Mocha Java Jacked

Back in the good old days (college), I would hit up a gym in Connecticut with my friend Rifle. Big Sky was not the best gym in the world, and I don't recommend it not that a New York Sports Club has opened up in West Hartford, but it had an incredible smoothie bar. Each day Rifle and I would get a delicious drink called a Mocha Java Jacked. For 240 calories, you could drink over 24 oz of delicious frozen, chocolaty caffeine. Sometimes I wouldn't eat again until dinner, but that might have had something to do with all the stimulants I consumed.

After years of trying to recreate this delectable treat, I think I have gotten pretty close. First you need really cold, good coffee. If I have a little left over, I throw it in the fridge for the next day. I've had a half-finished cup from Ottomanelli's in my fridge for days just waiting to be tossed in the blender. Their coffee is delicious. Then you add a half cup of skim milk, a scoop of chocolate whey, and ice. The most important ingredient is Walden's Farms No-Calorie Chocolate Syrup. It's available at your local grocery store in the refrigerated section, most likely next to the Naked Juice and the sliced mango.

Green Smoothie

I made my first green smoothie this morning. Inspired by a recipe I read in the March issue of Oxygen, I pulled out my Ninja Master Prep at 5:30 am to make this before heading to work.

I put approximately 3/4 of a cup of frozen pineapple chunks, 1 scoop of unflavored whey protein powder, 4 oz coconut water, 4 oz orange juice, 1 handful of baby spinach, 2 ice cubes, and the juice of 1/4 lemon into the blender and pulsed until smooth. I couldn't taste the spinach and this drink was very refreshing. I normally don't add juice to my smoothies, but I had some OJ in the fridge (from making screw drivers I guess), and I think the citrus flavor was a good addition to the pineapple and lemon.

The Ugly Thing in the Freezer

I bought fresh ginger root the last time I went to the Fairway store and it's been sitting in my parents' refrigerator ever since. I transferred it to the freezer a few days ago to keep it fresh longer. This morning I decided to use my Ninja Master Prep to make a ginger protein smoothie. After some brief Internet research, I determined that the frozen pineapple chunks residing next to my father's candy bar collection would be a nice addition to the ginger root. Skim milk, natural flavored Designed Whey, honey, and ice would complete the ingredients list. 

So I head downstairs and attempt to peel the frozen ginger. Easier said than done. I had read that freezing the ginger would make it easier to peel, but maybe the words peel and grate were interchanged incorrectly. I wasn't going to bother to grate the ginger because I have a Ninja. That thing turns ice into snow! What do I need a grater for? After almost scraping off the top three layers of my finger (twice), I had 3g (about the size of a die) of ginger, 1/3 cup frozen pineapple chunks (46g), 4 oz of skim milk, 1 scoop of whey, and 10g of honey in the blender with 6 cubes of ice. I am pleasantly surprised by this tasty smoothie and it's only 196 calories. The ginger adds a little spiciness to the tart pineapple, and compliments the honey. 

I drink my smoothies and shakes out of BlenderBottle®. This container has a patented BlenderBall® whisk that helps mix your ingredients together. I use it in two ways - sometimes I pour protein powder and a liquid (milk, water, almond milk) into and shake, and sometimes I pour whatever I blended in the Ninja into it and the BlenderBall® keeps the smoothie frothy.