Start Your Day with a Smoothie
Fresh fruit strikes me as a great food to start the day with, whether cut up in some way or liquefied. Personally, I prefer my fruit liquefied in the morning; smoothies are at once soothing and invigorating, luscious yet low in fat. They also offer a concentrated source of nourishment for children and teens (and indeed anyone) whose morning appetite is sluggish.
Smoothies are especially easy to make and clean up after if you use an immersion blender. Use these recipes as a starting point for creating combinations of your own.
Basic Formula
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fruit
- 6 to 8 ounces soy yogurt or crumbled plain silken tofu
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups liquid (fruit juice, vanilla soy milk, or rice milk)
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed. Or place in a container and process with an immersion blender. Serve at once in tall glasses.
Sunshine Smoothie
- 2 ripe bananas, broken into several pieces
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup orange juice, preferably fresh
- 6 to 8 ounces lemon soy yogurt
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed. Or place in a container and process with an immersion blender. Serve at once in tall glasses.
Makes 2 to 3 servings
Banana-Blueberry Smoothie
Blueberries are one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits available, making this a supercharged way to start your day. For most of the year, fresh blueberries are not available, so organic frozen blueberries are a good substitute. You need not even thaw them before using.
- 1 medium banana, broken into several pieces
- 1 cup blueberries (organic, fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown rice syrup
- 6 to 8 ounces vanilla soy yogurt or crumbled silken tofu
- 1 cup white or red grape juice, or other juice of your choice
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed. Or place in a container and process with an immersion blender. Serve at once in tall glasses.
Makes 2 or 3 servings
Cinnamon Apple or Pear Smoothie
Here’s a blended drink for fall or winter. It’s a delightful change-of-pace fruit beverage to make when summer fruit is out of season.
- 1 ripe banana, broken into several pieces
- 2 medium soft apples (such as Cortland or Golden Delicious),
- or 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely diced
- 6 or 8 ounces vanilla soy yogurt
- 1 cup apple juice or apple cider, or other juice of your choice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smoothly pureed. Or place in a container and process with an immersion blender. Serve at once in tall glasses.
Makes 2 to 3 servings
Adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook
