Smoothie time followers! So this is my first official smoothie post. It wasn't till recently that I started blending up some awesome smoothies....You know, after I got my shiny new high-speed blender for Christmas. I made an exceptional Green monster the other day and thought I would share it with you all.
Perks of this smoothie: 2 servings of fruit, 1 serving of green veg, 1 serving of dairy alternatives and 1 (or 2) servings of deliciousness. And if you want to get a serving of protein in your smoothie too, just add 2 Tbsp nut butter.
I used frozen peach in this smoothie instead of my typical frozen banana, and it turned out great! But if you don't have the frozen peach, you can substitute it for a banana. And because of the chia seeds, this is a great on-the-go smoothie because it won't get all watery.
Serves: 1 large (about 650mL) or 2 small
Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 medium peach, cut and frozen
- 1 apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 cup spinach, loosely packed
- 1 small chunk of ginger, about 1/4"x1/2" (about 1/2 tsp ginger paste)
- 1 cup soy milk or almond milk
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 3-4 ice cubes
- (optional: 2 Tbsp nut butter)
Preparation
- Put all ingredients in a high speed blender, blend on high (purée or liquify) for about 2 minutes or until smooth.
- Serve in a mason jar (because not many people have a cup big enough to fit 650mL, and if it's too much goodness for one sitting you can put the lid on and save it for later)
- Since there's chia seeds in this smoothie, it stays thick for longer than a normal smoothie and thus can be made in advance.
A.K.A. banana-carrot-apple/pear-coconut-raisin muffins
It seems that every time I talk with my dad, he complains that he wants my mom to bake him something. He was a bit jealous when I told him I made these muffins. They've got pretty much everything he loves in them: carrots, raisins, coconut, banana and nuts. Can you ask for a more tasty way to start off your morning?
Serves: 12 muffins
Ingredients
1 large banana, mashed
3/4 cup soy milk or other non dairy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 cups flour, half whole wheat, half white
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 large pear or apple, pealed and chopped
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened up to you, I've used both)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 chopped pecans for topping
Preparations
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin tin, or line with muffin liners (Do not need to grease if using a silicon muffin tray).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash banana and mix with all wet ingredients and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine.
5. To the batter, add the chopped fruit, grated carrot, raisins and coconut and mix well.
6. Distribute the batter evenly, top the muffins with the chopped pecans and place in your preheated oven at 350°F.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin tray before transferring the muffins to a wire rack and cooling for an additional 5-10 minutes before chowing down.
