Coconut milk

Peach Spinach Smoothie

Every time I tell Lori that I’m going to introduce someone new to green smoothies she says, “You’ve got to make them the Peach Spinach one!” If Lori could have it her way, this would be the only green smoothie that she’d drink. I’ve got a lot of favorites, and this one is right up there on the top of the list.

If you’re new to green smoothies or if you want to introduce a friend to how good they can be, consider making them this one. It’s easy, quick and tastes like desert!

Recipe:

  • 2 ripe peaches (maybe three)
  • 2 Medjool dates
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • ½ lb Fresh young baby spinach
  • ½ cup rejuvelac (optional)

Add liquids, pit the fruit and add it. Blend for about 10 seconds.

Pack in as much spinach as will fit. I generally recommend ½ lb. Remember, green smoothies are all about getting the greens! Thus, don’t skimp.

Now, use the tamper and blend for another 50-60 seconds until it’s creamy smooth.

I used three fairly large peaches and a little over a cup liquid and I’ve got a fancy glass for the princess and a quart jar for myself. If you cut back to just two peaches, you’ll probably just get a quart of smoothie.

Remember – a quart a day keeps the doctor away!

Strawberry Pear Apple Parsley Smoothie

What’s in a name? How about, surprise goodness. Or smoothie by happenstance. Maybe, I can’t believe this mixes together so nicely.  lol!

I have to say that I was a bit surprised by this combination. The first one I tried happened because I was hutting around for fruit and, well, all the exotic stuff was gone and all I had left where pieces that I was tied of eating. I had a beat-up pear, an older kind of soft apple but that wasn’t enough. I dug around in the freezer and found some strawberries and thought what the heck.

That adventurous happenstance turned out nice enough to want to share with the rest of the world. And, well, here it is!

  • 1 pear
  • 1 apple
  • 10 frozen (or fresh) Strawberries
  • 2 Medjool dates
  • ¾ cup coconut milk
  • ¾ cup rejuvelac
  • 1 bunch fresh garden picked parsley

Add everything but the greens to you high speed blender. Grind to a liquid. That might take about 10 seconds.

Next, add your greens. Remember, green smoothies are all about getting your greens in a way that is raw and enjoyable. As you can see, I try to always use a ‘bunch’ of parsley. The stores are pretty good about selling bunches in the size that works perfect in a smoothie.

Now blend again. This time, after the greens are chopped, you’ll want to spin the blender on high for about a minute. The longer you go, the smoother the smoothie. At the same time, the longer you go the warmer it gets. Because we’re using frozen strawberries, you shouldn’t notice any heating in that 60 seconds.

In the end, depending on the size of the fruit that you use, you’ll get 4 to 5 cups.

Even if you have an aversion to parsley, you might find this one a little more tolerable. If you  like parsley, you’ll probably really enjoy this one. If you love parsley (like me!) you’ll want to make this smoothie a number of days in a row!

Remember, if you get to experimenting with green smoothies, it always helps to keep the Green Smoothie Basics in mind. They taste best when balancing sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Once the balance if found, it then a matter of accentuating the flavor!

Good day!

Collard Smoothie with Blueberries & Mango

This, I believe, is the best collard greens smoothie I’ve ever had. Every once in a while you come across a combination that simply stands apart from the rest. This smoothie is it. I wish I knew the reason why this one came together so well and I may someday, but it is what it is. And this one is a keeper!

Recipe:

  • 1 cup rejuvelac
  • 1 ½ cups frozen blueberries
  • 1 mango
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 3 larger medjool dates
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 1 large bowl collard greens

I added the blueberries to the rejuvelac so as to get a wet measure on the berries. As you can see in the above picture, the liquid line is at about 2 ½ cups. Once you’ve pitted the dates and mango and thrown it all in the blender, you’ll get something that looks like this:

The center of the collard green leave isn’t the most tender steam. Thus, I like to slice them out. I run a paring knife along the rib to shave off each side of the leaf. You’ll end up with a pile that looks like this.

Notice that I’ve spun the fruit just to the liquid stage. It makes it easier to add the greens.

After blending for 60 seconds, you get this wonderful green colored mostly fruit smoothie that’s just loaded with good things for your mind and spirit (body too).

I’ll be making this one multiple times. This was the second real picking of collard greens from the garden and I’m totally looking forward to getting more. I’m going to have to plan the harvest around having a fresh mango on hand. A frozen banana, blueberries and dates can come around just about any time.

Think green – act green everyday!

Raw Banana Cacao Sorbet

This one’s a keeper! I can’t believe I haven’t posted this recipe before. It’s been so long since I’ve had too many bananas that I’ve had to freeze them. Thus, it’s been a long time since I’ve had this sorbet.

If you love bananas dipped in chocolate, this recipe is for you.

It’s also really easy.

Recipe:

  • 3 frozen ripe bananas
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla powder
  • 1 heaping tablespoon cacao powder
  • 1 heaping tablespoon raw honey

Start by pealing and freezing the bananas the day before (or a few days before). I would recommend a zip-lock baggy that you squeeze the air out of. You don’t want them to turn brown (ha! Like you’ll notice with the added cacao.).

When you’re ready to blend, break the frozen bananas into 1 inch lengths (or cut them for they are pretty hard) and then add all ingredients to Vita-mix. It doesn’t take very long to blend and you’ll want to use the tamper to press the banana into the blades.

With three bananas you get 4 to 5 servings – unless you like big servings (which I do).

I highly recommend this one. The only real problem is making sure there are ripe bananas available to use. 

Hope you like it too!

Mint Chocolate Orange Spinach Smoothie

If you remember from a few days ago, I wrote about trying oranges rather than apples in my Mint Chocolate Spinach Smoothie. Well, this posting is that variation. I have to admit that I like the orange base much better than the apple one. Apple is good, but orange mixes so much better with the cacao.

If you have fresh mint and some oranges laying around, this one is worth a try.

Recipe:

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 oranges
  • 1 banana
  • 2 medjool dates
  • Heaping spoon full raw cacao powder
  • Big hand full fresh garden spearmint
  • ½ lb fresh baby spinach

Remove the leaves from the mint stocks, remove the seeds from the dates and pretty much mix everything up on the blender.

As you can see, I added the cacao last. Everything else is just packed it.  Got to love that Vita-mix!

Got a little bit more than this, but the tastes all come together to make something that’s sweet and minty.

If I were to make this one again, I’d use orange juice as the base in order to really bring out the orange flavor. But even with just two, the orange flavor comes through and it balances out nicely with the cacao and mint!

I love mint!  It’s the first thing I get out of the garden every year. Yum…..