I can’t say as though I have ever met a person that said, “I just love dieting!”, have you? Probably not, dieting is just not that fun mostly because you miss out on anything you actually might enjoy eating, but we can make that diet a little easier by learning how to make diet shakes that taste great.

What is a diet shake? Truthfully, they are often little more than a fruit smoothie or protein shake, which anyone with a blender can make at home. The idea is to use them as a meal replacement, so rather than greasy bacon and eggs (oops shouldn’t have mentioned those), you can have a healthy and still filling shake in the morning. Though I am not currently dieting I actually drink these every morning. Usually I make them the night before and store them in the fridge until the following day, I love them! I have even managed to get my husband addicted to the morning diet shake.

I guess I should quit flapping my gums and get on with how you make them hmm. I will cover a couple of different shakes to give you an option and keep in mind that you can always change the ingredients to something that you might like more, you won’t hurt my feelings. But if you do have a great recipe of your own I would love to hear it, you can share the recipe with everyone in the comment section at the bottom of the page. Alright so hear you go:

How to Make Diet Shakes

Super Dooper Fruit Shake – This particular diet shake is my favorite and what I often drink in the morning as a meal replacement. I do sometimes change out the types of fruit used for something a little different, you can also add a rounded scoop of any protein powder from your local supplement store for a little extra kick.

In your blender mix:

1 8oz container of non-fat plain yogurt

1-1/2 cups of fresh or frozen strawberries

1 whole banana (peeled)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup skim milk (more or less for desired thickness)

2 tablespoons pineapple juice(gives it a great tropical flavor)

Blend all ingredients on puree for about 10 – 15 seconds or until smooth. Pour into glasses and enjoy your way to a better body.

Creamy Chocolate Delight Shake – This diet shake is my husbands personal favorite. You can again vary the ingredients, but it is made with chocolate protein powder which I would imagine could be substituted easily enough.

In your blender mix:

4 ounces of water

4 ounces of skim milk

4 ice cubes

2 scoops of chocolate protein powder (any brand should work)

1 whole banana (peeled)

Again blend all of the ingredients until it has a smooth texture, pour into glass and enjoy. You can also leave out the milk and use 8 ounces of water, though the milk makes it much creamier.

Let me know how you like them

Once you get a chance to try out the diet shake recipes above I would love to hear what you think about them. And remember, if you have your own recipes on how to make diet shakes please share them with the rest of us.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk going around about a new sub-culture called freeganism or freegan. Freegan, a mash-up of words, combining free and vegan, has been hitting the already strict lifestyle of vegans in major metropolitan cities around the world.

So what exactly do freegan’s do? Well, imagine that you need a new pair of shoes or some more fresh produce for your family, rather than hopping in the car and heading down to the local superstore, you would wait until night fall and head for the dumpsters in your area. That’s right, freegan’s place their focus on ridding the world of corporate America’s wasteful nature and putting discarded items back to good use, along with saving money and focusing on a “simpler” lifestyle.

While the process of dumpster diving is nothing new to our country, in fact I have crossed paths with several people that make a living from reselling discarded treasures such as electronics and furniture, but I must admit that salvaging food may be a little over the top for many of us, certainly myself.

Now you are probably thinking that the people taking part in this frugal lifestyle are those that are less fortunate than many of us. This however is not the case at all. In a special aired on the television recently, one of the featured couples consisted of a lawyer and doctor in New York City, but these are not the only well payed freegans, no, actually it would seem that quite a few of the people participating in freeganism are by no means experiencing a shortage of money. It seems that people are not turning to this lifestyle due to a lack of finances but rather to more of a rebellion against consumerism.

I must admit that while some of the freeganism methods seem to make sense, I have a hard time stomaching the thought of eating food out of a grocery store dumpster. My life has not always been easy and I am, by no means, used to the finer things, but I do worry about disease and illness, which I can only imagine is a very real concern for people taking part in this lifestyle. Take a look at the video below and decide for yourself.

Well, after watching the video what do you think? Did it make you hungry or sick?

There is a lot to say about this type of urban foraging, the idea of living without any concern of money and schedules almost makes freeganism seem sort of surreal, nothing matters. Its almost as if they have found a way to float through life without all of the worries we face on a daily basis, but at the same time we have to imagine that it really takes a certain type of person to flourish in this lifestyle.

I wish freegans the best with their movement, I think it is a positive step in the right direction, the videos that have been shown on YouTube and the news, really manage to show us all how much is being wasted and that is surely a good thing. For now I will stand on the sidelines on this one, but at the same time feel a little more compelled to do my part. Thank you freegans!