The topic of smoothies sometimes comes up and I LOVE fruit smoothies! I don't mind eating a bit of berries but I need other things to add in as well. I prefer to eat whole foods, not processed stuff like separated whey. Plus I'd like to avoid diary and I am not a big fan of vegetables. I sometimes add a bit of kefir but that stuff is way to sour for me to appreciate as a major ingredient. Smoothies taste excellent with low carb icecream but I'd like to find a healthier but still very good tasting substitute. Any ideas? I have been thinking of trying coconut milk. Recipes are appreciated. My goal is for it to be reasonably healthy and paleo but also to taste REALLY good and a bit sweet.
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Oh my, you haven't tried coconut milk yet? Try pouring it into ice cube trays, freeze them, then pop the little cubes out and use them in your smoothie. If you like yours really cold like I do (typically, mine's like soft serve ice cream) this will help you get that texture. It is my personal opinion that in the summer, most fruits are okay (and the ones - like banana - that are problematic, are still okay in very small quantity). Is that simply because I WANT it to be so? Probably, but a life lived in self-denial is hardly worth living. I have less justification, I think, for eating much fruit in the winter, but even then, I like my smoothies. Just not as often, perhaps. My favorite additions are banana and mango, but in very small quantities. And every smoothie I make has coconut milk in it. (I add other things, but they don't necessarily fit your constraints, so I won't bother with those.) Oh, one other thing I do, which I am sure is very strange (I found this out by accident).. After I make my smoothie, I stir in a tablespoon of melted coconut oil, but I make sure it solidifies in chunks (i.e. don't stir it in until it's smooth). Then as I am drinking my smoothie (which is usually thick enough to eat with a spoon, I get the little crunchy bits of coconut oil, which is just delicious! |
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My favorite options: 1) Almond Milk, Ice, Cinnamon, Maybe a little bit of banana... 2) Coconut Milk, Mixed Berries, Ice.... Both are really good! |
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If you're not eating dairy or vegetables, coconut milk or protein powder, I presume you are just talking about blended fruit? I know fruit is considered paleo, but I would not recommend consuming it more than occasionally and in small quantities. If you must have one, you should really consider adding protein (an egg?) and fat to mitigate the sugar bomb. |
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Geez, what's with the fruit phobia people? Some people aren't doing paleo because they have insulin problems- my own blood sugar does NOT spike when I drink smoothies and they are an excellent and palatable transition food that you'll probably find yourself eating less of over time as desire for sweet decreases and cooking skills improve. Maybe they should be avoided if you are very overweight and insulin resistant, but if it's a choice between not doing paleo and drinking a smoothie...well I'm all for them. The goal should be to keep sugar minimal and fiber high. Look for fruits with a high ratio of fiber to sugar. Berries + coconut milk is a good one, though honestly I prefer young thai coconut and coconut water. You can even add some greens if you are brave. Some off the beaten path berries like currants are an awesome choice- if your smoothie ends up too sour, a few drops of stevia can fix it, but usually when I do some sweeter berries (blue or straw berries) plus some sour berries (currants, aronia) it works out fine. Robb Wolf has also discussed an apple coconut custard in his podcast. I think to make it you just cook down apples in coconut milk and then refrigerate and it gels because of the pectin. |
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This should have been a comment to Melissa's answer, but it was too long, and I didn't want to shorten it. By "people", I assume you mean me. :) I'm not fruit-phobic, I just don't consider making a meal of it to be a good idea for anyone, and for many people I think it would be best not included at all. Fruit has always been controversial in the paleosphere, and in previous questions here, we have tended to agree to disagree by saying it's an "individual matter". Insofar as it's controversial, it's important that the spectrum of answers are heard, including yours and mine. My "transition" included high-fiber, low-sugar fruit, and I continued to be fat, have mood problems, and sugar cravings, and I would have been better off knowing from the get-go that it's not for everyone. Of course, I agree that's it's better than going off paleo, and if it's helpful or harmless to some people, that's great. |
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Before paleo I was an AVID smoothie fan. I probably had 4 per week, usually for breakfast, made with milk, soymilk or yogurt. I made my first smoothie since switching to Paleo this morning, and it was fantastic! I know a couple of my ingredients are debatable, but here it is: Frozen blueberries, blended by themselves, before adding the following: - coconut milk (I used 1/2 the can, and then poured the rest into an ice cube trays - I'm excited to use the frozen milk!) - 1/2 ripe banana (for two reasons: 1. I love the blueberry-banana flavor combo, and 2. I use the banana as a sweetener. I don't like stevia or honey) - scoop of whey protein powder (I can't bring myself to chug raw eggs, yet.) - spoonful of almond butter I thought that the blueberries and coconut milk would complement each other well, but wasn't sure how the rest would go over. This was actually better than any pre-paleo smoothie I ever made! Delicious! Side note/PSA: If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, and haven't checked them out, go! They have the best price on coconut milk I can find in Columbus, at $0.99 a can. |
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Pumpkin or Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie 1 can Coconut Milk 3-6 TBS of cooked pumpkin or sweet potato (to taste) 1/4tsp cinnamon 1/8tsp nutmeg 1/4-1/2tsp Vanilla extract (the more the merrier) 3-4 packets of Stevia or other subtle sweetener Store Coconut milk in fridge Mix in blender until smooth and serve Chocolate Butter Smoothie (This can also be portioned into ramekins for pudding and left overnight in fridge to thicken.) 1 can Coconut Milk 1-4TBS Almond Butter (for taste and thickening power) 2-3 TBS high quality cocoa powder (unsweetened) 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/4-1/2tsp Vanilla extract 1-2 Stevia packets or other sweetener |
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Some ingredients you may not have thought of: Semi-frozen kale or spinach (doesn't affect the flavor much at all) Half an avocado (ditto, mostly adds creaminess) Full-fat greek yogurt Small container of unsweetened (or homemade) applesauce I used to make this smoothie, or some variation of it, all the time, but it's been about eight months or so since I've made it. My memory may be a little off, but here goes: 1 cup spinach, put in the freeze for half an hour 1 container of applesauce .5 cup or so coconut milk Blend these until all the leaves are broken down Add a handful of frozen mixed berries Add some unsweetened cocoa powder Blend again Add some ice and a little cold water to bulk it up Blend until ice is broken down and everything is well-mixed |
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I agree. Fruits were far easier to hunt and eat than hunting animals with spears. I think early man had betteraccess to fruit than is often recognized. |
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Attention all those who want to avoid the fructose blast: The absolute best IMHO is a taro smoothie. They drink them in Vietnam but with sweetened condensed milk that should obviously be swapped out. |
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While I agree with the idea that liquid food isn't generally the best thing for you, I will occasionally indulge in frozen strawberries and coconut milk blended together. It's really great after a tough workout, and a good substitute for ice cream. |
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I don't get the fruit phobia as well. But I usually only eat a big serving of fruit pre or post workout. One of my favorite post-workout smoothies is frozen blueberries, 3 or 4 frozen strawberries, a few slices of banana (I keep these in the freezer so I don't always have to eat a whole banana), a heaping tablespoon of cottage cheese, some frozen spinach, and almond milk. |
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The Tropical Traditions "coconut cream concentrate" is an awesome addition to any fruit-oriented smoothie. It has high fat content (~70%) and is concentrated, which offsets the sweetness and water in the smoothie. I find that the fat content really seems to stretch out the digestion of the smoothie, I don't get a sugar rush and I could still be feeling satisfied 2-3 hours later if I used a fair amount of the stuff. I wrote about this product here. Don't worry, I'm not an employee of the company or a distributor or anything, I just like the stuff. |
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I would recommend a Paleo smoothie! Go to my site textarealink texttextarea I have made a science out of the Paleo Smoothie! Check out the ingredient list... PaleoJay |
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my favorite one lately is 6 oz yogurt (i ferment mine for 24 hours so it's super tangy) 3 frozen bananas 1 capful of vanilla extract as much water as you need to make it a good texture for you |
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I find if you use full fat coconut cream you don't need to add banana. I like banana every once in a whole but I'm trying to lose weight and insulin resistant so I avoid it. Coconut cream from the fridge with berries, a little stevia or honey, chilled in the freezer for 10 minutes, is perfect. If I have some left over sweet potatoes I'll use that instead, maybe once a week since its carby. I add cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and I only use boiled mashed sweet potato since its got a lower GI than baked for some reason. I make green smoothies sometimes too. Can't really taste the spinach. And sometimes I use full fat Greek yogurt instead of coconut cream, but it's not as fluffy as coco cream so I usually do need to add bananas and ice to it. I only have a smoothie one or two days a week. Usually I stick to eggs. But a couple days a week won't hurt me and it's so refreshing in the hot Mississippi summer. Being strictly zero carb for a year and then crashing and burning taught me that sensibly indulging occasionally is better than being perfect until you sit down and eat a loaf of sourdough. Or as the saying goes, the best is the enemy of the good. |
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