2 years
Kit’s gaining/stuffing advice thread
First of all, great job for mentioning possible substitutions, either because of dietary restrictions or how too much of X at once could affect some folks differently. It's one of those YMMV things, so there's no one-size-fits-all approach.
Interesting shake recipe, but I can't help but note a few things.
First is the ice cream with the highest posted calorie count is Haagan-Daz Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor, at 1,180 calories in 14 fl. oz. I will note that Haagan-Daz in general is much richer, probably more so than gelato (which I believe by definition is ice cream with a higher fat content). However, that specific flavor is just plain chocolate ice cream with chunks of peanut butter in it, so I don't consider it a very good value. I'd also say to only ever buy Haagen-Daz from Kroger when there's a sale (occurs about 1 or 2 weeks out of the month, and you have to buy at least 5 of them at once). Failing that, to get them at Wal-Mart (costs a bit more than when Kroger has sales, but Kroger doesn't always have the sale running and some areas may have no Kroger). Otherwise, the pricing is just too high.
I should also note that because of the higher fat content of Haagen-Daz (same holds true for other "super premium" ice cream like Magnum or B & J's), and because there's less additional "whipped" volume, it will take up more space when melted. So if you like the taste, by all means get it, but I don't know if it's the highest potential calorie density. Also of course, some flavors will include various solid bits that won't melt, or would only melt at much higher temperatures, such as the pecan nuts in the Butter Pecan flavor, or the dark chocolate bits in the the Mint Chocolate chip flavor. It might thus be possible to suck down more calories if you go with one of the regular ice cream flavors that will melt/compress into a smaller volume, and for shake recipes, it would probably be wise to avoid flavors with large solid bits like the examples I mentioned. I would have to double-check at some point to see what may have higher calorie density.
I'm also a little surprised that you suggested "protein powder" potentially mixed together with heavy cream, so I'm hoping you may be willing to expand on what you mean by protein powder. I'm assuming you aren't wrong, because you might have tried this at some point or used this recipe in the past.
I know a lot of so-called "weight gain" or "bulking" powders often contain maltodextrin. Cost ineffectiveness aside (damn if this stuff isn't costly), I can't help but note other problems. Raw, plain maltodextrin is far cheaper, but still has the same problems I'm about to mention.
In my experience, unless I did something wrong, it does NOT seem to mix well with dairy fat, and I've heard it has similar effects on cooking oils of various sorts as well. If anything, it will clump up horribly and has a solidifying effect. Awhile back, I attempted to mix half & half (not even heavy cream) with one of these "weight gain" powders. The mixture was SO thick, it was undrinkable. Don't even know if a Hoover vacuum would have been powerful enough. Then, I had to throw it out. I really, really hate waste like this.
I don't know if this is the best possible recipe, although I have noticed that I was able to mix, in a blender, 1/4 of a regular sized box of cake mix (doesn't matter what flavor, just whatever you like) with a pint of half & half. This is about 1,050-1,070 calories in about 20 fl. oz., and it's drinkable. I still haven't tried heavy cream in a blender, since technically it's heavy whipping cream and the last thing I want is for it to get into a whipped state. The whole point of a shake is something I can gulp easily while doing whatever (video games, working on the computer, running errands, driving somewhere), or even try to funnel if I'm so inclined.
Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
Interesting shake recipe, but I can't help but note a few things.
First is the ice cream with the highest posted calorie count is Haagan-Daz Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor, at 1,180 calories in 14 fl. oz. I will note that Haagan-Daz in general is much richer, probably more so than gelato (which I believe by definition is ice cream with a higher fat content). However, that specific flavor is just plain chocolate ice cream with chunks of peanut butter in it, so I don't consider it a very good value. I'd also say to only ever buy Haagen-Daz from Kroger when there's a sale (occurs about 1 or 2 weeks out of the month, and you have to buy at least 5 of them at once). Failing that, to get them at Wal-Mart (costs a bit more than when Kroger has sales, but Kroger doesn't always have the sale running and some areas may have no Kroger). Otherwise, the pricing is just too high.
I should also note that because of the higher fat content of Haagen-Daz (same holds true for other "super premium" ice cream like Magnum or B & J's), and because there's less additional "whipped" volume, it will take up more space when melted. So if you like the taste, by all means get it, but I don't know if it's the highest potential calorie density. Also of course, some flavors will include various solid bits that won't melt, or would only melt at much higher temperatures, such as the pecan nuts in the Butter Pecan flavor, or the dark chocolate bits in the the Mint Chocolate chip flavor. It might thus be possible to suck down more calories if you go with one of the regular ice cream flavors that will melt/compress into a smaller volume, and for shake recipes, it would probably be wise to avoid flavors with large solid bits like the examples I mentioned. I would have to double-check at some point to see what may have higher calorie density.
I'm also a little surprised that you suggested "protein powder" potentially mixed together with heavy cream, so I'm hoping you may be willing to expand on what you mean by protein powder. I'm assuming you aren't wrong, because you might have tried this at some point or used this recipe in the past.
I know a lot of so-called "weight gain" or "bulking" powders often contain maltodextrin. Cost ineffectiveness aside (damn if this stuff isn't costly), I can't help but note other problems. Raw, plain maltodextrin is far cheaper, but still has the same problems I'm about to mention.
In my experience, unless I did something wrong, it does NOT seem to mix well with dairy fat, and I've heard it has similar effects on cooking oils of various sorts as well. If anything, it will clump up horribly and has a solidifying effect. Awhile back, I attempted to mix half & half (not even heavy cream) with one of these "weight gain" powders. The mixture was SO thick, it was undrinkable. Don't even know if a Hoover vacuum would have been powerful enough. Then, I had to throw it out. I really, really hate waste like this.
I don't know if this is the best possible recipe, although I have noticed that I was able to mix, in a blender, 1/4 of a regular sized box of cake mix (doesn't matter what flavor, just whatever you like) with a pint of half & half. This is about 1,050-1,070 calories in about 20 fl. oz., and it's drinkable. I still haven't tried heavy cream in a blender, since technically it's heavy whipping cream and the last thing I want is for it to get into a whipped state. The whole point of a shake is something I can gulp easily while doing whatever (video games, working on the computer, running errands, driving somewhere), or even try to funnel if I'm so inclined.
Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
2 years