Smoothie Scandal (And A Soup of the Week Update)

February 11, 2015 Off By Lisa

I have been the victim of a smoothie scandal.

OK, it was not exactly a scandal, but it could have been for like five minutes.

Remember a couple of months ago I did a post about Williams Sonoma asking me to be part of their Smoothie Week? Well I was of course flattered and kind of floored that anyone would actually notice my little blog, so I did the post and that, as they say, was that. I never heard another word.

Curious to know what ever became of this Smoothie Week promotion, I hit Google and went looking. I found a few posts here and there around the Internet, but not many at that point, and that was about it. Oh, well, I figured. You live and you learn and you move on. Of course anything really big wouldn’t be after my blog or my smoothie recipe. Duh.

In early January, I was contacted by another blogger who was approached by the company to do a smoothie post. To make a long story short, Williams Sonoma did not exactly do the best job of working with the bloggers they contacted. If you are interested in the story, please hop over to Kelly Caiazzo’s blog, I Am Running This. Kelly dug in and did some research and got to the bottom of the whole thing. She’s done a great job of telling the story and also rounding up the recipes provided by the bloggers Williams Sonoma contacted. If you like smoothies, definitely check it out – there are some great recipes and some great blogs listed.

In the meantime, I’ll share a quick smoothie or two with you here.

The post I did for the Smoothie Week promotion, titled Smoothie Week – What’s Your Weirdest appeared here on the blog back in November. Click there to read the story of how and why I started making and drinking smoothies. I also talk about the different ingredients we’ve used (some are a bit strange) and the weirdest one we had tried at that point – radishes.

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If you read through that post, it will also lead you to the story of the Hub’s most bizarre smoothie concoction, the Mayo Smoothie. It’s a pretty good story which I featured in He Cooks! – Smoothie Edition back in September of 2013. Even if you don’t do smoothies, you’ll enjoy the glimpse into our crazy little life here and enjoy some of our witty verbal exchanges. 

We’re kind of hilarious.

Kale, Pineapple, Almond Milk Smoothie

 And then there’s the smoothie recipe I promised you a few weeks ago in a TToT post, I think. Yes, it was here. It was the one I put in the Hub’s lovely beer glasses. The smoothie was really delicious and quite effective and I promised you I’d share what I put in it…

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And now I can’t find my notes so I have no idea. None.

That’s not true. I know there were radishes involved because I was very congested that day and since I learned about the head-clearing properties of radishes, I frequently turn to them for relief. I don’t know if they really work or I just think they do. I’m pretty sure they really work because I remember feeling much better not even an hour after having this.

Let’s see if I can remember the rest from the other photo…

Lovely, isn’t it?

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OK, I can tell you for certain that I used radishes – usually three or four decent ones go into a smoothie batch.

I can see kale – that’s about two good handfuls. Use whatever greens you like.

Frozen mixed berries. The bag on the counter is kind of a dead giveaway. Use about a cup of those.

Going by the look of the liquid in the photo, I probably used about a cup each of almost milk and some kind of red juice (usually pomegranate, tart cherry, or cranberry here).

I most likely used about a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of ginger in there. Both are great anti-inflammatory helpers and if your nasal passages are swollen, it can’t hurt. Toss ’em in.

I can see the plastic cap to my vegetable peeler on the front of the Vitamix. So what in the world would I have peeled to throw in there? That was mid-January so I’m trying to think what I had in the produce drawer. Carrot? Probably not. Apple? Maybe. Was that the week we had mango? No, I didn’t peel that with the peeler. Or did I? Could have been a beet, but I don’t think I would pair that with radishes. Pomegranate arils! I think that was it. Or kiwi…

Or that peeler cover might just be there because I didn’t want to lose it.

Know what? Let’s just call this one gone. I feel like there was something special about it that day, but I am at a loss and I can’t find the notes anywhere.

Love me anyway, OK? And don’t forget to check out Kelly’s Smoothie Week post and the recipes by the other bloggers. You know, the ones who remember what they put in their smoothies. Those people.

As for me, I’m going to bed. My computer just had its ninth nervous breakdown in the last week, causing me to lose a bunch of this post. Then I had to fix it. Now it’s so late that it’s early. I’m out.

~~~~~

As for Soup of the Week, it will return again next week. I think I’ve settled on alternating weeks because sometimes we just repeat things we love. Like this week. Kidzilla asked for Our Favorite Easy Creamy Tomato soup, so that’s what we had. It’s Ina Garten’s, if you want to know that, and it’s worth a click. Still to come for Soup of the Week is homemade hot and sour soup. Come back next week for that one!

Now it’s your turn: Have you ever been drawn into a promotion or event that wasn’t quite what it seemed? Have you ever fallen for an actual scam? Are you a smoothie drinker? Do you have a favorite smoothie to share? Are you a fan of hot and sour soup?

Let’s talk in the comments…

CategoryLife
Tagslearning smoothies Soup of the Week writing

About The Author

Lisa A. Listwa is a self-employed writer with experience in education, publishing, and the martial arts. Believing there was more to life than punching someone else’s time clock and inspired by the words of Henry David Thoreau, she traded her life as a high school educator for a life as a writer and hasn’t looked back. She is mother to one glorious handful of a daughter, wife to the nicest guy on the planet, and reluctant but devoted owner of three Rotten Cats. You can find her adventures and thoughts on living life deliberately here on the blog.

16 Comments

  • ilirianwanderer says:
    February 11, 2015 at 6:27 am

    I have never tried smoothies before. I feel tempted now! 🙂

  • Valerie Newman says:
    February 11, 2015 at 6:34 am

    You are hilarious. My husband used to juice all the time. When he added garlic, I couldn’t be in the same room with him. Not that I don’t like garlic, but it just reeked from his body. Glad your feeling better.

  • Jhanis says:
    February 11, 2015 at 10:10 am

    The best post about smoothies! 🙂 I love smoothies but I tend to stick with fruits. The most daring one I tried had horse-radish leaves. 🙂

  • Crystal R. Cook says:
    February 11, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    I love smoothies, but I am hesitant to try new things, so . . . boring smoothies are what I currently love. I did just grab a bunch of fresh spinach so I’m going to get adventurous. Sad, I know, but this is adventure for me 🙂

    • Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says:
      February 11, 2015 at 2:35 pm

      I always liked fruit smoothies, but the “green” smoothie was a turnoff. I think I tried my first one after reading an article about how the author’s kids loved them. If they could do it, I thought, so could I. I’ve never looked back since and I’ve gotten very daring with them. Are you following me on Pinterest? I have a huge board of smoothie recipes and tips, including infographics about how to put a smoothie together. Take a look around and give it a try!

  • Considerer says:
    February 11, 2015 at 4:13 pm

    I used to have a smoothie maker but honestly the bloody effort of CLEANING the thing afterwards! I’d rather just eat the fruit and vegetables. Additionally, milk and juice? EWWW!

    Do NOT fancy that.

    Bummer about the promotional thing. Always a shame when people don’t do things as professionally as they really should.

    I once got suckered by a vanity publishing company. That bit.

    • Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says:
      February 11, 2015 at 4:41 pm

      Agreed. The cleaning is a bummer. What I like about my current machine (Vitamix) is that if you put in a drop of soap and hot water and turn it on, it’s powerful enough to give it a good clean. I do scrub it with a brush pretty often, too, and I’ll admit to tossing it in the dishwasher every now and then (even though some say not to). I also eat a ton of produce, too. It’s one more option.
      Yeah, I’m not so much concerned that I didn’t get some great big publicity boost from it – not really what I’m after. I just thought it was cool and that they should have organized the whole thing a bit better. Maybe now they will.

      • Considerer says:
        February 12, 2015 at 4:47 am

        I hope so. Even if you don’t do it for a big publicity boost, it’s nice to know that your efforts on their behalf have been at least acknowledged!

        I LOVE fresh fruit and veggies. Ridiculously so. I’m happy not to drink them. The thickness of smoothies isn’t something which tends to sit well with me, on the whole, either (been thinking about it).

        • Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says:
          February 12, 2015 at 8:18 am

          I don’t like them too thick, either. I probably make mine somewhere between juice and smoothie. Know what I had last night while I was writing? Smoothie. Kale, arugula, milk, juice, banana, pineapple, blueberry, turmeric, and ginger. Made me very happy.

  • Dyanne @ I Want Backsies says:
    February 11, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    My husband started making green smoothies (with spinach), but I couldn’t bring myself to try one. Finally did, with my eyes closed, and was shocked at how good they are! But I’m way too picky to be very adventurous with them. Frozen fruit (strawberries, bananas, peaches), almond milk, fresh apple, fresh orange, big handfuls of spinach.

    And who has time to sit around and think up internet hoaxes, anyway?

    • Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says:
      February 12, 2015 at 1:25 am

      I certainly do not have that time in my life.
      Spinach is a good way to start – especially if you have baby spinach. It’s very mild and really just blends right in. Your smoothies sound good to me! I get a bit weird with mine because I truly love all fruits and vegetables. Tonight I did a “clean out the produce drawer” smoothie. Truly. It had milk (because we’re out of almond milk at the moment – I like almond milk), a whole lot of kale and arugula, some fresh pineapple, frozen blueberries, a banana, a couple of radishes, turmeric, ginger, and unsweetened cranberry juice. Came out all purple-ish-mauve. I had a bedroom carpet that color once. 😀 Tasted like…fruit and banana. Yum. Got a ton of stuff out of the fridge and into my body and didn’t hit the fridge for a nighttime snack while writing.
      Win.
      The only produce I’ve ever encountered that I kind of hate is okra. Ugh. Slimy.

  • Chris Carter says:
    February 12, 2015 at 3:51 pm

    HA!! You are too funny Lisa!! I’m impressed at what you can decipher from that picture!!!!

    i was asked to join in some kind of contest for V day and I have yet to hear anything else about it, although I did the post with the item I got to choose from the site. I have wondered what one earth that was about!!! But hey, I got a nice item for free, so I’ll take it! And the site seemed totally legit- and I liked it, so I’m good. Just a mystery!!!

    • Lisa @ The Meaning of Me says:
      February 12, 2015 at 5:31 pm

      Kind of a fun little guessing game, right? I feel like there was something more interesting that made me want to post about the recipe in the first place, but it was too long ago and I have no idea. 😀
      Hey, good that you got a freebie! I got nada. Oh, well, live and learn!

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