10 Delicious Smoothies For Weight Loss

 I recently joined a gym, and they have a smoothie bar in the front.   Each of their freshly-made smoothies costs about $5.   They are delicious!  They do list all the ingredients on the menu, for health-conscious people and they were perfectly willing to answer calorie questions.   Their "meal replacement" smoothies are meant to keep you full and give you energy, build lean muscle, provide essential nutrients, etc.   I noticed they certainly DO keep me full for quite a while!   I like to order one right before I work out, as my "lunch".   I studied their menu and watched them being made, etc.   And I came up with home-made versions of each of their smoothies, based on the ingredients lists and the amounts I saw them using.   Great just to cool off for summer, or to lose weight!  

Fruit-Based Smoothies And Their Ingredients:
(simply place ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth-- then serve!  Frozen fruit works great, fresh also.  Most are about 250 calories, remember they are a meal replacement):

1.  Strawberry Slam—½ cup water, 1 cup strawberries (frozen or fresh), ½ cup sliced banana, ½ cup yogurt, 1 to 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder, 4 regular-sized ice cubes. 

2.  Berry, Berry Good—½ cup water, 1 cup mixed berries (strawberries blueberries, blackberries, raspberries-- frozen or fresh), ½ cup sliced banana, ½ cup yogurt, 1 to 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder, 4 regular-sized ice cubes. 

3.  Hawaiian Harvest—½ cup water, 1 cup total mix of crushed pineapple and coconut (fresh, sliced or shredded, sugar-free), ½ cup sliced banana, ½ cup yogurt, 1 to 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder, 4 regular-sized ice cubes. 

4.  Mango Crusher—½ cup water, 1 cup total mix of mango and strawberries (fresh or frozen), ½ cup sliced banana, ½ cup yogurt, 1 to 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder, 4 regular-sized ice cubes. 

5.  I Love Veggies—½ cup water, 1 cup total mix of crushed pineapple, coconut (fresh, flaked or sliced, no sugar) fresh spinach, fresh kale, and avocado.   Add ½ tsp lemon juice.  Then add ½ cup sliced banana, ½ cup yogurt, 1 to 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder, 4 regular-sized ice cubes.

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Milk-Based Smoothies And Their Ingredients:

 (again, simply add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth-- then serve.  Most are about 450 to 500 calories, remember they are a meal replacement). 

 

1.  Peanut Butter Cup—1 cup any milk you prefer, 2 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp tsp natural powdered peanut butter, 40g worth of vanilla whey protein, 4 regular-sized cubes of ice. 

2.  Banana Nut Blast—1 cup any milk you prefer, 1 tbsp tsp natural powdered peanut butter, ½ cup sliced  banana blended with 40g worth of vanilla whey protein, 4 regular-sized cubes of ice. 

3.  Java Jolt—1 cup any milk you prefer, 1 tsp Columbian coffee crystals, 2 tsp cocoa powder, blended with 40g worth of vanilla whey protein, 4 regular-sized cubes of ice. 

4.  Body Builder—1 cup any milk you prefer, ½ cup sliced banana, 5g creatine and 40g worth of vanilla or chocolate whey protein, 4 regular-sized cubes of ice. 

5.  Chocolate Thinny Mint—1 cup any milk you like, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, mint leaves or mint extract to taste, 30g worth of chocolate whey protein, 4 regular-sized cubes of ice.   

  

TIPS:  
Go to a local gym and buy their protein powders, if they sell any.   Or look for a good quality whey protein powder in a local store.   Its good to have chocolate and vanilla on hand, for more variety in the kind of smoothies you can make.  Generally, the fruit-based smoothies use vanilla, and the milk-based smoothies use chocolate.   But you can mix and match.  

 

Mom’s Fall-Off-The-Bone BBQ Ribs

My Mom was always famous for her way of cooking ribs, because they came out VERY tender.  And coated in caramelized BBQ sauce.  You could easily pull them apart by hand, or cut them apart with a fork.  They were delicious!  She used bone-in baby back ribs mostly, but also sometimes boneless country-style ribs. Beef or pork, depending what was on sale. Some people boil them, but she figured out a way to make them come out fork-tender without boiling—covering them and slow-baking them, via 2 different temperatures. This recipe is more about the cooking method. Not so much the ingredients. There is a lot of room for "your own personal preferences", and it works regardless of what spices and sauces you prefer. If you have family members who love ribs, give this a try!

Mom’s Fall-Off-The-Bone BBQ Ribs

 

Ingredients:

1 rack beef or pork baby back ribs (or as many as you want)

Your favorite spice rub (about 1 heaping tsp. per rack)

You favorite BBQ sauce (enough for all your ribs)

Directions:

1.        Remove the rough membrane from the ribs (it’s the thin, white, tough layer along the bottom curved side of the ribs).  Dig your fingers under the membrane, and peel it away.  This membrane is what makes ribs so tough and chewy.  You don’t want that. 

2.       Take your favorite spice rub, and rub about a teaspoon of it over the rack of ribs (or each rack, if you’re doing more than one).  

3.       Line a baking sheet (with slightly raised sides all the way around) with foil. Lightly grease foil, or use cooking spray. 

4.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place ribs in the oven.  Allow the meat to brown on both sides for about 20 minutes, turning over when needed. 

5.       Take ribs out and use your favorite BBQ sauce to brush BOTH sides of the ribs.  Return the ribs to the 350 degree oven, for about 20 minutes. Or until the sauce begins to caramelize, but not brown. Turn them over halfway through.

6.       Add another generous amount of sauce to the top of the ribs.  Make sure the top of the ribs are facing up (the raised, rounded part).  Cover them with foil. Keep the foil low, but try not to let it touch the ribs. Seal the foil TIGHTLY all the way around. The big trick to this is to not let the steam escape, or else the ribs will be dry. 

7.       TURN THE OVEN DOWN TO 250 DEGREES.   This is important, because if the heat is too high, the sauce will burn. Put the ribs back in the 250 degree oven, and set your alarm/timer for 2 hours. Check the ribs after 2 hours, by poking them with a fork (only lift the corner of the foil, and be careful not to let the steam burn you!). The meat should pull off the bone easily with a fork. If not, return it to the oven and continue baking, checking every 20 minutes until ribs are “fork tender”. If you are doing more than one rack, you may need 3 or 4 hours of cooking time. Move the time up to accommodate the number of racks you have. 

8.       Remove ribs from the oven.  Let stand 5 minutes and serve with your favorite sides. 

Crock Pot Café Rio Chicken

Special note about all crock pot recipes—Cooking with a crock pot is a fun and easy way to prepare endless varieties of delicious meals.  It is also more healthy than many alternate cooking methods.    Contrary to common assumptions, the crock pot IS NOT just for soups, stews or roasts.   There are amazingly creative people out there who have come up with very clever ways to cook almost anything in one single crock pot, all at the same time.  Everything from “steak and baked potatoes with corn on the cob”, to lasagna, to sweet and sour pork, to excellent taco fillings.  You can also pick a few dinner recipes, put all the RAW ingredients in a gallon freezer bag, seal out the air and freeze them so you can toss them in the crock pot any day of the week. 

Crock Pot Café Rio Chicken

Ingredients:

4 to 6 chicken breasts

½ cup water

2 large cloves garlic chopped

1 packet dry powdered ranch seasoning (or 3 tablespoons measured dry)

1/2 small bottle zesty Italian dressing

½ tablespoon chili powder

½ tablespoon cumin

Directions:

1.  Place all ingredients in your crock pot and blend well.

2.  Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.  Serve.

SERVING TIPS:

1.  Shred meat, serve over tortillas with a layer of re-fried beans, or over lettuce (as a salad) topped with cilantro, sour cream, avocado and tomato.   

Crock Pot Balsamic Glazed Drumsticks

Special note about all crock pot recipes—Cooking with a crock pot is a fun and easy way to prepare endless varieties of delicious meals.  It is also more healthy than many alternate cooking methods.    Contrary to common assumptions, the crock pot IS NOT just for soups, stews or roasts.   There are amazingly creative people out there who have come up with very clever ways to cook almost anything in one single crock pot, all at the same time.  Everything from “steak and baked potatoes with corn on the cob”, to lasagna, to sweet and sour pork, to excellent taco fillings.  You can also pick a few dinner recipes, put all the RAW ingredients in a gallon freezer bag, seal out the air and freeze them so you can toss them in the crock pot any day of the week.  

Crock Pot Balsamic Glazed Drumsticks

Ingredients:

8 chicken drumsticks (skin removed)

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or olive oil)

½ cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce (for gluten free, use Tamari)

1 tablespoon honey

Sesame seeds and chopped green onion for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.  Place all ingredients in your crock pot, blend well. 

2.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve with rice, and/or your favorite vegetable side (you can steam vegetables by wrapping them in foil and placing them on top of the chicken during cooking).  Top with sesame seeds and chopped green onion, if desired.