I keep rescheduling this post because the weather insists on returning to winter temperatures! Plus, I think the colour and the fact that it has spinach in it may put you off. If I hadn’t written ‘smoothie’ in the title, you would probably have thought it was soup!
However, I’m relegating porridge bowls for now, I need a change, and I have to hope that things will warm up sooner rather than later.
Admittedly, this smoothie doesn’t look very appealing, but appearances can be deceiving and it is chock full of the good stuff. Using frozen instead of fresh banana makes the smoothie thicker and creamier. Slice over-ripe bananas and freeze them in the amounts you’ll want to use them. Bananas that start to have black spots on them are much easier to digest, fresh or frozen.
Use less milk than you would for a normal smoothie in a glass.
Vegan, Gluten-free and can be Nut-free.
All quantities approximate.
Ingredients
1 Banana (frozen)
½ cup of Blueberries, washed
1 small handful of Spinach, washed
2 Tbsp Peanut (or any nut or seed) Butter
1 Tbsp Raw Cacao Powder*
½ cup of Tiger Nut Milk (or any plant milk, click link for how to make)
Optional: 1 Medjool Date, but as I’d put one in the milk, I didn’t add another
Optional: 1 Tbsp Moringa**, or a scoop of Vivolife ‘Thrive for Her’ Green Superfood, Wild Berry flavour*** or any other flavoured Protein Powder
Toppings: I went for a crunchy mix to offset the creamy texture of the smoothie. Chopped nuts (I used Walnuts here), Mixed Seeds, (I used Sunflower, Pumpkin & Chia*), Cacao Nibs*, Blueberries or other berries, Buckwheat
Blend until smooth, but don’t overdo it or it will become too thin.
Sprinkle with chosen toppings.
Nutrients include: antoxidants, b vitamins, iron, magnesium, prebiotics, probiotics, protein, calcium, zinc, potassium, healthy fats, dietary fibre. Great for breakfast, dessert or a healthy pick-me-up.
Here are some links to other smoothie recipes:
Frozen Mango, Banana & Passionfruit Protein Smoothie
Monday Meditation: Two Year Old Frank’s Berry Good Smoothie – Made With Love & Smiles
Almond, Chia & Spinach Super Smoothie
Heart-Healthy Carob, Walnut & Lucuma Smoothie
Monday Meditation: Indulgent No-Banana Cherry & Chocolate Smoothie
The Mood Booster: Raw Chocolate Mulberry, Banana & Walnut Smoothie
Kumquat & Cacao Protein Smoothie
*I buy from The Raw Chocolate Company, their products are Vegan, Organic, Fairtrade, Kosher, Gluten-free, high quality, ethically-sourced and made in the UK.
**Also Vegan, Organic, Gluten-free & Kosher Aduna support African small businesses, often run by women.
*** From Vivolife also Vegan, Organic, made in the UK and Carbon Neutral.
Copyright: Chris McGowan
I had just made some 
The trick is to keep the dough very moist and gently flatten it to about an inch and a half to keep them a good thickness and make them light.
With all the colds and coughs my family brought into the house over Christmas and New Year and the fact that I was feeling wiped out from all the festivities, I began flooding my system with nutrients as soon as they left. This smoothie has everything: antioxidants, minerals including potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium to help me relax and aid my digestion, protein, probiotics for a healthy gut, b vitamins for a healthy nervous system, healthy fats and dietary fibre. This is a thickie and intended as a meal, I had it for breakfast. So far, no colds.
I know I’ve already posted a recipe for chilli (see 
After several hours of watching La Vuelta (that’s the Professional Cycling Tour of Spain to the uninitiated), it was time to refuel, it had been a stressful but exciting ride and I needed something quick and easy. Pasta is always good in this respect, there was a ripe avocado begging to be used and lots of spinach as well as a glut of homegrown cherry tomatoes, so pasta and pesto it was. I had asked for peas, but husband had forgotten to add them to the shopping list so frozen mixed veg it was. This is great for a midweek meal.
While the pasta is cooking, make the Pesto and chop the tomatoes – makes enough for 2-3, I froze what was left over.
Over the last couple of years, since I first became aware of the arsenic content of rice,* I have gradually cut down the amount I eat and swapped rice milk for homemade nut and seed milks**. I often use quinoa and buckwheat as gluten-free alternatives to rice. However, one option has taken some psyching up to try: cauliflower ‘rice’ or ‘couscous’. Recently, I decided to go for it and here’s how it turned out, plus the recipe (the hardest part was persuading my husband it was a good idea!).
I love mango, all smooth, exotic and tangy with a delicate aroma, and I adore passionfruit. It doesn’t look up to much, all wrinkly, dark and swarthy, and when you slice it open, what do you get? No juicy flesh, just a spoonful of less-than-appetising crunchy seeds covered in what looks like yellow frogspawn! But the smell and the flavour are gorgeous, and they are so good for you, so putting them together in a breakfast smoothie was a no-brainer, why hadn’t I thought of it before? This particular week we’d found a pack of four in the supermarket greatly reduced as they were close to their use-by date, so I used two of them in this smoothie.
I know I keep saying this, but each one keeps getting better in terms of how much it rises and slices. The taste and texture also vary a little, too, because of the different combinations of flour used in each new version.*
No, that’s not a slice of tomato on top, it’s a kumquat!
Well, it’s mid June and still we are wearing long socks and woolly cardis while cowering inside from gale force winds and rain, but worry not, we Brits are a hardy bunch and we know how to keep our peckers up! Here’s an easy wholesome dinner that will not only warm your cockles but is satisfyingly healthy too.
pearsnotparsnipsdotcom 
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