Month: September 2010

Papaya Banana Lettuce

Take a close look at this smoothie. It’s probably not one that you’re going to want to make. I love papaya when it’s ripe, but the green things that they ship up to my neck of the woods really is hit and miss. It’s just to be the perfect time of year and you’ve got to pick up the perfect fruit to have a really good experience.

But the way I really messed this one up was by adding a creamy papaya with creamy bananas with creamy coconut milk to a mild lettuce. If there were something sour or sharp, I’m sure I would have had a better experience.

  • ½ large papaya (remove the seeds)
  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup coconut milk with vanilla flavorings
  • 6 to 7 little itty bitty dates
  • 1 bowl lettuce

The larger papaya increased the volume of this smoothie just past one quart. Which, to me, is perfect for my wife and I. It’s just that I didn’t get possible feedback on this combination.

Mango Lettuce Pineapple

This is one of my favorite winter time smoothies, yet I found a cold day in the summer (and I had some left over pineapple that needed to be used) that fit the bill perfectly for this one.

Even though the ingredients might seem a little complex, I assure you that it’s one simple little bold flavored treat that you’ll be coming back for more. Maybe tomorrow if you’ve still got the same collection of ingredients!  Lol….

  • 1 mango
  • 2 bananas
  • About 1 inch ripe pineapple
  • 6 to 7 small dates
  • Bowl of lettuce
  • About 1 cup water
  • 1 little probiotic

With all this lettuce, you’ll really have to cram it into your vita-mix blender. Just make sure you place the wettest things on the bottom for once the water gets spinning it tends to suck in the greens.

As you can see, I was definitely hungry this day! Or, I can’t remember, maybe I had company. People are starting to figure out that if they spend the night, they’ll get a green smoothie of some sort for breakfast. And, as luck would have it, I haven’t gotten any real complaints (except form a child that doesn’t eat anything but white bread and hotdogs).

Mango Watermelon Lettuce

Frozen bananas really add a cold creamy consistency to just about any smoothie. Yet, when you add a mango to it, you’re doubling your mouth watering experience. Take special note of the watermelon juice that used as the base. I love picking up inexpensive watermelons, juicing them up and drinking it all day long. Yes, it’s a cooling liquid, so make sure you pick out the hottest days if you’re really going to flush your system.

For now, that bowl of lettuce leaves are calling for a quick whirl.

  • 1 mango
  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 6 or 7 little dates (the really small ones)
  • 1  to 1 ½ cup watermelon juice
  • 1 bowl lettuce
  • One little probiotic

Stack them all up on the blender, if you’ve got a strong one, of slowly feed them in if it’s a more common variety.

In the end, you’ll have a treat that you can savor on your way out of the house in the morning. It’s also a way to get all the greens that you could possibly want in one little meal!

Cherry Pineapple Swiss chard

Here’s a slight twist on my favorite cherry smoothie. This one is a bit creamier from the coconut milk that tends to mellow it out. It’s really easy if you’ve already prepared the pitted cherries!

  • 1 to 1 ½ cups coconut milk with vanilla flavoring
  • About 1 inch pineapple (in this case 2 but only half the round)
  • A few small dates (in this case about 6 to counter the pineapple)
  • About 2 cups cherries (the more the better!)
  • One bowl fresh garden Swiss chard

If you’ve got a great high powered blender, stack it all up like this:

And then give it a whirl for about 60 seconds. That is, after you’ve used the tamper to press the greens down into the blades and the entire mixture is turning on its own. Eventually, you’ll have a bit more than a quart to enjoy!

If you find a cherry smoothie combination that really stands out, I’d like to hear about it. I’ve always got a few extra little cherries sitting around just waiting to be enjoyed in a great new taste senstation!

Have a great day!

Cherry Swiss chard Smoothie with Cacao

It’s been a while since I posted a smoothie recipe, so it looks like today is a great day to share with the world a cherry concoction with one of my favorite base ingredients – Honeydew melon! If there’s one thing that I’ve learned that makes a smoothie really stand out, it’s the liquid base that you use. To me, water just doesn’t cut it.

I know all the purists state that the green smoothie that you make should  be as simple as possible. But if it doesn’t taste fantastic, where are you going to find the motivation to keep making them? I mean, really think about it. If you’re going out of your way to make something that’s generally not cheap, wouldn’t you really want to make it enjoyable?

Well, this one is!

  • About 1 ½ cups fresh pitted cherries
  • 1 banana
  • 1 ½ cups fresh honeydew melon juice
  • 4 little dates
  • About a heaping spoon full raw cacao
  • Small amount Vanilla powder (just part of a teaspoon)
  • One bowl garden fresh Swiss chard

For this year, this recipe is being posted after cherry season has come and gone, but if you were lucky enough to store some away, you’ll still be able to make it while the Honeydew melon are plentiful. Swiss chard can still be found in stores (as it can year round) so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Take note that this quantity will fill the blender!

This one always turns out brown from the mixture of green and red. And, if you look close, you’ll be able to see that I didn’t run this one as long as I normally do – there are little pieces of cherry still visible. Yum. Give it a try and let me know what you think!