Mango

Spinach Strawberry Mango Smoothie

It’s the perfect time of year for this smoothie. Mangos are still available, the sun is helping the strawberries get sweet and the spinach is fresh and tender. The amount of strawberries really makes this smoothie shine. The pile might not look like a lot, but it’s probably more than four cups. Yet, because they tend towards the tart side, dates are pretty much in order here.

If you’ve got the strawberries, this one’s worth placing in the morning rotation.

Recipe:

  • 1 large mango
  • 4 large medjool dates
  • 4 cups (or so) fresh garden strawberries (or the next best thing)
  • ½ lb fresh young baby spinach
  • 1 ½ cup rejuvelac

There really isn’t anything special about this combination. Just place all the fruit in the blender and liquefy.

After a couple seconds, it won’t have any lumps to get in the way of adding the greens. Do so and blend until creamy (that should be about 60 seconds on high). Makes around 7 cups smoothie.

The baby spinach is so mild that it doesn’t stomp on the essence of strawberry like a lot of other greens do. The mango works like a ripe banana making it all come out creamy.

This one is easy, easy, easy! And, best of all, everyone will thoroughly enjoy it.

Best Mint Smoothie Yet!

It feels like harvest time already! The garden mint is nearly a foot tall and it’s finding its way into the kitchen every morning now. There’s nothing like fresh young mint in the early spring. Ok, well, it’s nearly summer, but everything is nearly 45 days late this year so I’m still thinking of it as early spring. I just hope we get a summer before fall comes around.

But, don’t let me get off track with this smoothie. I absolutely love the fact that I’ve got a lot of different things to mix up this year. As it turns out, this combination is a real keeper. I’ve been looking for something where when you drink it your taste budds say “wow, … savory, … sweet, … rich, but what is it?” That’s what this one is! You can taste the mint, but it’s not too strong. The orange, and it’s subtle too. The sweetness shines through, but it’s just enough. And finally, it’s creamy.

Unfortunately, I’m out of oranges. I guess I’m going to have to go shopping again. This time, I’ll pick up twice as many for the mint is coming on strong.

I highly recommend this smoothie. When you pick your mint, get more than you’ll ever think will work! I picked a big handful. And, make sure that its spearmint. When I asked Lori what she thought she said, “Did you put mint in it? I wasn’t too powerful. I think you put in just the right amount this time.” When I told her it as a huge handful, she was a bit shocked.

Let’s get on with it.

Recipe:

  • 2 Medjool dates (remove the seeds)
  • 3 oranges
  • 1 larger mango
  • 1 inch slice of pinapple
  • 1+ cup water
  • 1 large handful spearmint
  • ½ lb fresh young baby Spinach.

This is a recipe that needs some pealing. Peal orange, mango and pineapple the best you can and make sure no seeds make it into the smoothie. Remove the spearmint leave from the stocks adding only the leaves. Turn the fruit and then pack in the spinach. After a go 60 seconds on high it should be ready to go.

As you can see, it made more than a quart and I’ve got more pineapple left for next time.

I really like this combination. Notice that there is no cacao in it! As much as I wanted to add it, I refrained in order to see what it was like without. Well, it’s best without!

I’m sure you’ll love this one too. Let me know.

Good day!

Strawberry Mango Swiss Chard smoothie

Now that winter is upon us (me that is), I don’t feel bad about using frozen fruits in my smoothies! Normally, I advocate using fresh fruits rather than frozen for the molecular structure of the fruit has not been altered by low temperatures. But when it gets cold outside, I like to bring back the feeling of warm season fruit in a way that warms me up. Nothing fits that bill better than Ice Cream!

Ice Cream it is! At least for the first few seconds of the life of this drink. Well, ok, I give, it might not really be iced cream (diary), but it sure does taste like it. And, if it doesn’t, I keep working it until it does. Ultimately, I LOVE to experience great tasting smoothies, thus I’m always working to bring out the best flavors.

So, here we go, a creamy strawberry surprise.

Recipe:

  • 1 ½ cup Coconut milk with Vanilla flavor (ok, ok, it’s not raw, but it isn’t dairy!)
  • 10-12 frozen strawberries
  • 1 banana
  • 1 ripe (if you can find them) mango
  • 2 Medjool dates (don’t eat the seeds)
  • About 1 large Tbs Flax seed
  • 1 probiotic

And, of course, you can’t forget the greens:

  • 1 bunch Swiss chard

When I did my shopping the other day I weighed the Swiss Chard before bagging it. Each bunch came in just under a pound. Yep, that’s right. I use the full bunch and get the biggest ones that I can find. The green smoothies are all about re-mineralizing your body and sweeping out the toxins. So, even though you see all the fruit, it’s balanced by all the greens.

When putting this one together, I combine the coconut milk with all the fruit and blend. The Strawberries take just a few seconds to break down and you end up with something that looks like this:

If you were to look straight down on this, you’d notice that it’s more like a milk shake than ice cream. I probably should have added another few strawberries. That would have thickened it up. Never-the-less, it tasted like a strawberry milk shake – which was close enough for me.

The next step is to grind the flax seed. I love this function for me coffee grinder. Since I gave up making latte’s, that little grinder had sat unused. Now, it’s my flax seed grinder and it works great.

To the ‘milk shake’ I add the rest of the ingredients: ground flax, probiotic and Swiss chard. When I add the Swiss chard, I remove the main rib from the leaf. It’s got some great properties to it, but I don’t want anything in this drink that will distract from a smooth texture.

Now blend. If you’re using a vita-mix, you’ll most likely have to use the plunger to get the greens broken down, but once you’ve got it spinning, flip it on high and give is a whirl.

But don’t stop there! Because we’re using frozen strawberries, we can let the blender run longer and the heat is dissipated into the frozen fruit. And, because we get to let it run longer, we get a creamer feel in the end product.

You won’t get a strawberry seed as you enjoy this one.

Note that this makes about 6 cups!

Light is Life!

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!