Basics
The popularity of smoothies is growing throughout the world and these
rich, thick drinks have already splashed their way into local cuisine
lingo as people start dropping in at the nearest restaurant or
take-away joint to order a satisfying smoothie rather than a regular
juice or cup of coffee.
A smoothie can be fruity, chocolatey, coffee-based, even
savoury. And you really don’t have to stick to a recipe; simply throw
together whatever fruit or vegetable you like, add a liquid (milk, soy
milk, fruit juice or a herb supplement) and a frozen ingredient like
ice cubes, ice cream or sorbet, and whiz it up.
Although a normal food blender is perfectly good for preparing
smoothies, some brands of electric appliances are nowadays selling
proper smoothie machines that makes the job easier and quicker. The end
result of these nifty bits of engineering is usually a lot smoother,
seeing that the measuring cup have indicators up to where you should
fill the container with liquids, fruit and frozen ingredients.
The smoothie can be thickened by using frozen instead of fresh
fruit. These smoothies are usually more flavourful while a smoothie
made of fresh fruit will be more authentic and suitable for easy
sipping.
Some people might expect a boost of a different kind from their
smoothies: If you aren’t that much of a fruit junkie, you can always
mix together different combinations of strong brewed coffee, espresso,
milk, vanilla yogurt, chocolate syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, cream
and honey.
Smoothies are to be enjoyed around the clock and are wonderful
alternatives for on-the-go meals, snacks, refreshments and dessert.
And, as we said, a smoothie doesn’t have have to be sweet. Try making a
savoury smoothie by blending cucumbers, tomatoes, celery stalks,
spinach, onion, Tobasco sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Or how about a chunky blend of oranges and raw egg? Simply add the
juice of 1 orange to a cup of soda water and 3 cups of ice cubes. Add
half a cup of sugar syrup and 1 fresh raw egg. Let the blender do its
thing and sit back to enjoy a great morning-after-the-night-before
booster.
Talking about the night before… impress your guests with a:
Party starter: Pineapple Coconut Refresher
Blend together 1 can of pineapple chunks (in juice), 250ml pineapple
juice, 1 cup of coconut milk, 60 ml Malibu and 6 small scoops of
vanilla ice cream. The result? One hectic party with a Caribbean vibe!
And a spoonful of smoothie might just be the thing to make the
medicine go down. Next time you can’t sleep, try soothing yourself with
the following blend:
Feel-good smoothie
Add 1 cup of chamomile or vervian tea (frozen into ice cubes), to 2
sliced oranges (pips removed) 1 tablespoon clear honey and 4 drops of
Valerian root (optional). Blend it all together until the ingredients
become slushy. Bottoms up and off to bed you go! When the sun comes up
again it’s time for a:
Early morning energy booster
Combine 500ml freshly squeezed orange juice and 4-6 pitted, soft dates
in a blender and blend until smooth. Cut 2 frozen bananas, peeled, into
three pieces. Add about 6 ice cubes, crushed, and blend until thick and
creamy. Serve immediately.
Or try these simple smoothies that never fail to deliver:
Mixed berries smoothie
In a blender, process 250g mixed berries and 30ml (2T) sugar until smooth. Add 160ml (2/3 cup) milk and stir. Serve immediately.
Mango smoothie
Blend 2 cups diced mango; 1 banana, peeled and sliced; 125ml (1/2 cup)
vanilla yoghurt; 2 scoops vanilla ice cream; 20ml (4 tsp) lime juice
and 30ml (2T) sugar together until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.
6 things to do with smoothies