Red Cabbage Smoothie

So I didn't really like this. I got a red cabbage in my veg bag a couple of weeks ago and I am never really sure what to do with it, beyond pickling. This time I tried a smoothie. I'm not sure if my blender is not high powered enough, it's just a bog standard Kenwood, but this was rather gritty and unappetising.

I thought I'd post it anyway so that anyone with one of those whizzy new fangled things can give it a go and see if the texture is better!

Red Cabbage Smoothie (from My Fitness Pal)
(Serves 2)

325ml cups cold water
1/2 small head red cabbage, quartered and frozen
100g frozen blueberries
1 banana, frozen
165g low-fat vanilla yogurt

Break up the frozen cabbage with your hands and puree with water in a high power blender. Add frozen blueberries, banana and vanilla yogurt and puree again until smooth.

Banana and Date Smoothie

I haven't made a smoothie for a while but I had all the ingredients for this one and thought I'd give a go. It was tasty although the dates made it rather sweet. I used cow's milk but you could use any kind of milk you like.

Banana and Date Smoothie
(Serves 2)

8 medjool dates, pitted and chopped
500ml milk
2 bananas
50g rolled oats

Place the dates and milk into a blender or food processor. Puree until the dates are blitzed up. Add the bananas to the blender and puree until smooth.

Add the oats, wait for 2-3 mins for the oats to soak into the date milk mixture and puree. Pour the smoothie into glasses and serve.

Super Berry Blitz

This was the first recipe I tried from my WeightWatchers cookbooks last week. It was just like the smoothies I have been drinking but using water instead of milk. It does fill you up and because it just contains fruit it has no points. You can use skimmed milk instead of water for 1 PP per person and add 80g oats to the recipe to make it a proper smoothie for 2 PP per person.

Super Berry Blitz (from Cooking the WeightWatchers Way)
(Serves 4)
(0 WW ProPoints Per Serving)

200g blueberries
200g strawberries
200g raspberries
2 bananas, sliced
1 tsp vanilla extract
425ml chilled water

Put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour into glasses and serve.

Pear and Vanilla Smoothie

This is a delicious smoothie full of healthy goodness with the pear and the spinach. I was a bit worried about the spinach but you can't taste it as the sweetness of the pear comes through.

Pear and Vanilla Smoothie (adapted from Deliciously Ella)

(Serves 1)

1 pear

200ml milk

a big handful of spinach

a handful of oats

1 tbsp almond butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Slice the pear into pieces, taking out the core. Then place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I have been revelling in the British strawberries that have just come into season, they are so juicy and sweet. Instead of just dipping them in a bag of sugar and eating them like I normally do, I also made a smoothie. This was yummy, lovely and thick because of the oats and fabulously fruity.

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie
(Serves 1)

25g porridge oats
110g vanilla yogurt
60ml milk
100g hulled and washed strawberries
1 tsp flax seeds

Place the porridge oats in a blender and process until they are finely ground – this step is essential so that your smoothie has a smooth texture. 

Add the rest of the ingredients and process again until smooth. This smoothie has a thick texture, so just adjust with more milk if you prefer more liquid. 

Raspberry Breakfast Power Smoothie

I really enjoyed this smoothie, I was worried about the oats but you can't taste their texture at all, they just make the smoothie lovely and thick. I have changed the amounts of things from the original recipe and I added a lot less oats and honey as I feel that the fruit is sweet enough without adding too much extra sweetener.

Raspberry Breakfast Power Smoothie (adapted from The Guardian)
(Serves 2)

50g oats
1 small banana
2 tsp honey
125ml Greek yoghurt
150ml milk

2 big handfuls frozen raspberries

Put everything into a blender and whizz until smooth. Serve.

Banana and Avocado Smoothie

I am trying to find things for breakfast that fill me up for longer, so that I don't feel quite so hungry between meals. I thought first off I would try smoothies and as I had both bananas and an avocado in this one was first. I actually really liked the taste of it although I was very skeptical at first, but the banana is the dominant flavour making it more palatable. I also definitely felt fuller for longer this morning.

I am also on the hunt for more healthy snacks and I've come up with popcorn and nuts and dried fruit. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know.

Banana and Avocado Smoothie (adapted from Good Food)
(Serves 2)

1 banana, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and stone removed
1 tsp honey
300ml chilled milk

Mix all the ingredients together in a blender. To serve, pour into a tall glass.