Not Exactly Bento

Lately, I’ve been searching for breakfast alternatives.  I have just under an hour drive too and from work each day.  Often, I grab something on the way to work to eat, like that bacon and egg biscuit above.  These are found all over the place from my house to work, at grocery stores and gas stations alike.  Often running about $1.69-$1.99.  While tasty, definitely not the most healthy option for my body or my pocketbook.  Then someone gave me a coupon for a free smoothie from a major chain specializing in just that one frozen concoction.  Now, I’ve avoided smoothies to this point, having an idea that they are simply a vehicle to get people to ingest one of my most dreaded foods: yogurt.  You all know that I have an aversion to yogurt, only finding one or two over the years that I can actual choke down.  Not wanting to let a coupon go to waste, I decided to stop being fearful of the smoothies and try one.  I was amazed at the flavor and loved it!  As Louisiana quickly approaches the hottest season, summer, smoothies sounds like a good addition to my morning routine.  However, paying $5 a pop for a 20 oz isn’t in my daily budget.

So what do I do?  Well, as typical, my first thought is how do I make this myself….

 

 

My fridge already had frozen strawberries, for a possible angel food cake, and frozen blueberries, for muffins.  Now, how to go about making one?  You would think this would be simple right?  Well, in actuality it is extremely simple, but as usual, I am sometimes the most worried about the simplest of kitchen tasks.  Trying to avoid the purchase of a blender, I first tried my immersion blender.  This didn’t work so well.  The smoothie was chunky and chewy, which I didn’t mind.  However, it wasn’t quite what I wanted to achieve either.

Next, I pulled out my most awesome food processor.  Let em tell you, while it is technically possible to chop everything up for a smoothie in a food processor, you’re not going to get the texture you might want.  Harumph.  So, I ordered a blender.  And by this point I was feeling awfully discouraged.  It is at times like these I always turn to my most trusted source: a book.  My librarian’s heart just knows that I’m going to find what I need in a book.  And I did!  And my basic understanding of a smoothie is it can hold everything but your kitchen sink by way of a good blender.  It seems to be the ultimate way to get rid of certain leftovers as well.  More on that later though.

As I said, my fridge had the frozen fruit.  So, another attempt was made at a simple smoothie.  Yogurt was purchased.  As well, I was invited to try a new-to-me product on the market shelves: Equal Sucralose.  I don’t tend to use sugar substitutes, though I should, because of the after taste that normally is associated with them.  However, I figured in a smoothie I would need just enough to cut the tartness of the fruit.  Plus, this is a great way to get myself to start the transition to a sugar substitute.  My doctor would be most happy with me.

 

I must admit that this smoothie is truly a smoothie.  All ingredients blended properly and it tasted like a wonderful not-quite-frozen fruity treat.  OOoohhhh!  I am so ready for the coming week.  I made a big batch and froze into separate drinking vessels.  Now in the mornings, I just need to grab one and go.  It will defrost by the time I get to work, and voila!  Breakfast is served.

In case you’re wondering what I thought about the Equal Sucralose….

• I definitely like that it comes in a canister rather than a bag, unlike other sugar substitutes and regular sugar.  I purchase a brand of cane sugar in a can, at a higher price, due to ease of storage.  And no, I don’t transfer it to a Lock & Lock container, in case you are wondering.  ;)
• The smoothie tasted fine and didn’t have that after taste that many sugar substitutes, at least not until the last sip.  I suspect this is because much of the sweetener may have settled, just as sugar does in a sweetened drink.  I still have to test this properly with baking.  The one thing I tried to bake failed, but I don’t think it was necessarily due to this product.
• I haven’t been able to find this in all my stores, so if you’re looking for it, visit Equal’s website.  I found it at a Wal-Mart store (#935) in Denham Springs, LA.
• The Equal Sucralose was 50 cents cheaper than the bag of Splenda I bought the last time I needed a sugar substitute (baking something for my dad who is diabetic).  The 50 cents doesn’t make much difference to me.  However, the canister does!  That’s one less Lock & Lock I have to use (saving my precious for something else).

Now obviously, I was asked to try this product.  So the question becomes, “Jenn, do you really see yourself using this?”  The answer is, “Yes, I’m going to try to.”  I <3 sugar and all it can create.  My blood doesn’t like it so much though.  Plus, my father and other family members are diabetic.  Learning to bake with a sugar substitute would be a great advantage for the holidays.  In fact, we have large family gathering right around the corner for Easter.  I wonder what I could make?!

I case you’re wondering what you could make, I’ve been very generously given coupons for $2 off Equal Sucralose.  If you want to try it out yourself, comment below and let me know.  I’ll pick “winners” randomly via Random.org and mail you your coupon.  And let me know what you plan to make, will ya?  I need some more inspiration as I drink my morning smoothie.

If you’d like to see my whole shopping experience while preparing to make these smoothies, click here.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. As usual, all opinions, kitchen experiments, both successes and failures, are my own.  #CBias #EqualSucralose

Be the bento everyone!