How to take your supplements as a frozen treat

Strange but true. I’ve been playing dress up in the kitchen, trying to find creative ways to disguise the utterly foul powdered supplement I’ve been taking to benefit my joints. It’s nasty, vile and yet so good for my ailing foot. I wanted to try and find a way to look forwards to taking it, and hopefully if you’re faced with the need to take something similar, you’ll be able to learn from my experimentation first!

The Recipe Redux Frozen Dessert Experiment

I made this unlikely pairing work, thanks to a Recipe Redux challenge. I recently joined The Recipe Redux, an online group of health and nutrition bloggers who once a month take on a new culinary challenge, making healthy and creative dishes around a chosen monthly theme. Despite this being my first month on board, I didn’t shy away from the theme “Frozen Desserts” and thought what better way to make them super charged, than to add a natural health product. SO not as easy as it sounds.

From my recent Ultimate Healing post about injury recovery through anti inflammatory foods, you may know that I’m currently mending a strained foot. I tapped into all my resources to support my healing, and one of those efforts included taking a daily MSM, Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate powder. After the first dose in a base of plain yogurt, I knew there had to be a better way. Enter the Redux Challenge.

I chose a sampling of different bases to trial for the frozen “treats”. Each base was selected for it’s simplicity, cleanliness (i.e. not using artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or colorants) and for any other health promoting benefits it could make. After waiting patiently overnight for the creations to freeze in perfect portion sized Japanese sake cups, the sampling began as I took my daily doses over the next few days.

My challenge was to find a “clean” base that allowed me to look forward to taking the supplement, and view it more as a treat, than a chore.

Notes for preparation:

Prepare all mixtures before you pour them into serving containers for freezing. Shake vigorously in a sealed jar or use a hand blender. Ensure the powder supplement is completely blended.

The Runners Up:

Coconut Milk (light and organic)

While I thought I would never say something involving coconut would taste bad…this did. That is until I added diced fresh strawberries for sweetness, and it became (slightly) more bearable. I would give it a 5/10 for taste. Note: It needed at least 30min’s to defrost before serving!

Iced coconut milk (and a little something extra) looks better than it tastes

Frozen (natural, unsweetened, greek style) Yogurt

By this try I was already prepared for the sourness of the yogurt to be a hard match with the bitterness of the supplement, so I added a drizzle of raw honey (rich in enzymes) and a sprinkle of cinnamon (helps balance blood sugar). It wasn’t terrible, but I’d still only rate it at a 5/10 as well.

Frozen Raspberry/Cranberry Tea

After the first spoonful I decided it was time to go back to the drawing board. My experiments were going from bad to worse. I have a feeling the frozen orange juice variety I prepared for the next try is going to go down much the same as this attempt…with cringing. I think the problem is yes, a lack of sweetness, but because the creation is frozen, the fact that I have to hold each bite in my mouth as it melts, just prolongs the agony of disgustingness.

The (Eventual) Winner:

The Smooth Operator: Frozen Coconut, Blueberry and Cocoa Joint Healer

The winner! It is possible to have dessert that's REALLY good for you!

It’s hard not to rate this one as a 10/10, based only in comparison to the other attempts, but this one really did taste great. Not only did I want to savor it, but I can’t wait to eat the next one I froze for tomorrow. PLUS it’s gluten and dairy free.

Instructions:

Apx. 150g of frozen blueberries
100g of light, organic coconut milk
2 tsp cocoa powder
Pinch of stevia powder
2 servings of your chosen powdered supplement
Blend with an electric hand blender until smooth, and then decant into serving cups
Freeze for at least 4 hours
Let thaw for about 15 minutes before serving

Makes 2 servings

I thought it would be worth showcasing one more option…although this one doesn’t contain a powdered joint supplement, it does contain a serving of super greens (spirulina, chlorella, and wheat grass). For more details on what these nutritional powerhouses can do for you, please refer to my anti inflammatory post.

The Congeniality Prize Goes To:

Orange and Greens!

Frozen Supergreens!

Preparation: In a small jar or sealed tub, shake vigorously one serving of your chosen greens powder with the same amount of fresh orange juice (no added sugar), as the serving container you will be decanting it into. Make sure there’s no lumps! Because of the high water content in the orange juice you will likely need to thaw the treat for about 20 minutes.

As I hope you are now fully inspired to create healthy treats beyond convention, you can find further inspiration for your summer’s frozen treats from the other talented Recipe Redux contributors below. Looking forward to next month’s challenge!

Coconut Chia Seed Fruit Pops @ Eating the Week

Simply Fruit Mango-Pineapple Sorbet @ Nutrition Budgeteer

Acerola Chia Lime Popsicles @ Chef Pandita

Chocolate “Ice Cream” Bars @ Kumquat

Peanut Butter Coffee Popsicles @ Swanky Dietician

Watermelon Sorbet @ Nutritioulicious

Mango and Coconut Popsicles @ Delicious Knowledge

Greek Yogurt Pavlova Popsicles @ The Scoop on Nutrition

Blackberry Lemon Almond Torte @ Grain Crazy

Peanut Butter Banana “Ice Cream” Sandwiches @ Carlene’s Figments

Honey and Strawberry Semifreddo @ The Nutriscientist

Peach Lavender Ice Cream @ Liz on Food