Pineappleberry Salad Smoothie

I haven't posted a delicious smoothie recipe in a while! During the winter I got out of the smoothie habit, usually opting for hot oatmeal or quinoa porridge - or last night's dinner leftovers - for breakfast. We've had a little bit of spring weather here in Kansas City, but so far it's mostly dreary and rainy and very cold - we even had snow a few days ago. But, I've been drinking a lot of smoothies lately. I have a wisdom tooth that is bothering me, and until it comes out I can't chew very well, so instead of eating a salad I've decided to make them into smoothies. This way I can still get all my nutrients and I can still be full with the minimum amount of chewing! Kinda sad, actually... LOL.

You may think that carrots, cashews and a mushroom are odd in a smoothie, but they are really good. The carrots are slightly sweet, the cashews add protein and thickness, and the mushroom has practically no flavor at all (but it does have nutrition). If you'd prefer a sweeter smoothie, add honey or agave nectar. I used coconut milk, but feel free to use your favorite liquid. Also, leave the skin and seeds of the apple - they both have valuable nutrients (and you will not be poisoned by eating a couple of apple seeds!) I just cut an apple right down the middle and tightly wrap the other half for another time.

I never post pictures of my smoothies because they are always a deep green color due to the Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder I put in every smoothie. It's an extra shot of nutrients, antioxidants and probiotics that adds to the wonderful wholesomeness the smoothie has already. It's totally optional but I highly recommend it - it doesn't change the taste very much at all.

Pineappleberry Salad Smoothie

• 1 tablespoon raw cashews
• 1 small to medium carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 an apple with skin and seeds, roughly chopped
• 3 one-inch chunks pineapple, fresh or frozen
• 1 button mushroom
• good handful baby spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar (optional)
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder (optional)
• 1 1/4 cup vanilla coconut milk

Layer all ingredients in a blender in the order they are listed. Start blending at a slow speed and increase until you have a near-liquid consistency. You may have to stop the blender and stir a couple of times to ensure everything is being mixed. The smoothie is done when a whirlpool forms in the middle of the liquid.

Tropical Smoothie

No greens or superfood powder in this smoothie (a change from my usual) - this one is cold, refreshing and tasty. Add in a shot or two of spiced rum for an adult treat, or serve it as written for breakfast, a snack or dessert.


Tropical Smoothie

• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 large pear, cored and chopped (unpeeled)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (or more)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (if desired)

Layer all the ingredients, in the listed order, into a blender. Blend, starting slowly and increasing speed, until smooth and creamy. Add more coconut milk if you'd like a thinner smoothie.

Kabango Calmorant Smoothie

I've been drinking a smoothie for breakfast every day. Believe it or not, they are extremely filling as long as you use good ingredients. This morning's smoothie has four servings of fruit, two servings of vegetables (or more, if you use superfood powder), a serving of nuts and a serving of "dairy." Wow! ...and it's delicious!

Packing all of that goodness and nutrition into one glass fills you up and gives you a huge boost of energy. Since I've quit drinking caffeine (only a month ago, but still!) smoothies are the way I get up and get ready to go in the morning!

I buy bananas three or four bunches at at time so I can freeze them for smoothies. Bananas make a perfect smoothie base, and ingredients like dried fruit, nuts and greens blend very easily into them so you don't have to use yogurt. Simply slice ripe, yellow bananas into one inch slices and freeze in a single layer on a piece of waxed paper. When they're completely frozen, put em all in a baggie and just take out what you need each morning. I bought the chopped frozen mangoes from Whole Foods - $3 for a one pound bag.

I'm also pretty darn proud of the word smash up in the name of this smoothie :-D
kale - banana - mango - carrot - almond - currant

Kabango Calmorant Smoothie

Layer the following ingredients, in this order, in a blender:

• about 3/4 cup sliced frozen banana
• 1/2 cup chopped frozen mango
• 1 small carrot, chopped
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1 leaf curly green kale, torn into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons dried currants
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder (optional)
• 1 - 1 1/4 cups vanilla soymilk

Pulse a few times, and then blend, starting slowly and picking up speed, until completely smooth. This will take a minute or so. It may be necessary to stop the blender and stir to ensure the ingredients towards the top blend together well. Add more soymilk if needed.

Nog Smoothie

I wait all year for the holidays so that I can drink Silk Nog!!!

I do not at all enjoy regular eggnog, something about it just makes me feel weird and I can't drink it. Silk Nog, however, is all the wonderful nutmeggy flavor I want and none of the weirdness of it having eggs or dairy or whatever regular egg nog has in it. Oh and it's super delicious with bourbon.... just saying ;)

Anyway, Silk Nog is being drank a lot around my house now, and it only follows that I put it in a delicious smoothie! I don't think this is quite filling or nutritious enough for breakfast, but it's a good snack or dessert. I'm sure you could use normal eggnog, if you're into that.


Nog Smoothie

Layer the ingredients in a blender in this order:

• 1 banana
• 1 Bartlett pear, stem and core removed (leave the skin on!)
• about 1 cup Silk Nog, or enough to cover the banana
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg

Blend until completely smooth.

Green Berry Smoothie

I love smoothies in the morning. They're quick, filling and nutritious.

How is a smoothie filling? If you make smoothies like the ones I do, when you think about it, you're putting in a couple servings of fruit, two or three servings of vegetables, a couple of servings of nuts, and a superfood supplement. If you were to eat all of that separately it would be a pretty good meal.

I'm not a heavy eater at breakfast time... I used to be. At home, I would fry eggs and hash browns, make breakfast sandwiches, or put some fried eggs on top of rice. And I would always be super hungry again in a couple of hours, probably because my metabolism sped up super quickly to deal with the shock of all that food. In the past few years, I've weaned off of that. What good was it doing me to eat a fried meal in the morning and then snack all day until lunch? Now, I make a delicious smoothie about an hour after I wake up and I can keep going until lunchtime without discomfort from hunger. I made this transition slowly and I am glad I did!

That said, here's another smoothie I enjoy. The superfood powder that I list as optional really adds in a kick of healthy goodness and energy - I enjoy Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder.

 When it's on sale, buy extra fresh berries and extra bananas. Slice the bananas into one inch slices and place on a piece of parchment paper in a single layer. Freeze them, and then place into bags - do the same with the berries. This way you always have frozen fruit for your smoothie and you don't have to use ice.

No picture because, well, the deep green superfood powder makes no smoothie look pretty ;)

Green Berry Smoothie

Layer these ingredients in the following order:

• about 1 cup frozen banana slices
• 4 frozen blackberries
• about 1/3-1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries and strawberries
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 1-2 cups vanilla soymilk (depending on your blender and how thick you want the smoothie - just make sure the frozen fruit is completely submerged)
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons honey

Blend, starting on a low speed and increasing slowly, until completely smooth. Give it some time - it takes a minute for the cashews and spinach to break up.

Green Fruit Smoothie

Smoothies have become my go-to breakfast and snack food. I can eat (drink) them while getting ready for school in the morning and I can put them in a cup and take them on the road. They are just filling enough to keep me going for a few hours until lunch, and I can make them as nutritious as I want them to be, with all sorts of flavors and endless ingredients.

Lately, I have begun adding a green super food powder to my smoothies. This instantly increases how filling they are, without altering the taste too much. I'm using Amazing Grass brand Berry Green Superfood - it's mostly organic, vegan, and contains not only nutrients but antioxidants, probiotics and enzymes.  Here's the nutritional breakdown (from the website):

And since the nutrients are all from whole food ingredients, and the enzymes are living, your body will absorb them better. It's better than a multivitamin in this respect.

One scoop in my smoothie, and I don't really notice a taste or texture difference, only that the color of the smoothie is always a dark green. Here's one I've been eating (drinking) a bit lately. No picture because I couldn't get the dark green color to look pretty :)

Green Fruit Smoothie

• 1 banana, sliced
• 10 frozen blueberries
• 2 frozen raspberries
• 2 frozen blackberries
• 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon walnuts
• 1 scoop superfood powder (optional)
• 1 cup vanilla soymilk

Place ingredients into a blender in the following order: frozen fruit, banana, walnuts, spinach, superfood powder, soymilk. Pulse a couple of times, then blend, slowly picking up speed, until very smooth - for about one minute. Be sure to blend for the full amount of time, or else the smoothie may not have a smooth-y consistency :)
 
Possible Substitutions

• Use any sort of frozen fruit in place of the berries. Using frozen fruit ensures you don't have to add any ice or thickeners like yogurt.
• Use kale in place of the spinach.
• Use almonds or cashews instead of the walnuts.
• Try a fruit juice instead of the soymilk.
• Do not replace the banana - it makes the greens, powder and nuts blend smoothly so you don't get a powdery end result.