Will pancakes 'smoothie'? Yes. | SPG 31 Days of Smoothies
First, you may have questions. I have answers.
Q: What's a smoothie?
A: Stuff you throw in a blender and drink. Next.
Q: Will there be pictures?
A: Yeah.
Q: Is there a recipe?
A: Bottom of the page but you're gonna miss all the Julia-spun 'Dad Jokes' in between. FOMO is real.
Q: Is there a preferable type of music for making smoothies?
A: Synth-infused death metal. Or...uh...whatever's floating your proverbial boat that day.
Now that we have that settled...here's what you need:
Protein Powder: Your choice. I prefer unsweetened hemp protein powder, but I'm not here to tell you what to do with your life.
Ground Spices: Cinnamon, Cloves, Sea Salt (trust me. It makes a difference).
Date? Kind of you to ask! Are you paying? Or...1 Medjool date. If you can't get Medjool dates, 2 Deglet dates work or 1 tablespoon maple syrup works too.
Milk: Whatever kind you like. I'm a fan of Silk Brand Unsweetened Coconut Almond milk, but you make your own choices here.
Frozen Banana: As pictured. You can't make that up.
Oats and Walnuts: The crux of the very pancake recipe that inspired this smoothie recipe, which is like drinking pancake batter, but way better. I'm not selling this very well, am I?
Blender. This statuesque beauty is the Vitamix 7500. It's red, as a super-powered sports car of the blender world should be. I need more friends.
Anyway, you don't HAVE to have a Vitamix 7500 to make a smoothie. I had an Oster for a good decade and 'Oster-ized' anything and everything I could get my hands on. I only invested in a Vitamix five years ago because I knew one day I would be writing a blog about a smoothie and I needed a really good picture. Plus, I got a good deal through QVC at the time. Oh that's right. I said it. Keep your eyes open during the holiday season. You'll thank me later.
How to Make the Actual Thing (A Pictorial Guide with Steps. Serves 1.):
1. Take 8 oz milk.
2. Pit 1 date. Don't eat the date pit. Please.
3. Measure 1/4 cup protein powder of
choice.
4. Gather 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon,
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, 1 pinch sea
salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (see
note).
5. Gather 1 tablespoon oats and 1
tablespoon walnuts.
6. Gather 1/2 of a frozen banana.
7. Put all of the ingredients in a blender.
8. Blend until smooth.
9. Pour into a glass (for toppings, see note).
*Not pictured: Frozen Banana. It was shy.*
Finally:
YOU DID IT! Enjoy!
*I was pretty pumped. If I didn't finish this post, I wouldn't have had breakfast. C'est la vie.*
Notes:
For a truly gluten-free smoothie, make sure your oats are certified gluten-free.
For nut-free, use 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, or chia seeds instead.
Vanilla extract is mentioned in the recipe and is totally optional. While it adds depth to the smoothie, pure vanilla extract has a small amount of alcohol. If you would prefer to avoid this, omit it.
Toppings: I like to add 1 teaspoon chia seeds and 1 teaspoon hemp seeds for crunch.
Freeze it: Smoothies freeze well for future meals. As the recipe makes 1 serving, you can double, triple, or quadruple the ingredients to make several smoothies at once, if you'd like. Do not add the seed topping if you are freezing the smoothie. Glass jars, like canning jars, work best for storage. Take the frozen smoothie out of the freezer the day before you plan to have it to allow enough time for thawing.
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