Day: July 14, 2023

Smoothie Recipe #1

lpaulriddle

This has been my go-to smoothie recipe since I started making them regularly a few months ago.

  • 1 banana, sliced and preferably frozen
  • A little bit of whatever other fruit is on hand (pineapple chunks, blueberries, strawberries [1 or 2], blackberries, raspberries, etc…), preferably frozen. I’ve also used red grapes, which worked better than I was expecting it would.
  • 8 ounces faux milk (oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, …), preferably unflavored/unsweetened
  • Big wad of nut butter (peanut or almond works well) preferably without added sugar
  • Roughly 1 scoop protein powder (been using chocolate since it’s all we have on hand)
  • A bunch of chia seeds (I just dump some in from the bag, but I suspect it’s around 1 or 2 teaspoons)
  • Big handful of greens (usually spinach, but I’ve used parsley, and will try baby kale when we have some)

Blend everything up in the Ninja. If it’s too runny, add some rolled oats. If it’s too thick, add some more faux milk. Makes two small to medium smoothies, or one big smoothie.

Variations:

  • I’ve occasionally added plain Greek yogurt, and it’s not bad. It can be used either in addition to or in place of the protein powder.
  • I’ve tried making them with romaine lettuce as the green vegetable. It works in a pinch, but I’m not crazy about the taste.
  • I’ve also tried an apple as the second fruit, and it works, but I much prefer berries.
  • I added some eggnog on 1/2/2024, and it was pretty good. The eggnog flavor tends to overpower most of the other fruits, though.

Ride/Brew Notes

lpaulriddle

Today’s ride took me west from Bethany to Frankford (DE) and back, passing through the town of Omar along the way. On the whole, this is a more pleasant ride than south through Bayard, because there is less traffic, and the roads are wider and more bike-friendly. The town of Frankford itself is something of an exception, with more traffic and narrower roads that are not exceptionally well-maintained, but that’s a rather small portion of the ride. My total distance was just under 24 miles, which is about what I set out for today. From Frankford, the route can be extended by heading north to Dagsboro, South to Selbyville, or even east to Fenwick via DE-20 and DE-54.

I’ve been making a glass of cold brew every day this week, and I think I’ve gotten it nailed down to this recipe:

  1. Pre-moisten 2 new or used paper AeroPress filters
  2. Set AeroPress up in inverted orientation
  3. Add 1 heaping scoop (roughly 15 grams) Wellsley Farms Breakfast Blend pre-ground medium roast coffee
  4. Fill AeroPress a little over halfway with room temperature water
  5. Stir vigorously for 1 minute
  6. Press slowly into an 8-ounce glass
  7. Add ice and top with water

I had been brewing this in standard orientation previously, but a lot of water was dripping through while stirring, which the inverted orientation avoids. I think inverted produced a slightly superior result, but I’d have to do a blind taste test to say for sure. Next time, I think I’m going to try topping off with milk or cream, and see how that tastes.

I also found that using the drip coffee brewer makes a better hot cup with this coffee than the AeroPress method I was using earlier in the week. I’ve been using 4 level tablespoons coffee to 8 ounces (1 cup) water. I’m sure I could get better results from the AP with a little bit of tweaking, but haven’t really bothered fooling around with it.