Gadgetry

I finally bought one of these:

I have a big smoothie maker but boy this is a good investment and was on special offer at my local supermarket for the amazing price of £11!!

It’s so fast and easy to use and clean (the worst thing about my big smoothie maker with a tap on it is cleaning) this is portable too and comes with two big beakers with lids.

I’ve been whipping myself up a smoothie for lunch of late and they’ve been hugely satisfying and nutrient packed. I throw in some crushed ice, an assortment of fruits trying to include lots of different colours, a dollop of natural Greek yoghurt or fromage frais, a glug of kefir and a couple of seconds blitzing and it’s good to go. Sometimes I throw in some milled flax especially if the smoothie is a breakfast substitute and I’m growing wheat grass at the moment and intend to juice it and include a shot of wheat grass in the future… not long now, batch number one is almost ready for its first trim.

The kids are more inclined to make their own smoothies too since I invested in this gadget which makes it a win win item in my book and at that price I packed one in my daughter’s belongings for her to take to her new home with her.

I read somewhere that when juicing or smoothie making you should drink immediately as the vitamin and mineral explosion unlocked by the shattering of the fruit fibres is short lived and so I mostly consume immediately. When I was really super busy at work though I did zap one together now and then and sip on it throughout the day keeping it in the office fridge. It might not have been doing me as much good as it would have had I downed it immediately but it was doing me less harm than a packet of crips and a mars bar.

Another tip for smoothies… if you are like me and buy a ton of fruit and you notice some of it not faring too well in the summer heat, peel it and chop it and sling it into the freezer. Throwing chunks of frozen fruit into the smoothie maker along with fresh fruit makes it nice and cold like a slush and avoids waste.

I find that my kids prefer smoothies that are banana based which isn’t such a bad thing and they pop in some organic milk or a small spoon of ice cream and make it more like a milkshake which is fine by me. I’m happy to see them including dairy as long as it is complimented with handsful of fresh fruit. I’ve encouraged them to include at least two types of berry with their bananas and they’ve become quite consistent when it comes to throwing a handful of blueberries/raspberries/strawberries/blackberries in with the rest of the ingredients now. Bananas are good but I want to see them having a variety to ensure they are reaping the rewards of as many nutrients as possible… this is about health not just weight loss.

I don’t bother to peel fruit where the peel is edible and I don’t remove seeds and pips either. I read somewhere that one of the reasons we get so ill as people these days is that we stopped eating the pips and seeds in our fruits and vegetables and so I’m like a budgie lately with the amount of seeds I eat. The kids peel everything and extract seeds and pips as they don’t like the gritty taste of a smoothie with them left in, it doesn’t bother me, I eat more for health these days not fun.