I didn't really have any real recipe to follow, but how hard could it be? Well...... apparently harder than I thought! I used 1 cup of frozen strawberries, 1 cup of pineapple, and 1 cup of baby spinach with 1 cup of UVAB (which I have drank for months now instead of milk) and some ice. I put it all together and proceeded to crush the ice and puree the remaining ingredience but the bloody blender wouldn't work. It would spin for 2 seconds and then give up. I swear for a second I smelt burning metal. My wonderful green monster was more like a half pink/nasty green slug. YUMMY, just what the doctor ordered! I FINALLY figured it out that I needed way more UVAB so I added two more cups. I also added another cup of baby spinach to make it more 'green'. Can't be a green monster if it's pink afterall.
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| Totally not enough UVAB - it only took me 10 min to realize! |
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| More like slug than a slushy or smoothie! |
The results..... Well...... Not too good. lol..... It looked nice and green though! Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product. For some reason it's having a hard time uploading. I'll try again soon.
I ended up drinking it, but I think it needed more strawberries and less ice. All I could taste was ice with a distant flavour of strawberry. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but got to tell ya I was happy not to taste the spinach! I think because I used frozen strawberries (not thawed like a dummy) instead of fresh I didn't need so much ice. Lesson for next time I suppose. Anyway, I'm glad I made it and will attempt this puppy again soon!
Besides making something new I also joined something new today! I am officially a member of myfitnesspal. I found I liked the site better than livestrong....perhaps due to the colour scheme, who knows? The only thing is that it doesn't have a recipe calculator which kind of sucks. I posted a question on their boards though about how to input my green monster and many other members were helpful giving me tips etc..etc... I even have two new 'friends' because of it! So here I go again, tracking calories this time instead of points. Here's hoping for some great results!
I think I'm the only one in our lovely blogging community that hasnt tried green monsters. *note to self...get with it* :)
ReplyDeleteHmm... I did write a comment yesterday but I guess my computer is to blame. Here is what I wrote:
ReplyDeleteTips for Green Monsters:
#1 Check out Angela's site www.greenmonster movement.com You will find lots of recipes that she has created as well as reader recipes.
#2 Spinach/Kale - Try steaming/wilting it first. I recomend the night before and throw it in the fridge otherwise your GM will be warm. The extra water/moisture from the steaming will help when it comes to blending your GM.
#3 Placement of ingredients is key! I put any powder (I use ground flax, sometimes protine powder) on the bottom to ensure it gets blended into the drink, followed by the spinach/kale then fruit and then pour the milk (substitute) over it all.
#4 Try defrosting your frozen fruit the night before. The extra moisture from the frozen fruit will help to move everything around in the blender to prevent that burnt motor smell. Alternatively always use fresh fruit for no extra defrosting step.
#5 I don't use Ice Cubes, I just use 1/8th - 1/4cup of water to help thin out the GM. Again the more liquid/moisture theme playing here to keep everything moving around.
#5 Green Monsters can be different colours. I will add beets sometimes to make my GM red.
#6 Keep trying different fruit and veggie combinations.
#7 Don't give up, keep at it, it will be worth the extra effort.
#8 ENJOY!
Good luck, I hope you find at least 1 useful tip. :-D
A few tricks that I like:
ReplyDeleteMy ratios/place are like this - for 2 of us:
One frozen banana (broken up), handful of ice, 1 - 1.5 cups of strawberries (or 1 cup of blueberries,) 2 scoops protein powder or Amazing Grass packet, flax or chia (if using, 1 cup of almond breeze and then fill to the top with baby spinach. If the blender is having trouble mixing I will add a splash more of UVAB but usually that combo is no problem at all for my cheap Sear's blender. :)
My main thing is that frozen bananas always work better then fresh ones.
PS. Unless you use like 4-5 cups of spinach you will probably never taste it.
Ive really gotta try that green smoothie ..I could NOT find any baby spinach though at Planet Organic today so I'll try Superstore tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI love MFP..I've been a member for over a year now. I found it had more Canadian foods in the database than any of the other free sites I had tried..I do wish I could track my B12 there though like on Sparkpeople
Fiona
I haven't made the green monster in awhile, but I've seen new recipes from other bloggers come up recently, so I might give it another try soon. The last two times I've tried they haven't turn out that well.
ReplyDeleteAs for MFP, well...I didn't last very long on that site. I found inputting everything suck a pain in the ass. I guess I'm just use to WW and their way of tracking.
I can understand that. I've actually been thinking of rejoining WWs online but most likely in the fall when I start working at telus. I just found when I as with them the had much Canadian food in their database though I lived the recipe builder
ReplyDelete