Depending on how you look at it, I am either getting into a routine or into a rut.
This week, I have been making versions of my vegetable stew template, salads, and this smoothie for breakfast.
This smoothie is not the prettiest looking drink, but it contains lots of nutrients. Most smoothie recipes I've seen have a milky base of some sort, but I wanted a non-caloric base with flavor. So I gravitated towards teas. Sometimes decaf green tea. Other times herbal tea. Usually I end up with a blend of decaf green tea plus pure mint tea. I brew up a pitcher at a time, which lasts for days.
I use 12 to 16 ounces of cold tea for the smoothie base. To this, I add a half of a banana and a half cup of frozen blueberries. Then I add one tablespoon of flax seed, ground. I use a coffee grinder to grind the flax seed; the nutrients in the flax seed are more available to the body in the ground form, and grinding it myself means that the nutrients don't have time to dissipate. I also add 2 teaspoons of chia seed that I've soaked in the fridge overnight in 6 tablespoons of water. The seeds create a gel that helps to thicken the smoothie, and they are as nutritious as the flax seed. Finally, I add several handfuls of greens. These vary. Lately I've been using a pre-packaged mix of baby spinach, baby bok choi, and baby red and green chard. I also like a mixture of arugula and baby spinach, or kale, or unusual greens from the farmer's market, such as sorrel or lovage. Each type of green has a different flavor. In a pinch, I use the spring mix of baby greens that I use for my chopped salads.
I buzz all this in the blender until it is smooth. It's an easy breakfast that I have enjoyed all summer, but now that it is turning cool, I am beginning to think of warmer alternatives for the winter months.
No comments:
Post a Comment