CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE via VITAMIX (a 1 banana difficulty level)

Several years ago, Jamba Juice had this smoothie call the "Peanut Butter Moo'd" and it was DELICIOUS! And it should have been delicious because size large had 29 grams of fat, 131 grams of sugar and almost 1000 calories! Ouch.

http://www.jambajuice.com/menu-and-nutrition/menu/smoothies/creamy-treats/peanut-butter-mood

I don't believe they sell that one anymore.

Today I made a Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie that VitaMix told me about on Facebook. It's pretty good, just not quite as good as the version from Double J, but I shouldn't have too worry as much about diabetes and increasing my BMI!

Today, 'this monkey' will show you how to make a Chocolate PB Smoothie that contains 2 c of Spinach!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 c Unsweetened Almond Milk (http://www.anymonkeycan.com/2014/08/almond-milk-via-vitamix-1-banana.html)
2 c Baby Spinach
1 Frozen Banana (it is best to peel the banana & cut into 4-5 pieces PRIOR to freezing)
1/2 Bartlett Pear
2 T Natural Peanut Butter (I used my Almond-Walnut Butter http://www.anymonkeycan.com/2013/01/roasted-almond-walnut-butter-via.html)
2 T Cocoa Powder
1 c Ice

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Add the following in this order: Almond Milk, Cocoa Powder, Pear, PB, Frozen Banana, Spinach, and finally the Ice

2. Turn on the VitaMix at level 1 & quickly turn to level 10
3. Turn VitaMix to High & Blend until desired consistency is reached
4. Enjoy!

So technically I made a Chocolate Almond Butter Smoothie...

Until next time, your favorite Neighbor-web monkey!

ALMOND MILK via VITAMIX (a 1 banana difficulty level)

I've been away a bit too long. A new job (well technically a newer job as it has been just over 1 year) will do that to you. Growing up the son of 2 teachers I thought I appreciated how hard teachers work. Now I REALLY know & appreciate how hard teachers work!

It's been 8 months since 'this monkey' has posted here. I might as well post something that is truly simple to make...Almond Milk!

Don't worry, I'm not planning on giving up dairy anytime soon. Blue Bell & Ben & Jerry's are just too good! Don't expect a cold glass of almond milk to replace a cold glass of real milk, but Almond milk goes quite well on a bowl of cereal or in a smoothie.

If you'd like to compare between cow's milk and almond's milk:

http://fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/milk-almond?portionid=342497&portionamount=1.000

http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/milk-(fat-free-or-skim-calcium-fortified)?portionid=41571

This is very simple so let's get started!

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 c Raw Almonds
3 c Filtered Water

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Place the Water & Almonds in your VitaMix
2. Turn on the VitaMix at level 1 & quickly turn to level 10
3. Turn VitaMix to high
4. Blend for 2 minutes

Now at this point you can use a filter & strainer to filter out the sediment, but that causes you to lose fiber & protein.

Yeah, I told you it was simple, but it's been 8 months & I needed to start with something easy!

Until next time...your favorite Neighbor-web Monkey!

ROASTED ALMOND-WALNUT BUTTER via VITAMIX (a 1 banana difficulty level)

Here's another Vitamix Recipe.  I've posted about making your own Walnut/Cashew Butter etc in a food processor.  Making the Almond Butter in the Vitamix was so much easier that I donated my food processor to Goodwill! 

The worst part of making your own Almond Butter is the clean up.  However with proper planning in the Vitamix you can follow up your Homemade Almond Butter with a Banana-Apple-Grape Smoothie that uses most of the leftover Almond Butter at the bottom of the Container!

Let's get started!

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 c Almonds
1 c Walnuts

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
Vitamix
Oven
Roasting Pan or Cookie Sheet

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Pre Heat the oven to 350 deg

 

2.  Take the 3 c of Almonds & Walnuts and evenly distribute in the Roasting Pan.  Roast for about 15 minutes.  Be sure to stir or shake 1-2 times to prevent burning. 

3.  Allow the nuts to cool for about 30-60 minutes. 

 

4.  Add the nuts to the Vitamix & secure the lid. 



Be sure to remove all monkeys prior to blending...

 

5.  Select Variable 1 & then quickly increase to Variable 7.  Using the tamper, press the Almonds & Walnuts until they are all broken down.  



 

6.  At this point, turn to Variable 10 & continue to work the Tamper until the Almond Butter begins to liquefy.

7.  Adjust to High setting for about 1 minute until Almond Butter is a thick consistency and begins to circulate in the Vitamix. 

(Be careful not to overheat your machine.  Turn off the Vitamix if the motor starts to labor)  





  

8.  Time to move the Almond-Walnut Butter to an airtight container. 



Gravity is your friend...sometimes!

9.  This way gets quite a bit into the container, but I'll also use a small rubber spatula to help the last little bits along the way.  Be VERY careful to stay above the blades because otherwise you will soon be missing parts of your rubber spatula!

 

10.  Make a smoothie with the residual Almond Butter! 



The start to a great smoothie!

 And that is it for the Homemade Almond-Walnut Butter...Vitamix-style! 

 



 

 

Enjoy & until next time...

Your favorite neighborweb Monkey!

HUMMUS via VITAMIX (a 2 banana difficulty level)

Well, I recently broke down and purchased a Vitamix Blender...well a refurbished one.  They are certainly expensive but so far it has been well worth it & I can see why "Cook's Illustrated" recommends it & Jamba Juice uses them to make your smoothie!  Speaking of smoothies, I recently took a break from making them to make some Hummus...Vitamix style!

I am basically following the recipe from the cookbook that came with the Vitamix Blender except I started with dried Chickpeas.  If you are using a food processor, then please refer to this recipe:

http://www.anymonkeycan.com/2010/09/hummus-foxymorons-style.html

Let's get started!

WHAT YOU NEED:
2-15 oz cans of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans); 1 drained & 1 with liquid;
or
**4 c of Cooked Chickpeas reserving 1-2 c of the liquid** (!!!soak overnight!!!)
1/4 c Raw Sesame Seeds
1-2 T Olive Oil
1/4 c Lemon Juice (from 2-3 Lemons)
1-2 Garlic Cloves (peeled)
1 t Cumin
2-3 t Kosher Salt

WHAT ELSE YOU NEED:
A Vitamix Blender or a Food Processor
Large Pot if using Dried Chickpeas

WHAT YOU DO:
**If you are using canned Chickpeas, Please skip to step 5**
1.  Dissolve 2 T of Kosher Salt in about 2 Quarts of Water in a large pot
2.  Rinse the Dried Chickpeas & add to the Salted water.  The water needs to cover the Chickpeas by about 2 inches because the Chickpeas will expand.  SOAK OVERNIGHT
3.  Drain & Rinse the Soaked Beans.  Place in Large pot & add water until Chickpeas are covered by 2 inches of water.  Cover, bring to Boil, then reduce heat & simmer for 30-45 minutes until the Chickpeas are nice & soft.  (IF YOU DID NOT SOAK OVERNIGHT, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO SIMMER FOR ABOUT 60-90 MINUTES)
4.  Save 1-2 c of the Liquid & drain the rest.

5.  Place all of the ingredients in the listed order into the Vitamix container.  Be sure to add 1 c of the reserved liquid if you cooked your own Chickpeas.  Secure the lid.

6.  Select Variable 1, then turn on the Vitamix & quickly increase the speed to Variable 10, then to HIGH.
7.  Blend for 1 minutes using the Tamper to press the ingredients into the Blades.

Initially this was TOO DRY

With just a little extra reserved liquid, this is now nice & creamy!

8.  Serve it up!

Another view of TOO dry.  It's kind of like a Khaki Play-doh which is bad!

This is more like it!

Well, that is about all there is to it.  The Vitamix Blender did a fantastic job.  Using Chickpeas from the can makes this such a simple recipe.  The hardest part is cleaning the Vitamix Container, but cleaning a food processor was just as big of a pain in the butt!

Until next time,
Your friendly Neighborweb Monkey!