Smoothies
A Dieter's Friend
Due to the fact that my only dieting success in my life has been when I limit calories and fat grams, and due to the fact that I have a tremendous sweet tooth, smoothies have been a salvation in my life-long quest to lose weight and keep it off!
My smoothie addiction began a couple of summers ago when a new smoothie shop came to our town. In the beginning, I would stop on a hot summer day and order whatever sounded good. I tried many different flavor combinations, some with and some without yogurt. After finding a couple that I loved, I found that my car was heading to the smoothie shop more and more often. (My car sometimes has a mind of its own!)
Last spring, when I decided to hit the “diet” regime again, I began to think a little differently about the smoothies I was consuming. I went there one day and picked up their nutritional information chart, and what I discovered was that the smoothies I had been ordering on a regular basis were not he ones that were particularly low in calories. I then began my new plan of trying different flavors, beginning with the ones that had the fewest number of calories, until I found one I “couldn’t live without.” And, I did!
The “Blimey Limey” was my new love! It was really filling, and it only had 170 calories (if made with Splenda rather than sugar.) Wow! 170 calories! I could have two a day! The problem was that these tasty treats were $4.35 a piece! Let’s see…$4.35 times 7 (days a week) plus 3 (for the average number of days I had two) totaled up to about $40 a week! Although I didn’t allow myself to have one every day and there were only a few instances when I had two in one day, I used this expense as justification to buy my own smoothie machine. (Note: When spending a sizable amount of money on an item you can live without, in this case a smoothie maching, it is best to justify the expenditure – at least in your own mind.) The bottom line is; I wanted it so I bought it!
I went online to start my shopping ritual, and began reading customer ratings and reviews. After a substantial amount of investigation time, I decided that I would settle for no less than the Blendtec Total Blender. Ok, it’s a little pricey, but remember, I had this smoothie addiction, and my habit didn’t come cheap!
Now I was on a mission to find recipes that were low in calories. I found an online smoothie cookbook that I purchased and downloaded (I think it was $20 or $25), and I was “ready to roll!” I was in smoothie heaven!
Now I did actually have two smoothies a day if I wanted to, and even my husband got hooked on them. I began shopping for the fruit at Sam’s Club, and I found that it was much more affordable. I also went blueberry picking in the July berry season, then I vacuum-packed and froze them in smoothie-size portions.
I have found that when you make smoothies yourself, you don’t skimp on the fruit like they do in the smoothie shops, and the homemade ones are even better! I have added an entire “Smoothie” section to my recipes that can be found in ‘The Art of Cooking.” If you are looking for a low calorie sweet treat, (and you aren’t opposed to using Splenda,) give them a try!
