Powerhouse Smoothies - How?

[fidgiegirl]

I am a tofu newbie but want to try it out in smoothies as my doc recommended I might have an easier time losing weight if I cut some carbs and up the protein and fruits/veggies. So I want to try tofu in smoothies for breakfast instead of my standby bowl of cold cereal that keeps me full for all of an hour.

Any experience or advice with this? Or other smoothie advice for making them really nutritional powerhouses?

[bke]

I've been thniking about including more breakfast smoothies too and would be interested in some ideas.

Kelli, it seems to me that I tried one with tofu and the taste somehow came through quite stongly-I don't know why. I have made smoothies with strawberries and vanilla soy milk that are good. Add a scoop of nut butter (even cheap peanut butter) and it adds some satisfying protien to the mix.

Are you considering protien powders? Not really my thing but I know others who swear by them.

[terrica]

I have never added tofu to a smoothie but I love green smoothies. If you add enough fruit, it masks the taste of the greens. If you want to try them, I would start with spinach as it doesn't have such a distinct taste as other greens. Below is my favorite smoothie.:

Couple of handfuls of spinach
1 apple
1 cup blueberries (frozen is better)

Add a bit of water and blend away.

[Rosemary]

If you use tofu, I suggest silken tofu. Or you could use unsweetened soymilk for the liquid instead (TJ's has it).
Since we can't have soy on our allergy elim diet, we've switched to almond milk, but that has a lot less protein - so I bought some brown rice protein powder to try in smoothies. I'll probably try it out this afternoon.

General smoothie question: does a regular blender work well enough for spinach? I tried kale in ours once and it was the chewiest smoothie I've ever made.

[screamingflea]

I had exactly this problem a couple years ago, and turned to a different forum for help. There are a lot of athletes on that forum so I got fantastic answers. Rather than paraphrase on something I only mostly understand, I'll copy and paste it to you wholesale: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79100 Of special interest is the second reply. I've been enjoying a green-protein-flax oil shake for breakfast ever since. It's simple and brainless to throw together first thing in the morning before your eyes are fully focused, it's filling, and it's hyper-nutritious.

Here's another wonderful thread over there on supplements in general: http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77326

Best of luck to you. I've never tofu-ed a smoothie, but it sounds pretty good and filling.

[maryellen]

I am about 90% vegetarian, so I count on tofu in a smoothie to be a protein source almost every morning. It's hard to formulate a "recipe" but I use about 1/2 cup each of: apple juice, soy milk, tofu, yogurt, fresh or frozen strawberries, fresh or frozen peaches, plus 1 banana & about 9 cubes of ice. With all these ingredients, I haven't found there to be much difference between silken and regular tofu, so I just buy it based on price & shelf life. When I've been low on greens, I'll add some, but there are days when the greens make it less fruity than I like. I have tried protein powders, but have generally come to prefer foods with a little less processing. The ingredients are very flexible; I'd suggest experimenting for a while to find what you like & fits your budget. Pineapple and mangoes are good. If cost were not a factor, I'd use lots more fresh organic berries & juices. Tofu alone has almost no flavor, so it's really the other ingredients that bring it to life.

[Rogar]

I have a breakfast smoothie almost every morning. My routine is pretty much, soy, rice or almond milk, a serving size of fruit, a scoop of protien powder, a hand full of ice cubes, and a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds. I buy chia in 5 pound batches from amazon and it lasts a very long time. You might look it up if you're not familiar with it. I've tried tofu, but didn't care for the flavor. I do sometimes add non-fat unsweetened yogurt. Fruits and fruit juices definately enhance the flavor, but I try not to over do it to keep things a little lower on the glycemic index. I use an el cheapo blender that hasn't failed in years.

I try to rotate the fruits to avoid getting bored with things. I usually pick up what ever seems to be in season or on sale. Oranges, grapefruit, grapes, pears, berries, bananas, and an occational exotic. I've never tried greens as it doesn't sound so good, but should give it a try some time.

[Rosemary]

Rogar, do you soak the chia seeds before putting them in the smoothie? I have some in my freezer but I haven't used them yet.

[Rogar]

Rosemary, Not I just add them dry. It saves a little extra step and they absorb some of the liquid in the smoothie pretty quickly. Also, my understanding is that unlike flax, they have a long shelf life and don't need to be frozen.

[fidgiegirl]

Well, I thought I'd report back. What I decided to try based on suggestions here and elsewhere online has been two fruits (almost always banana), tofu, soy milk or pineapple juice, flax seed meal. I have been posting some of my concoctions on my blog but have stuck to the same basic ones. I am enjoying the tofu a lot. Maybe it is the kind of tofu - I have been using soft tofu from Mori Nu. It makes the smoothie so creamy! Today both DH and I are having one since we are going to a Mothers Day buffet later and so we are getting good nutrition.

Here is what I have tried so far. My fave has been the banana-strawberry-tofu-soymilk combo. Right now we are having a banana-strawberry-pineapple juice-tofu one. It is sweet and good, but I am a creamy fan. The soymilk one is like a dessert! Yum!

ETA: http://athrivinglife.wordpress.com/tag/smoothies/ I guess only posted two. Oh well, basically that's all I've come up with. The only change to make my fave one is swapping out the pineapple juice for the soymilk.

[bke]

I'm going to have to try the tofu based smoothie again. I love the idea of the filling protein and could use an easy breakfast for busy summer mornings.