My mother was one strange bird!! Of her many interesting traits, she used to prepare and drink a concoction my brother and I not very affectionately called G-L-O-P. As a youth, I used to think it had the smell and consistency of vomit. When mom would prepare her so-called elixir, I tended to hightail it out of the house or, at least, go hide in the basement. The odor of glop would permeate our house for what seemed like hours.
Like most kids, I vowed I'd never be like my parents. I would be my own person who did his own thing. Of course, as I take a look at the man Trey has become, I see a lot of my parents in my thoughts, deeds, beliefs and behaviors. Not surprisingly, this post is about the realization that I now drink my own version of glop.
I know so many people who aren't very cognizant nor coherent until they have their x number of cups of coffee each morning. I've never been a coffee drinker -- I prefer green tea -- but, in recent months, I have developed my own ritual that rivals the typical morning cup of joe.
Upon rising each day, I descend upon my kitchen to prepare my morning Frozen Berry Smoothie or, what I'm sure all the neighbor kids would call Trey's frozen berry glop. I've become a twenty-first century edition of dear 'ol mum!!
The basic ingredients wouldn't startle anyone. The base of my glop consists of Rice Dream, frozen blueberries or strawberries (I alternate between the two), nonfat yogurt, nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt and several ice cubes. Like my dear ma, however, I then add several nutritional additives that turns a normal fruit smoothie into glop.
The most important of these additives is a heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast. This kind of yeast has a nutty flavor and, in my humble opinion, really accentuates the taste of the berries. High in protein and essential B vitamins, it is often called the best source of vital B-12 for vegetarians like moi.
The second most important additive -- I could call it 1a -- is ground flax seed. High in fiber and key amino acids, it provides the vegetarian with some of the health benefits we miss out on by not eating fish. It is supposed to help lower bad cholesterol, but I tend to add it because I really like the flavor.
Next comes a huge sprinkle of powdered sweet whey. Whey contains a strong protein profile plus it's low in fat and, like yogurt, contains compounds that promote good intestinal flora.
My glop gets rounded out by adding one tablespoon of organic wheat bran and, sometimes, one tablespoon of organic oat bran. I think it should be readily obvious to the reader why bran is added -- roughage, baby, roughage. As I tend to have problems with chronic constipation -- ooh, more information than you probably want to know -- the addition of one or more types of bran helps get me going...if ya know what I mean!
All these ingredients get churned up in my blender and soon find their way into my tummy. For me, it's a delicious start to the day which is high in protein and fiber, while being low in fat. I usually don't feel the need to eat anything else until mid-afternoon.
Me mum would be so proud of her boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like most kids, I vowed I'd never be like my parents. I would be my own person who did his own thing. Of course, as I take a look at the man Trey has become, I see a lot of my parents in my thoughts, deeds, beliefs and behaviors. Not surprisingly, this post is about the realization that I now drink my own version of glop.
I know so many people who aren't very cognizant nor coherent until they have their x number of cups of coffee each morning. I've never been a coffee drinker -- I prefer green tea -- but, in recent months, I have developed my own ritual that rivals the typical morning cup of joe.
Upon rising each day, I descend upon my kitchen to prepare my morning Frozen Berry Smoothie or, what I'm sure all the neighbor kids would call Trey's frozen berry glop. I've become a twenty-first century edition of dear 'ol mum!!
The basic ingredients wouldn't startle anyone. The base of my glop consists of Rice Dream, frozen blueberries or strawberries (I alternate between the two), nonfat yogurt, nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt and several ice cubes. Like my dear ma, however, I then add several nutritional additives that turns a normal fruit smoothie into glop.
The most important of these additives is a heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast. This kind of yeast has a nutty flavor and, in my humble opinion, really accentuates the taste of the berries. High in protein and essential B vitamins, it is often called the best source of vital B-12 for vegetarians like moi.
The second most important additive -- I could call it 1a -- is ground flax seed. High in fiber and key amino acids, it provides the vegetarian with some of the health benefits we miss out on by not eating fish. It is supposed to help lower bad cholesterol, but I tend to add it because I really like the flavor.
Next comes a huge sprinkle of powdered sweet whey. Whey contains a strong protein profile plus it's low in fat and, like yogurt, contains compounds that promote good intestinal flora.
My glop gets rounded out by adding one tablespoon of organic wheat bran and, sometimes, one tablespoon of organic oat bran. I think it should be readily obvious to the reader why bran is added -- roughage, baby, roughage. As I tend to have problems with chronic constipation -- ooh, more information than you probably want to know -- the addition of one or more types of bran helps get me going...if ya know what I mean!
All these ingredients get churned up in my blender and soon find their way into my tummy. For me, it's a delicious start to the day which is high in protein and fiber, while being low in fat. I usually don't feel the need to eat anything else until mid-afternoon.
Me mum would be so proud of her boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While glop is amusing(and "smoothies" are a nicer way of putting it), the really intresting thing to me in this post is the bit about recognizing elements of our parents in our own behavior....usually something we detested or admonished against when we were young or when they were still alive and needed our help. Our parents never really leave us--we become them.
ReplyDeleteI really like that last sentence!!
ReplyDeleteI have a "licuado" like your about twice a week (licuado is shake in Spanish).
ReplyDeleteMine includes soy milk, yogurt, any omega 3 oil that I may have a around, some sort of fibre like flax or oat bran, and stevia, if i need to sweeten it a little.
I'm no Mexican by I've been there upwards of 15 times (business trips). Having licuados like yours and mine is part of the culture, but they don't do milk or yogurt, just vegetable and fruit juice.
You can find juice stands everywhere. They carry a number of seeds and additives that you may ask them to add to your concoction.
I love Mexico.