Tofu smoothie is a horrible name, but it's really great. Anyone who's tried the soy smoothies at Jamba Juice knows soy milk is great in a smoothie. Tofu, in my opinion, is even better. Nothing's worse than a thin smoothie, and tofu adds bulk without adding much flavor to the fruit. If anything, tofu imparts less flavor than yogurt or frozen yogurt. The resulting drink is not only lighter and fresher tasting, it's also lower in fat and higher in protein.
The basics, for one large mug (double if you want a meal sized smoothie):
- 2 cups frozen fruit
- 2 cups unfrozen fruit
- 1 cup tofu, silken or regular
- 1 or 2 tablespoons sweetener
I like to use frozen fruit instead of ice cubes for extra flavor, but substitute a cup of ice if you don't have frozen fruit. The unfrozen fruit and the tofu provide the liquid needed to blend the smoothie. Four cups of fruit sounds like a lot, but things like whole frozen strawberries don't fit well into a cup so a lot of that is just air. I almost never measure. I use just enough of each fruit to fill my two hands cupped together. If you're going to use this method, remember I have relatively small hands.
Sweetener can be honey, simple syrup, maple syrup, storebought juice with sugar already in it, or a spoonful of granulated sugar. Just be sure to blend well.
Fruit combinations are completely up to you. My favorites are melons and berries followed by citrus. Stonefruit and bananas don't really do it for me in a smoothie. Right now I'm working through a box of frozen strawberries and a tupperware of cantaloupe. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are great with orange juice, but all those berries can get expensive.
Bonus: since there's zero fat involved, cleaning the blender jar is extremely easy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment