Double the pleasure

So I've been beaten with the sick stick repeatedly the last week and finally lost the fight last night. I decided to make a healthy, fruity smoothie for breakfast to soothe my sore throat.  And then later I was feeling a little perkier and made one the tastes more like dessert!  I have a new bullet like blender that is perfect for making smoothies for one person and quite quickly too!

Feeling green smoothie

1/2 a small avocado

1 kiwifruit peeled

1/2 a large banana

1/3 cup frozen strawberries

1 T flaxseed oil

1/2 c - 3/4 c hempmilk

Blend and sip.

The smoothie is naturally sweet and refreshing yet still creamy with the avocado and hempmilk.

Holiday smoothie

1/2 c eggnog*

1 1/2 bananas

1 heaping T peanut butter

1/4 rice krispies cereal

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

ice cubes

Blend and sip slowly.

*Use soy eggnog if you are lactose-intolerant.

The smoothie is delicious, sweet and creamy.  You get hints of banana, peanut butter and eggnog under the chocolate flavor; like a holiday surprise! ;-)

Kick it with da Kiwis

I'm heading to New Zealand in a few weeks, so this afternoon I sipped a Kiwi Kooler smoothie. It's light, sweet, tangy and will be disappear before the sun can slip behind the clouds.  I made enough for two, so I put the other half in a container to freeze as sorbet for another sunny day.

Kiwi Kooler smoothie

3 peeled kiwis

1 c honeydew melon cubed

1 c or about 14-15 frozen green grapes

1/3 c pineapple cubed

1/4 c soy yogurt

1/4 c coconut milk

handful ice cubes

*1/4 c water

1/2 t poppy seeds

(*if needed; or replace 1/4 c coconut milk and 1/4 c water with 1/2 c lite coconut milk) 

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend for about 30 seconds or until smooth.  Pour into 2 chilled glasses and serve with straws. Cheers! 

(Side note: This smoothie does have some texture because of the grape skins and pineapple strings.)

Substitutions for:

honeydew melon~pear

coconut milk~vanilla milk of choice

poppyseeds~just leave out..

You don't say!--------------------------------------------------------------

-Did you know kiwifruit was orginally called "chinese gooseberry" (yes, almost everything came out of China!) and then after that it was a "melonette?" 

-It's actually named kiwifruit, although commonly referred to as just "kiwi."

-Kiwifruit is high in vitamin C, dietary fiber, and a protein-dissolving enzyme actinidin as well as being a natural blood thinner.

-Italy produces the most kiwifruit followed by China (smirk) and then New Zealand.

-There is a special tool called a "spife" used to eat kiwi. It has a knife on one end and spoon on the other to first cut the fruit in half and then scoop out the flesh.

-------------------------------------------------------------(He didn't say...)

I'm heading to the North island of New Zealand next month, so I'll be sharing all my culinary experiences here on my blog as well as any recipes I can nab from friendly, unsuspecting kiwis (the people, not the fruit silly!)  I have heard much about Pavlova, so I might have to bite the pill (lactase pill that is..) and just try some, aye? ~Cheers mate!

A sweet complexity.

So this morning I was itching to measure out the ingredients for a smoothie I am calling the BLC Combo. Banana Lemon Coconut. sigh. Take a moment to imagine the possibilities.. Its the beginning of my Dreamy smoothies.  I call them Dreamy because they come from my daydreaming about possible flavor explosions. Dreamy smoothies are creamy, delightful, delicious, delectable, and desirable. (You can add in another D adjective after you try it out!)  These particular flavors I have been keeping in mind for a cupcake, but as I am not baking much at the moment.. I have left out the eggs, flour, baking soda and salt and tossed the rest in the blender! It's more of a dessert smoothie, as its takes time to distinguish all the flavors in one spoonful (I ate mine with a little spoon to savor it and make it last longer) ....or slurp! 

BLC Combo smoothie

1 large frozen banana 

handful of ice cubes

1/2 c lite coconut milk

1/4 cup soy yogurt

2 T cashew butter

1 t honeycomb

the juice of 1/2 a lemon

zest of 1/2 a lemon

1 t grated fresh ginger

1/2 t vanilla bean paste

1 t poppy seeds*

~unsweetened coconut flakes to garnish

TIPS: 

~When juicing citrus fruits you always want to "roll" them first. Apply firm pressure with one or two hands and roll several times (3-5 is good) across a hard, flat surface before slicing in half and juicing.

~If you are squeezing the juice of the lemon out by hand, do this into a separate dish and then pour into blender to keep out any pesky seeds.

~Buy a good grater/zester~! I have a Microplane Grater that will literally grate almost anything including your fingers! Here it is for less than $15 on amazon ...Microplane Grater

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth (about 1 minute.) Pour into a tall glass and top with a pinch of the coconut flakes.  Enjoy! 

(*side note: If you are going to be taking a drug test within 48 hours do not consume more than 5 glasses of this poppy happy smoothie. ) ;-) Just joking.

Substitutions for:

coconut milk: unfortunately some of us are allergic to coconut so you could use evaporated milk or cream.

cashew butter: Not too common! I found this at the natural health food store and was pleasantly surprised at how much I have forgotten the scrumptious taste of cashews! It's a little on the drier side for a nut butter but light and delicious.  A suitable replacement would be almond butter.

lemon: Cut off guard and missing the lemons everyone else is getting in life?? Just grab an orange! You don't lose the citrus flavor and there is still harmony.

fresh ginger: So sometimes when we forget about that hunk of ginger we bought at the store.. it shrivels up and starts sprouting! The remedy? Crystallized ginger. Its shelf life is almost forever and its perfect for using in desserts and sweets. Just slice up thinly and toss it in!

honeycomb: regular honey silly! Or you could use agave nectar.

vanilla bean paste: I love this because it gives everything this "gourmet" look. But it tastes the same as pure vanilla extract so go ahead and use the later.

~I'll try to post up some picture to accompany the recipes within a week or so. ;-) Please let me know if do try out the recipes and what you think.