I'd very happily eat that smoothie after a workout - it's all real food stuff, from a mix of sources, plenty of protein, a decent amount of fiber, and not least importantly YUM.

not least importantly YUM.

Yeah, buddy! Woot. I DO love these smoothies but was afraid it might be overkill.

Learning to freeze bananas was a real turning point for me.

possibly as high as 6 servings of fruit

Why are bananas almost always an ingredient in smoothies? Is there a particular reason? Is it the "creaminess"? I'm not a huge fan of bananas.

I don't like smoothies with bananas, either. For some reason, it gives them a "medicine-y" taste.

pretty much creaminess, Vortex. But they also add sweetness without adding outside sugars

but I tend to do all berry or peach -- partly because bannans add a lot in the calorie department

pretty much creaminess, Vortex. But they also add sweetness without adding outside sugars

This, exactly. The banana to berry ratio is roughly 1:3. I'm not a huge banana flavor fan either, I just use them for the creaminess without extra sweetener. A friend eschews the banana for calorie reasons but adds Splenda instead. Ick!

So, my grandmother gave chocolates to her two daughters today -- my mother, and my aunt with the excuse that she's a mother to her cats. I feel like I should be insulted, on princple. But by the time I thought of it, I was so annoyed by the fact that we got so lost going to the restaurant (due to a combination of bad directions and bad following of those directions) that we were a half-hour late, that I just couldn't work up any steam about it.

In the end, the dinner was fine, if way overpriced and not worth all of the agita.

phew! meal was a success, and even better, now it's done.

And bananas add thickness if you don't want to add ice or protein powder

Which principle, Jesse?