Jeff’s Famous(1) Super-Goop Recipe
Last year I went on a diet and lost 40 pounds over the course of 5 months. Though my original goal was to lose weight and become healthier, the more exciting outcome for me was the huge increase in energy I was able to achieve by replacing essentially garbage what I used to eat with more healthy options.
The MVP of my diet started out as a simple lunchtime replacement shake and has evolved over the course of a year into a finely engineered concoction I call “Super Goop”.
Why Super-Goop?
Although I pored over a lot of ideas, strategies, and advice before starting my diet - one of the most common themes (and common sense strategy) is that you need to crowd out the bad with good. I.e., to the degree you fill yourself up with good foods (that actually nourish your nutritional needs), you will have less need and burning desire to fill up on bad foods. As true as this was during the “weight loss” portion of my diet, it has been 10 times as true during the gain it all back ongoing “maintain a healthy lifestyle” period of my diet. Every day for lunch I look forward to Super Goop as much as when I was in the midst of my official “diet”, and that has helped me maintain my health and weight after the diet was done.(2)
Refining the Super-Goop Recipe
In the past 15 months or so, I’ve had Super-Goop between 5-7 times per week for lunch. At first, it was because it fit the goals of my diet - but over the course of making over 250 Super Goops, I’ve learned exactly what ingredients make it taste better (and which ones make it taste awful). Once I got the mix just right, I started looking forward to Super Goop every day for lunch - and I also noticed that the post-lunch-sluggishness I used to take for granted has been completely replaced by explosive energy (post-lunch is now the most energetic period of my day, even though I am a morning person). (3)
Preparation
In the table below, I list all of the ingredients that I currently use in my Super-Goop, including the amounts, where to get them, and the rationale behind putting the ingredient in. If you have any comments (or new ingredients I should add), please let me know!
In terms of preparation, I strongly, strongly recommend a blender that is up to the task. I burned out a NutriBullet 600 within 2 months, and a Nutribullet “Pro” (900) after another 3 months. Since then, I’ve been using a Ninja 1500 Watt blender for about 6 months, and it is fully up to the task.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Why / Comments |
|---|---|
| Handful of Spinach / Kale / Spring Mix | This is your salad - except when blended, you won’t even taste it |
| 1/2 Avocado (freeze other half for next day’s Super-Goop) | Makes the drink smooth, and gives you super healthy fat. |
| ~5 Chunks Frozen Mango | Balances out the avocado |
| 6 - 8 cherries (frozen okay) | Not surprisingly, adds a cherry taste to the drink |
| Shake in some Goji Berries | Goji’s are great for you - and add a bit of texture to the drink |
| 4 - 8 Strawberries | Strawberries are good |
| Small handful Raspberries | Raspberries are good |
| Small handful blueberries | Blueberries are good |
| Tablespoon Chia Seeds | Apparently, these are good too. |
| 1 Scoop “Incredible Greens” | Super greens are great for you (probiotics, etc), but most of them taste like are sludge. Incredible Greens taste good Get it here. NOTE: This are not gluten free. |
| 1 Scoop “Incredible Berries” | This gives you a nuclear serving of any berries you didn’t include above. Plus, it makes the drink taste better. Get it here |
| 1 Scoop Raw Protein | Not surprisingly, this adds protein to the drink. I like Raw Protein better than whey. Many of the vegetable based protein powders taste awful, Raw Protein is pretty good. Get it here |
| 1 Teaspoon Psyllium Husk Powder | This seems to add a, regularity, to the Super-Goop |
| 5 ice cubes (or 4 on days with frozen avocado) | Ice cubes make Super-Goop taste more slushy (and less sludgy) |
| 8 oz water | This serves 2 purposes: 1) makes it smoother, 2) makes you less likely to start a fire with your blender |
Result
If you follow the recipe above, you will make one serving, 24 - 32 oz of Super-Goop. You can enjoy the whole thing yourself, or share. Do NOT refrigerate, always drink right after you make it (you can pack it in a cooler with ice for a few hours, but overnight in a refrigerator is not okay).
Bonus Shake
Do not put peanut butter, bananas, grapes, apples, or pears in the Super-Goop. I’ve tried it. It’s not good. If you do want peanut butter and bananas, here in 1 sentence is what I have for breakfast every morning: 8 oz milk (or coconut milk), 1 banana, 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter (the one made from just peanuts), 4 ice cubes, 1 scoop of Vanilla 365 Whey Protein.
Closing Thoughts
Please let me know if you try Super-Goop and what you think, and especially let me know if you successfully try new ingredients!
Notes:
1) Not actually famous
2) I’ve gained back about 10 lbs, but would have definitely gained back all the weight without Super-Goop, and am in the (relatively easy) process of losing the 10
3) I’m a morning person when I wake up for it