolled) oats
*1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked whole grain brown rice
*maybe a little more water, if needed -- but do NOT overdo it

Add and blend until creamy and smoothie has desired thickness
*1 to 2 cups (or more) of frozen banana chunks (start with 1 cup and add more, if needed)

You will have to experiment with the amounts a little to find the amounts that suit your taste.