You are all so healthy I'm awash with guilt. I will add a little heavy cream to my smoothies but i'm a huge dairy fan and can use the calories. A little lemon zest or juice when I have time along with whatever fruit is at hand. I rarely use frozen fruit but should begin doing that. There is always washed baby spinach that is included too - its one of DH two favorite green salad ingredients so a staple here - quick and easy in a smoothie.

I can't do smoothies in the winter either. When I make them, in warmer weather, I also use my NutriBullet.

Can someone recommend a protein powder that doesn't contain stevia? That stuff is horrible.

I use Pure Protein powder in mine, but unfortunately it is flavored either vanilla or chocolate, and so I only use it when I do not mind adding those flavors, which I do not normally want. PP uses sucralose for its sweetener.

I often add powdered cream to mine, and then they are like ice cream milk shakes. I also sometimes add a teaspoon of a liqueur for flavoring, especially when using vanilla or chocolate. My favorite liqueurs are Amaretto, Frangelico, Kahlua, Cassis, and Cointreau.

@Bunny

The one I like has no sweeteners and I choose the unflavored kind. A nutritionist recc this to me a few years ago, FWIW. I buy it on line

Thank you, Mtn!

Banana, pranut butter, yogurt. Sweet, tamgy tangy, salty from salted peanut butter. Smoothies can get too sweet.

That sounds good. I never use PB in my smoothies maybe I will try. In May.

I'm surprised how many of you use protein supplements. Most Americans eat far more protein than is needed.

Unless one's regular diet is restricted to green vegetables and fruit, with no dairy, meat, grains, nuts, or legumes, I wonder how a protein poor diet would be of concern.

Definitely go for a "whey isolate" powder, not just whey.

I use Progressive Whey Isolate unflavoured - grass fed cows, no sugar or stevia, 35 g of protein per scoop.

I'm surprised how many of you use protein supplements. Most Americans eat far more protein than is needed.

This is generally true.

For me it is about timing not just quantity. I don't like eggs very much and I don't like savory breakfasts. But as a rule of thumb I find it a good practice that every meal and or snack contain protein (and fiber). IMHO that is just an easy way to encourage better eating. It also seems to provide better satiety. For example, a bagel and a glass of juice is not breakfast in my book.

I use protein powder for smoothies where I am not using yogurt. Otherwise, my breakfast smoothie would have no protein.

I'm surprised how many of you use protein supplements. Most Americans eat far more protein than is needed. "

You shouldn't be surprised, particularly for older or post-menopausal women, because the amount of recommended protein is higher than for other people, by about 30-50%. It's primarily to offset the muscular loss that is augmented by hormonal changes. Also for type 2 diabetics and some overweight people, it helps with blood sugar regulation and can help with satiety.

Mtn, the PB is good for adding some fat (I often use almond butter -- somewhere I have a recipe for a smoothie using almond butter and blueberries which sounds odd but it is so good), which is helpful if you don't use yogurt (I usually don't).

I never use juice because of the added sugar. The fruit adds enough sweetness for me.

All this smoothie talk makes me want one for lunch!

Re protein, the low end of recommendations I see is .8 grams per kilo of body weight. If I were 200 pounds (I wish, working on it!) that would calculate to 73 grams. Now if I ate a half pound of chicken breast for dinner, that would take care of about 50 grams. The other 23 grams might add up from starches, an egg, some small amounts from veggies eaten throughout the day, etc. But a half pound of chicken is a lot of chicken, even for me. Do I get up to 73 grams? I don’t know, I don’t count, probably depends on the day. But even at 73 grams I’d be under for my actual weight guidance using the .8 rule, and like I said ,8 is on the low end of recommendations. I’d find it difficult to eat ”far more” than I need, on a regular basis.

Anyway, I’m glad this came up because for some reason I’ve never used spinach. Usually kale. I tried one today wirh some yogurt, milk, spinach, frozen banana, frozen berries, and a spoonful of unsweetened peanut butter. Delicious, without needing additional sweetening or masking.

I think you really need to be careful with smoothies. When you break down the nutrition, many recipes are sugar bombs due to all the fruit, without a ton of nutrtion per calorie. In my opinion. I would not make one without a good amount of veggies in it.

" But a half pound of chicken is a lot of chicken, even for me. "

That's exactly what I thought when I read it.......I don't know if I could eat a half pound of chicken breast (I don't each chicken breast anyway, but you get my point). I was having trout one night and realized that to get enough protein to fill my goal that day, I'd have to eat way too much trout (for 50g of protein, I'd need 3 fillets). The thought of that much food made me sick. I figure whatever meat I'm having (or combo of meat and beans, like in chili) is probably about 25-30g of protein. I snack on nuts to add another 15g or so a day.

I agree that many/most smoothies are not particularly healthy; they are a treat

I make them a lot more often in the summer too. My smoothie is a lot like Toronto Vet’s with some mixed frozen fruit (I love pineapple especially), frozen banana if i have it, a handful of spinach and kale, scoop of protein powder, and add a few splashes of cold coconut water which adds a little hydration. I use a Nutri Bullet and it was just right for me to carry to work.

When i worked i made one almost every morning and sipped it on the way to work.

Well, hardly a treat when it's one's regular breakfast. (with some left over for an afternoon snack).

Sugars, whether fructose or sucrose (which is part fructose naturally), are empty calories. Throwing a few leaves of spinach or kale in the blender to try to satisfy one's conscience doesn't change anything. In a nutrition discussion with my doctor some years ago, he expressed his view that people took too many pills and supplements, and that proper nutrition should come from eating a proper diet and not from what one drinks or takes pills for.

Below is a link to a protein chart, they are easy to find. Not to lose track of measurements, a 3 oz serving of animal meat or fish, which is less than an average portion, is around 25 grams of protein. Adjust the tally for a more normal portion and you approach 40+. More animal protein if meat/fish are eaten for breakfast or lunch. Add in a high protein cereal or serving of yogurt, a serving or more of legumes and nuts, and you're at 100. More than most people need.

Me personally, I don't like these concoctions. Most are WAAY too sweet. I went into a Jamba Juice store once. No thanks, sugar bomb is the right description.

Protein chart

Many of the ingredients I use have already been listed in various comments above - so, I'll just add a few things that haven't been listed:

1. You can purchase pre-made pouches at the grocery store in the frozen section (they usually come with six individual packs inside a large package. There are name brand ones + generic store brand ones (obviously, they pretty much taste the same depending on what fruits/veggies are cut up and frozen in the little individual pouches). I think that Costco may sell bags with 12 individual packs). It saves time cutting up fruit + I needed to cut down on freezer space for awhile - and these take up less room (I only use frozen fruit/veggies - I don't like watering it down with ice).

If you add frozen blueberries - purchase the wild blueberries instead of regular ones. They have more flavor + I use them in yogurt at night (with some other stuff) for a little snack and the wild blueberries are smaller = I don't have to thaw them at all before adding them.

2. I add a vegan protein to my smoothies - unflavored mostly - however, sometimes I use a strawberry or mixed berry one - ones that have very low sugar (actually, I mostly use a nutrition powder instead of just a protein powder - an unflavored one most of the time - although, I will make a vanilla chai nutrition shake once in awhile).

3. I always add extra veggies in mine (especially spinach). Plus, I buy frozen cut up chunks of avocados to add. I also will freeze some bananas and use those. I also add some ground flax seeds + chia seeds.

4. I use a little almond milk + plain greek yogurt (more protein w the greek yogurt).

5. Mtn - if you want to try adding peanut butter , I suggest that you buy a powdered one. I buy an organic powdered pb that has no sugar added (some have sugar added) = an extra 8g of protein (some brands have 7 or 6g). It has 87% - 90% less fat - and all of the ones I've looked at seem to be around 60 calories per serving (2 TBSP). The ones with sugar typically only have 1g of added sugar per serving. I will use the powdered pb with some vegan protein/nutrition powder (sometimes I use vanilla) + add organic cacao powder (not cocoa powder - CACAO powder) + throw a frozen banana in it (better than using ice - and the banana helps make the texture smoother). I might throw in a bit of frozen spinach just for more nutrition.

FYI - I also add water to the pb powder in order to make regular peanut butter (I use it on a rice cakes - I can't eat gluten). If I'm not adding this low sugar organic raspberry/chia jam to the rice cake, I will sometimes add a tiny squirt of Agave to add a little sweetness. I've been using Madhava Agave 5 = 5 calories per serving - water is the first ingredient - but it's easy to use - it also has some monk fruit mixed in with the agave (I used to buy it at Sprouts - but they no longer stock it - so, I started ordering it off of Amazon - however, the price on Amazon will fluctuate A LOT - when it's $4-5, I stock up - sometimes it's around $9 - seems crazy when the first ingredient is water).

*If you use cacao - make sure to check to see whether it's one of the "bad" ones that's been found to be contaminated with lead and cadmium (over 1/3 of chocolate can be high in these heavy metals). If it's inexpensive cacao = probably not good for you.

Also - cacao/chocolate only has a small amount of caffeine in it (and it is absorbed by your body differently due to the cacao butter and other parts of cacao vs. caffeine in coffee). Cacao actually has theobromine in it - it doesn't cross the blood brain barrier + it doesn't have the quick up and down that caffeine can cause. Theobromine has been shown to have cardiovascular benefits, such as reducing blood pressure, reducing blood LDL cholesterol levels, and anti-inflammatory effects. Theobromine suppresses the expression of inflammatory C-reactive protein (CRP) and multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines.

They are almost identical - that's why people mix them up and believe that chocolate has a lot of caffeine in it. FYI - theobromine is what makes chocolate dangerous for dogs to consume.

Yes, I'm a nerd - one of my undergrad degrees was chemical engineering - and then I went to law school!

Sorry for such a LONG post! I just love my smoothies!! 😂

Good info, Dani, thanks. I love fresh spinach, too, it’s a must no matter what else I add. What other veggies do you like to use?

My GI doctor recommended smoothies to me a few years ago when I was having severe swallowing issues (I was diagnosed with esophagitis and GERD). There was so much I couldn’t eat for a while; I really came to look forward to my daily smoothie.

“…. proper nutrition should come from eating a proper diet and not from what one drinks…”

I remember such advice, but it was back when juicers were all the rage. Juicers were extracting much of the nutrition, esp fiber, right out of the fruits and vegetables. I wouldn’t equate such juices, or most commercial juices for that matter, with a serving of produce. I actually drink very little of those, most days none.

Most guidelines recommend multiple servings of fruit and vegetables daily, and offhand I’m not aware of any reason for some of those not to be blended. If anything, my GUESS is that blending could make some nutrients more available. My concern is adding too many high sugar fruits plus honey or agave or whatever people like to add, to mask the green flavor of say kale. That's why I was pleasantly surprised with the baby spinach. Of which I hsd a good fistful, not just a few leaves. Carrots are another good thing to add, both for a bit of sweetness and the associated nutrition.

By the way, speaking of protein, I’m completely off of coffee and drink a hot cup of bone broth instead. Sometimes adding gelatin. While I typically drank 3-4 cups of coffee each morning, I never "needed" it like many do so it was an easy switch, prompted in part by my cardiologist advising to back off of caffeine.

I had no idea that there was peanut butter powder!

(I also use frozen bananas - remove the skins and tray freeze them, then store them in a ziplock bag. I use 1/2 a banana a day, so I break them in 2 before freezing.)

food, I get that. Some people drink hot water in the morning too, as a substitute for coffee or tea. Hot drinks are at the opposite end of the temp spectrum from drinks made with ice, cold ingredients and frozen fruit.

I drink one large (I think it's about 14oz) cup of very strong pour-through coffee in the morning. Not when I get up, but a bit later, when I have breakfast. If I don't have time, or if I'm somewhere where getting coffee isn't right at hand, it's fine with me to not have coffee that day. So, it's not a 'need" for me either but I do like it when possible.

Well, hardly a treat when it's one's regular breakfast

I don't know what you are talking about. I did not say it was my regular breakfast. I make it occasionally, I also have pancakes occasionally. I see both as a treat. Like fruit juice, smoothies have been cloaked in this aura of "good for you" to which I say, 1) it depends on what you put in it and 2)compared to what?

Several others did. I was contrasting what you said (which I agree with) to what others said they did.

Well, as I said ... 1) it depends on what you put in it and 2)compared to what?

It's my regular breakfast :) but, sometimes I take it for lunch at work, if I need something portable that I can "eat" while doing other things.

I just made my first smoothie with frozen strawberries and other stuff, it is fabulous. It made more than I anticipated, however. I have seen it written that one should not not store smoothies for too long, but if it is refrigerated will they store until later in the day?

They tend to thin out, separate and turn brown. Other than that they are fine, LOL.

" I have seen it written that one should not not store smoothies for too long, but if it is refrigerated will they store until later in the day? "

They will separate and need to be shaken to re-blend them. I will sometimes make a smoothie in the morning, and then throw it in my bag until lunchtime (no dairy - just fruit, veg, oats, and protein powder). I make sure to put it in a shaker bottle (something like this https://www.blenderbottle.com/products/classic) so that I can shake it up again before I drink it.

But it is more than just separating; the texture of a smoothie comes from frozen ingredients. When they are no longer frozen, it is very watery and, to me, unpleasant. Moreover, IME, many fruits turn brown.

" many fruits turn brown "

It might be brown....I don't see it (gray bottle), so the colour doesn't bother me. I got over the issue of the colour of my food a long time ago (green juice, gray chicken breast, etc).

I hear a good song being sung here - and, lacking teeth which results in needing to take quite a lot of time chopping up meat and other stuff to ease my stomach's work, plus lose valuable nutrients going through to waste due to being inaccessible in the middle of too large chunks ...

... I think that this old fart'd better drag out his almost as old as he Osterizer and put it to work!

Thanks a bunch, old (i.e. as in "long term") friends!

ole joyfuelled

" lacking teeth "

?

Huh?

I did a quick nutritional analysis of my smoothie yesterday. It gets a full 100g serving of spinach, and once that sits and the ice crystals start to melt, that's no longer something that's pleasant for me to drink. YMMV depending on ingredients.

The teeth comment I quoted and had a question about was something the Canadian fellow old joyful had posted that I was a bit taken aback about. Something about a possible benefit of using a blender because he couldn't chew? It seemed odd.

The comment seems to have been deleted.

Checked on my leftover smoothie, it's been 3 hours. Not as frosty but otherwise fine. Decided to drink half of it now, and leave the rest as an experiment to see how long it takes to degrade to the point I wouldn't want it, which to me would be separation, turning watery, and color change.

Some things not noted above that I like in smoothies:

1. I add either chia seeds or hemp seeds or both for some extra protein/fiber/nutrients. I find that the chia seeds help to keep things emulsified better when stored.

2. I add a lot of spinach but it does no favors for the color of the smoothies. If visuals bother you, it is something to consider.

3. We have reusable stainless straws, and I really like the broader ones for smoothies.

4. I always include some type of citrus or citrus juice in my smoothies. It seems to give the best flavor. Most of the time it is frozen pineapple and a dash or 2 of lime juice to make the flavors pop.

5. Grated ginger can be a wonderful addition to many smoothies. The frozen ginger cubes from Trader Joe's are an easy way of doing this (or I store some chopped ginger in the freezer and just add it).

6. I do like to experiment with herbs added to the smoothie during the season. This is often either mint, basil or lemon balm.

7. I tend to leave dairy out after learning that the proteins in dairy often block some of the nutrients in berries. I do not remember the mechanism, but I save yogurt, etc for other times. Intead I add almonds, etc if I want it somewhat milk like.

Just an update, something I did not know before reading today's NYT with an article saying Consumer Reports has found that there is lead in some popular protein powders and shakes. Different products have different levels but I think I may avoid them going forward, as I seem to get enough protein in my current diet. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/well/lead-protein-powder.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tk8.j6dB.WBV_2AyhWIZ0&smid=url-share

I've seen that too, lucillle. Very curious top see a comprehensive list of brand names...

I think they all do to various extent so I have stopped buying protein powders and just eat more home cooked protein food.

This is from the NYT article lucille linked:

"...Consumer Reports agreed that the levels it found were “far below the concentration needed to cause immediate harm.” And there is no guarantee that the lead levels found in the tested samples are representative of the levels in other servings of the same products.

But Dr. Luby said he was “appalled” that companies hadn’t monitored their supply chains well enough to avoid the levels that the testing found...."

So, slightly reassuring?

And it does cause me to wonder how much help our newly downsized regulatory agencies will be.

Lead has been found in spices, and now radiation contamination seems to be popping up in shrimp, along with listeria in many refrigerated products. I wonder how many people are actually aware of this, since so many now actively avoid news.

I think as was said months ago, throwing veggie greens and protein powder into a concoction that has WAY MORE sugar and calories than anyone needs to have at one go doesn't make an unhealthy drink into something else.

If you think you should eat more greens, then do so. Quick and easy, a spinach salad is like fast food. Steamed greens with onions on your meal plate take less than 10 minutes to cook. Eat more salads, go easy on the dressing.

Protein powder? Few people eat a protein deficient diet unless they have poor eating habits. If you do, then that's where you should concentrate for many more reasons, not by using supplements.

Smoothies are a trend fueled by the normal trend-making things, not by rational decision making. I've seen already that the Jamba Juice type of places seem to be dwindling and seem less busy than they used to be.

What we each eat comes from personal choices. Make sensible ones on your own, don't be a follower.

And it does cause me to wonder how much help our newly downsized regulatory agencies will be.

I think we may be returning to the era of 'buyer beware'.

" I think we may be returning to the era of 'buyer beware'. "

That never went away. Governmental agencies can only do so much for people lacking good judgement and common sense. Each of us is responsible for and bears the consequences of our own actions and choices. That has never changed and never will, whether we face up to that or not.

I don’t do protein powder but that is kind of scary! (Tina Marie)

More food for thought from that Times article (pun intended)...

"...Once lead is in the body, it can be stored in bones and is excreted very slowly, Dr. Cohen said. So long-term exposure can be dangerous, leading to neurological and other symptoms. Children are at high risk of lead poisoning and may experience developmental delays, learning difficulties and seizures.

Jenna Forsyth, the director of Project Unleaded at Stanford University, a research program that works to reduce lead poisoning, said the findings made her particularly concerned for pregnant women, given that they are often advised to increase their protein consumption during pregnancy.

Dr. Forsyth said that she would advise women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant to avoid products with the highest levels of lead, and that people in lower-risk groups should probably not have them every day and should seek out other options if possible.

Dr. Luby said consumers should weigh the risks of using protein supplements at all, given their light regulation and the fact that people can get protein elsewhere...."

It doesn't matter the size of the regulatory agency as these products never fell under Federal regulations and have always been in the 'Buyer Beware' category.

From the CR article:

"Unlike prescription and over-the-counter drugs, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t review, approve, or test supplements like protein powders before they are sold. Federal regulations also don’t generally require supplement makers to prove their products are safe, and there are no federal limits for the amount of heavy metals they can contain."