Good Morning Smoothie

Although I know a smoothie recipe isn’t necessarily the most exciting first food post, I figure since it’s the way I begin most of my days, it’s an obvious way to begin the column!

To give you a bit of background, B and I moved back from the Virgin Islands about a year ago and didn’t have much of an opportunity to do any gardening while living there. We moved to Flagstaff, Arizona (yet another challenging place to garden due to a short growing season) last December. Nonetheless we were excited about the opportunity to do at least some experimenting. Not to mention, we relished in the idea of being that much more sustainable.

And so it began with a 12ft x 24ft greenhouse in our backyard, followed by an all consuming garden in the front yard. Let me be honest though, I can take absolutely NO credit for the bounty that we’ve been enjoying from our garden and greenhouse. B is the green thumb in our family of two and he knows it. The other night we watched the Constant Gardner and afterward B asked me if I knew about the sequel called “The Inconsistent Gardner” starring Giovanina Bucci? Unfortunately, his witty comment sums it up! However, this works out for a nice relationship because B grows and I cook.

Among many other foods, we’ve been enjoying tiny but oh so tasty strawberries from our front garden. To naturally sweeten up our smoothies, I’ve been adding these little red bits of juiciness!

For this recipe, you can experiment with any kinds of fruits. (Although I don’t recommend kiwi, it leaves this really odd scratching feeling on the tongue!)

Good Morning Smoothie

2 Servings (usually with a bit leftover)

1 c. Rice Milk (or whatever milk/alternative milk you prefer)

2 bananas

1 dozen or so of blueberries (apparently eating 10 a day helps decrease the chances of getting Alzheimer’s)

4 large strawberries (8 to 10 small ones)

2 scoops (scoop provided) of Peaceful Planet’s (preferably unsweetened) Rice Protein Energy Shake

You should be able to find in your local health food store. You can visit this link to order or read all of the nutritional information:

http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-exec/product_id/5605/nm/Peaceful+Planet+High+Protein+Shake-Natural+Flavor,+Unsweetened+(old+upc+617626760197+)

2 Tbls. Flax Seed Oil (a great source of Omegas!)

Optional: one (6oz.) container of soy/regular yogurt

For you lone vegans out there, just a heads up that the soy yogurts I have come across do contain live cultures, there is completely vegan yogurt that is made with coconut milk put out by So Delicious. Check out this website for more information; http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/coconut_yogurt.html

About 8 large ice cubes or just less than 12oz of small ice cubes

Blend and there you have it! I tend to let the blender go for a minute or so extra (after it looks ready) just to make sure the smoothie is, in fact, smooth.

This is one of those recipes that you can really play around with as far as ratios and what fruits you prefer. I highly suggest at least the bananas because they help make for a really great texture. You may find when you are blending that the smoothie seems to be a bit thick, slowly add more milk until you reach the consistency you like. I don’t use soy milk at all because there are so many other delicious alternatives such as Rice Milk, Almond Milk, Hazelnut Milk, and Hemp Milk. Soy is a whole other conversation/post in and of itself. Simply put, I use it in moderation because I try to focus my vegan diet more on fruits and vegetables rather than alternatives for meat and dairy.

If you have specific questions about this recipe or any other recipes, comments, ingredients, philosophies, veganism, etc. please feel free to email me at giovaninabucci@yahoo.com.