Bursting with Summer Sweetness

Shartner Farm, here in Exeter, RI has "Pick your own Blueberries" during the Summer months.  Aren't they just beautiful?!  And they taste utterly fantastic.  I see a pie in my future, or maybe a Blueberry Buckle Cake from Vegan Pie in the Sky!

For the moment, a breakfast smoothie will have to do...

Blueberry Peach Summer Fruit Smoothie

(For two)

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

2 ripe peaches, sliced

2 bananas (1 of mine was frozen)

1-1/2 cups unsweetened soy or almond milk

1-2 kale leaves

1 tbsp chia seeds

Combine fruit, kale and milk in a blender and process until smooth and kale leaves are blended.

Add chia seeds and blend one more time.

Enjoy your Purple-y goodness!! ;)))

Blueberry Banana Green Smoothie (with a shot of Chia)

This week, organic blueberries were on sale, so I took full advantage and bought two pints. My plan to make blueberry buckwheat pancakes with some of them never came to pass, so I made up some luscious fruit smoothies for breakfast instead.

Here we have:

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1 large banana, frozen

3/4 cup organic blueberries

1 1/2 cups baby spinach

1 package of chia shots*, from my Vida Vega Con swag bag!

*ice cubes, if you like it extra cold

*What's nice about chia seeds is that they pack all the omega 3s, fiber and protein of flax seeds, but they do NOT have to be fully ground in order to digest or reap the nutritional benefits. So these cute little packs are great for on the go to add into yogurt or salads, too.

Add ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth and creamy. This makes a fantastic breakfast on the go. And, considering the blueberries have now doubled in price, this was a nice treat while it lasted! ^_^

Smoothie To-Go!

Been cooking a lot of food lately... And I mean A LOT! This Vegan MOFO is kicking my but, and I have enough leftovers in my fridge and freezer to last me all Winter.

Some days, you just need to start off with some raw liquid sunshine!

Here we have:
1/2 of a Honey Crisp Apple (peeled & cored)
2/3 of a ripe frozen banana
1 cup frozen Mango  (Trader Joe's)
1/2 tsp cracked Flax Seeds
Fresh Orange Juice to cover

Blend until smooth!  Pour into jar (above we  have a clean, de-labeled Veganaise jar), screw on the lid and your are ready to hit the road. ^_^

Pineapple Banana-Oat Smoothie

A delicious glass of tropical sunshine! Pineapple and banana are one of my favorite smoothie combinations.  And in this recipe, the oats and flax seed add a nice thickness as well as added nutrition. Oats have a higher level of soluble fiber than other grains. Some other benefits of adding oats to your smoothie is the fact that they lower cholesterol, and are soothing to the digestive process. I like to blend the oats and flax in my liquid first, just to make sure they are pureed well. Then add your fruit...

INGREDIENTS:
1 banana, ripe
1/2 cup pineapple chunk, frozen 
1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons flax seeds 
2 teaspoons agave nectar

DIRECTIONS:                        Prep Time: 5 mins           Total Time: 5 mins
1.  Blend oats, flax seeds, almond milk and agave for a two to three minutes on high, just to really blend the oats and the seeds.
2.  Add fruit and blend until smooth.

 

Guide to the Perfect Smoothie

Think you need a recipe to make a smoothie? Think again!

Follow these basic tips to make deliciously fun, fruity smoothies everytime ^_^



Most of the smoothies I make are simply a combination of my favorite fruit, milk or juice.  I have listed a basic smoothie recipe below, and then below that, are some specific options for different ingredients:

1 cup fruit (fresh or frozen)
1/2 - 1 cup frozen banana
1 - 2 cups of liquid
1 - 2 tsp natural sweetener or nut butter
1tsp - 2tbsp supplement (optional)

FRUIT:
Frozen: bananas, pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, peaches, cherries, or a mix of any!
Fresh: honeydew, cantaloupe, mango, peaches, oranges, blueberries, strawberries

Liquid Options (or the blender's not gonna blend)
Non-Dairy Milk (I love almond milk, but soy, rice or hemp work well too)
Non-Dairy yogurt or silken tofu
100% citrus fruit juice (orange, pineapple, mango) apple juice
Water (if you're doing RAW)

Nut Butters/Natural Sweetners:
Almond butter, all natural peanut butter, cashew butter, tahini, pure maple syrup, evaporated cane juice

Supplement:
Vegan protein powder, ground flax seed, fresh ginger

Helpful Hints: 

• Instead of making banana bread with those over-ripe brown bananas, try peeling, slicing, and keeping them a ziplock bag in the freezer.  Frozen bananas for smoothies anytime!
• Trader Joe's has amazing, resonably priced bags of frozen organic fruit like strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, pineapple, and a tropical mix that's really yummy!  I have these in my freezer at all times for whenever I'm out of fresh fruit
• Be creative! There are really no "bad" mixes of fresh or frozen fruit: strawberry/banana, strawberry/banana/blueberry (pictured above), Pinapple/banana/OJ, rasberry/peach,
• 1 TBSP ground flax seed is a great way to add thickness to a smoothie, and boost your Omega 3s.

HAPPY BLENDING!