Grape Lemonade Smoothie

This particular recipe has some nostalgia for me. Growing up my family would regularly make Kool-Aid regularly. We had dozens of flavor packets in a drawer waiting to be used at our whim.

I've always loved experimenting with food and flavors, so, one day I combined a grape packet with a lemonade packet. Voila! An awesome new flavor!

A few months later we found a new kind of Kool-Aid packet on the shelves at the store: Purplesaurus Rex. We bought some, prepared it that evening, and found that it tasted surprisingly familiar. After some thought we realized it tasted exactly like my grape-lemonade concoction. Interesting! We didn't need to pay a premium for that new flavor. 😁

Ingredients

• Lemon juice from 1 to 2 medium lemons (or 1 large lemon), depending on desired tartness level
• 1-2 cups grapes
• 1/2 to 1 fully ripe avocado
• Approximately 3 to 8 heaping tablespoons cane sugar, depending on desired sweetness level
• Ice
• Water
• Optional: desired amount of unflavored protein/collagen powder
• Optional: Spinach

Directions

1. Add the cane sugar to the blender. I typically pour until the pile of sugar covers the top of the central post that holds the blade in the Blendtec. You can adjust this to your own preferred sweetness level.
2. Add the avocado, lemon juice, and grapes.
3. Add/Prepare the protein/collagen powder
1. If using a brand of protein/collagen powder that doesn't clump in cold water, add the protein/collagen powder to the mixture in the blender. (I prefer to use 2 scoops from this brand.)
2. If using a brand of protein/collagen powder that does clump in water, mix the protein/collagen powder with about 16 oz. of (preferably cool or cold) water following the directions on the container and set the mixture aside. (I use 2 scoops from this powder.)
4. Add about 500-750 milliliters of ice. (I add until the ice level reaches the top of the Blendtec logo.) Add less ice if you want more potent flavor (or add more grapes).
5. Add a handful or two of spinach, if you want.
6. Add water (or the mixture from step 3.2) until the fluid level is about an inch below the top of the ice.
7. Set aside an additional glass/cup with cold water.
8. Blend until smooth. (The Blendtec has a "smoothie" button for this.)
1. Warning: If the blender starts to struggle or spin freely--meaning the blender is running but the smoothie mixture is not moving or is sluggish--immediately start adding water from step 6 until the smoothie mixture starts to flow again.
9. Pour, serve, and enjoy!

Additional Notes

Grapes

With this recipe, feel free to try this with different kinds of grapes. I recommend seedless grapes. I've used standard red table grapes, black grapes, and even moon-drop grapes (Pineapple queried "Is there mint in here?").

Blender

I use a Blendtec blender, but a similar professional blender like a Vitamix will work. 

Lemon Juice

When preparing the lemon juice, I try to use the lemon pulp as well. I slice the lemons off-center 3 times so that I get 4 lemon chunks which I squeeze by hand through a strainer into the blender. I then pick out some of the pulp from the strainer (avoiding the seeds) and toss it into the blender.

Washing Hands

Before I work with food I wash my hands with soap and dry them using a paper towel. Any time I do something which might contaminate my hands--such as interacting with non-food-related items--I rewash my hands. I use paper towels because they are inexpensive and more sanitary than hand towels.

Ice and Water

The ideal ice-to-water ratio will result in a smoothie which has the consistency of yogurt or soft-serve ice cream. If you find the smoothie is too watery then either add more ice next time or cut back on the water added. When there is not enough water then the blender will start to spin freely as mentioned in step 8.1.

I use less water and more ice in this recipe because grapes are mostly water so I do not need to add as much water to get the same fluidity in the final product.

Avocado

1/2 of an avocado will get you a smooth texture, but you may find the smoothie is not very satisfying. Using an entire avocado will make the smoothie far more satisfying.

The ripeness of the avocado matters. If the avocado is not ripe, then the smoothie will be clumpy, will start to separate, and the flavor will be unsatisfying. If the avocado is ripe, then the smoothie will be satisfyingly creamy and will stay uniform for a long time--at least a half-hour.

I've attempted to use avocado oil in place of the avocado, but that particular smoothie doesn't have the right texture and starts to separate immediately. I've also tried to substitute coconut oil, but that also separates immediately and tends to be clumpy.

Spinach

The spinach is mostly for color, fiber, and nutrients. If you add a lot of spinach the smoothie will start to taste like grass. However, a little spinach will improve the nutrition of the smoothie without altering the flavor much.