More Smoothie Lessons
Posted by terrepruitt on January 3, 2013
I have been getting a lot of use out of my blender. I use it almost every day. There are additional lessons I have learned in the time I have been using it. The blender shows how many times I have used it, according to the blender I have used it 168 times. I have tested it and the cleaning of the jar that I do after I use it does not get added to the count. There might be a few extra counts because I’ve blended somethings twice, so the second blend might be added to that, but I haven’t done that often. Some of the lessons I have learned are really additions to some of the things I have already shared.
In my first post about what I had learned I stated that kale in a smoothie is really bitter. I thought about this every time I made a smoothie with kale. It was so bitter. I didn’t add more than two fruits because I didn’t want that much fruit in a smoothie, but I did put at least two, plus avocado and cucumber, but it still didn’t cut down on the bitter. I kept thinking about how bitter it was. I couldn’t understand why it was SO much less bitter when cooked, because when I cook it I don’t cook it THAT much. I usually just kind of wilt it. Well, after thinking and thinking all I could come up with was salt. When I cook kale I cook it with salt and I believe that salt helps with any bitter flavor. So I tried it in a kale smoothie and voila! That did it. By salt, I mean not even a whole shake, just like a little tip of the salt shaker. I bet that I could count the grains that go into the smoothie. I am not trying to add flavor but just take a little bitter out. It works great. I was so excited to figure this out because I like the idea of being able to “eat” a lot of kale. I really couldn’t EAT as much kale as I can drink and kale is a great green to add to my diet.
Since I mentioned frozen banana and ice in my first post about lessons I do have some follow up information. While a cold smoothie is better than a room temperature one sometimes adding FROZEN banana AND ice makes it way too cold. Drinking freezing cold smoothies in the winter is not that great. Using a banana that has not been frozen and ice is fine, but using both is sometimes too cold.
Beet greens make a smoothie red. I used the leafy green part AND the entire stem and the smoothie came out red. It was rather pretty. I think it was actually perfect for the Christmas season. That is when I learned this fact.
While I have not tried freezing a smoothie and then letting it defrost a bit and drinking it, I have let one sit a bit before drinking it, and I have let one sit in the fridge overnight and they do not taste as fresh. I am sure that is a no brainer, but since I am sharing I thought I would mention it. The smoothies that have sat out for a bit or in the fridge overnight were still good and totally drinkable, it was just not as fresh tasting!
So there you have it. A few more things I have learned. You? Have you anything to add?
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