http://sblended.tumblr.com/

Have you ever thought of publishing your creations? I think it'd be a huge hit. I just got a blender at my office at work and I had to show everyone your site!

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:25:18 -0800

Thank you so much for your kind words! I had considered publishing, perhaps I need to get on that sooner rather than later :)

I went back to the basics of just 3 ingredients, subbing roasted...

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:56:45 -0700

I went back to the basics of just 3 ingredients, subbing roasted hazelnuts for almonds. This time, the ratio was more heavy on hazelnuts and the outcome was spoon-worthy, like a kefir or liquid yogurt. There wasn’t much yogurt in the blend, just enough to keep things moving in the blender. I used a spatula to help guide the mix out of the blender, it was pretty thick stuff. Again, a little tart without sugar (just the way I like it). You can add a little honey or something else to sweeten it (perhaps some ripe cantaloupe or another melon). Enjoy!

Building off of yesterday’s blend, I added a Valencia...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 08:58:02 -0700

Building off of yesterday’s blend, I added a Valencia Orange to the mix. While the texture wasn’t quite as thick, it was still creamy. I put the peeled orange in whole, I figure the added fiber from the cell walls would be a good addition instead of just orange juice.

In an effort of reduce the ingredients, I tried out a test blend...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:30:33 -0700

In an effort of reduce the ingredients, I tried out a test blend of just 3 ingredients, Strawberries, Roasted Almonds (unsalted) and Straus Cinnamon Yogurt. It was a nice thick texture, the almonds add a good amount of creaminess when blended so intensely. If you don’t have a high power blender, you can substitute almond butter (or any other nut-butter you might have). Also, this blend can be tart to some, if you feel like having it a little sweeter, add a 2 teaspoons of honey. Depending on the ratio of almonds to strawberries, the consistency can range from spoon-thickness to creamy milkshake. Enjoy!

I tried out this recipe for soup, it sounded like an interesting...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:44:33 -0700

I tried out this recipe for soup, it sounded like an interesting combination.

Cooking:

Peel and julienne the carrots, boil in 2 cups of water until carrots soften (not too much)

Save some orange zest, peel the oranges and break them apart, blend them to add to the soup mix later.

Sautee the chopped onions in 3 tblsp of butter

Keep some of the carrot stock, and add cream onions and orange juice and zest and boil for 10.

Remove the Orange zest, and blend the rest of the ingredients. (I added too much of the orange zest in mine, but otherwise it was pretty good. I think it would work best Works well hot or cold, can be served with creme fraiche.

hii :) your blog has recently become a favorite in my family! today I made the Pistachio Berry smoothie & i loved it so much! the only problem was i added a little too many pistachios, but other than that, it was amazing!

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:41:55 -0700

Thank you for the kind words! Your support is appreciated. I mostly make smoothies for myself, and it makes me happy to share my efforts with people who are also experimenting with making. Don’t be afraid to get the ratios off, in time you’ll figure out how to make it just the way you like. Most importantly, enjoy the process of . Happy Blending!

This morning I ran another test of the combination of mangoes,...

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 07:53:34 -0700

This morning I ran another test of the combination of mangoes, strawberry, banana and spinach, but this time I added my chai blend (unsweetened chai that’s locally made). I add a little honey because it can be a bit bitter without it, but most chai’s are hyper sweetened so if you try it on your own, avoid the added sugar. I also added a bit of Straus Vanilla Yogurt for body. I was delighted, the flavor was there, and even though its bright green, it really didn’t taste like spinach at all. How mysterious that our sense of flavor has no correlation to our sense of color ;)

Hey everyone, I’m finally back with new posts!...

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:01:00 -0700

Hey everyone, I’m finally back with new posts! Here’s some of the blends I’ve been up to… integrating more greens into my morning routine. Enjoy!

no more posts?

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:04:04 -0700

I know, I’m sorry! I have my posts to make, I took a trip to Bali and was rather inspired. I’ll post this weekend!

This blog is awesome. I'm definitely looking forward to trying some of these recipes! I noticed quite a few of your blends have frozen fruit in them (pineapple, raspberries, blueberries). Do you buy bags of frozen fruit or do you typically buy fresh and freeze yourself? And how do you decide between fresh and frozen fruit for each smoothie?

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:02:01 -0700

Thanks for the praise! The reason why I incorporate frozen fruits is simple: efficiency and temperature. It’s generally easier to add frozen fruits to a blend, chopped up cuts ready to go (I don’t plan on cutting up a pineapple on a regular basis). But the real advantage of frozen is the temperature. When you work with a high powered blender, the blend can become hot from all the friction of the blades. Instead of adding ice, which effectively waters down the flavor, I add frozen fruits. Sometimes a warm drink can be nice, (My banana hazelnut is a good one warm with chai). I generally don’t freeze my own, except in Beets because I will roast a whole bunch in preparation, but I won’t use all of it at once.
Happy Blending!

This blend was a beast! I started experimenting with pineapple,...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:13:00 -0700

This blend was a beast! I started experimenting with pineapple, it adds a nice tang that compliments the sweet richness of coconut milk. That combined with the champagne mango… SBLENDED!

This came together in the name of experimentation. I was curious...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:42:56 -0700

This came together in the name of experimentation. I was curious to see if I could mix in more ingredients and maintain the mango flavor. There was no hint of spinach, even the color turned out more burnt orange than green. It turned out to be a delightful drink, but I wouldn’t say the mango brought that much flavor, it’s primary role was body and texture (blending a ripe mango= creamy). I finished off my can of condensed coconut milk on this one, I’m sure to pick up another one soon; it adds excellent flavor.

Wow. This unusual set of flavors was absolutely sblended! The...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:03:26 -0700

Wow. This unusual set of flavors was absolutely sblended! The color tells little about the flavor, it’s a combination of sweet and creamy coconut milk (condensed, from a can) and the sweet-tanginess of mango, tangerine, and ginger. That combined with cardamom, I was thrilled with the flavor. While the condensed coconut milk is very rich, I think it’s still pretty healthy. I was so excited with it that I made a second batch to share with friends!

i just came across your blog and i'm excited to try all the smoothies i can! but i have a question: can i just use any organic yogurt instead of straus? i've never heard of the brand :s or maybe i haven't been paying attention!

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:53:30 -0700

You can use different yogurts, the reason why I use Straus is because I like the consistency of it, its a pourable yogurt. You can use a kefir or another drinkable yogurt, or mix a yogurt with a fruit juice. I think Straus yogurts also have great flavors, I’m partial to the cinnamon and the blueberry pomegranate. Here’s their list of yogurts.

It’s blends like this that make me happy. I’ve used...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:49:00 -0700

It’s blends like this that make me happy. I’ve used all these ingredients before, but somehow the proportion today was just perfect. One thing I did differently was that I did not add any extra juice to it, its just the fruits and some yogurt. There’s a crown on the liquid, its both creamy, but tart; thick, but drinkable. Adding a little lemon goes a long way, I think it helps enhance the fruit flavors. All in all, it was sblended in every aspect.

For my last batch of pistachio blends, I decided to add some...

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 08:39:18 -0700

For my last batch of pistachio blends, I decided to add some kale and see what I could do with it. The color certainly indicated some greens had been added, and there was less strength in the citrus flavor, but otherwise this blend didn’t change drastically from the other pistachio-citrus combo’s. Remember, if you’re using fresh kale, it blends better if you remove the large fibrous vein in the middle of the leaf. just take out the thickest part of it and it should blend splendidly.

This was a mix and match of recipes, I took a handful of...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:14:02 -0700

This was a mix and match of recipes, I took a handful of pistachios and added it to one of my favorite flavors, Chai. The cardamom worked really well with the blood orange, and the banana added a good amount of sweetness and volume.

I ventured back into experimenting with Beets, and came up with...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:54:43 -0700

I ventured back into experimenting with Beets, and came up with this super red blend. It’s got the flavor of roasted beets complimented with blood orange. The berries weren’t very noticeable, but all in all a solid drink. I’d suggest adding a little lemon juice to make it extra tangy.

My second test with pistachios, this time with a giant honey...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0800

My second test with pistachios, this time with a giant honey tangerine. While this may sound like an odd combination, I was very satisfied with the flavor. having citrus fruits in there enhances flavors, and contrasts the creaminess well. I added banana just for volume, you could add any number of alternatives to help add to it (mango, pear, persimmon, avocado to name a few).If you’re curious, I suggest you try it, let me know how it goes!

I got home and decided it was time to try out a soup, so I...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:08:11 -0800

I got home and decided it was time to try out a soup, so I headed over to whole foods and picked up a few ingredients. They have a great tomato cream soup, and I wanted to see if I could recreate it with my own recipe. According to their ingredient list, they add butter and flour, and I wanted to see if I could create my own version that didn’t need that (especially the flour, I don’t think it adds much nutrient content). As a replacement to the flour to add thickness, I added half an onion, a bell pepper, and some sharp cheddar cheese. I roasted the fresh veggies (including 2 cloves of garlic) at 350º. I just kept them I’m there till they wilted/smelt good (I’m not big on measuring, I just go by what looks right, smells right. Once the veggies were roasted, I threw them in the blender with the cheese cubed and a splash of the heavy whipping cream, and it came out of the blender like a whipped dip. I added that to the can of crushed tomatoes in the pot and cooked it on the stove with some fresh rosemary, and a little fresh garlic to add some punch. At the end, its effectively a hearty soup, I might use it as a pasta sauce tomorrow. All in all, I really enjoyed it! Truly a sblended dinner :)