Smooth Sailing

Ever since investing in a blender a little over 2 months ago I have become a tad smoothie obsessed. All I want for breakfast (and lunch, and dinner) is a creamy, sweet, cold, smoothie. I dream of new flavour combinations to try out. I spend morning after morning contemplating how to tweak my breakfast smoothie recipes to get them to taste ‘just right’. I rejoice when the perfect texture and flavour combination greets my taste buds. Bliss!

I suppose my love for vegan smoothies is as a result of a combination of the ease with which they can be made in a proper blender (as opposed to the not-so-powerful hand blender I was using before) and the creamy double-thick-milkshake-like texture they offer without the negative side effects that consuming large amounts of dairy products bring. Before deciding to adopt a vegan diet I had always had dairy allergies – my sinuses hated me for allowing chocolate, ice-cream, milkshake and the like to enter into my body – yet I could never seem to say no to such delightful tasting treats! So my life became a vicious cycle of eating dairy products, drinking a few antihistamines, having a stuffy nose and/or itchy ears and a sore throat, and then when the symptoms cleared, starting all over again. Not a good thing! So one can imagine my delight when I discovered that the satisfying feeling of drinking a good milkshake could in fact be achieved without the ‘milk’ part. So my advice –  invest in some fruit, nuts, soy/almond/oat milk and a good blender and see your breakfast transform from a tedious part of a daily routine to an exciting and rewarding taste adventure.

I would like to share one of my all time favourite breakfast smoothies today – Mango banana peanut butter fusion. Had it again this morning before starting this post and wow, it just never seems to get old.  I even experimented with adding some molasses and the result was incredible. So here goes:

Mango Banana Peanut Butter Fusion

Ingredients:

1 large frozen banana (broken into chunks for easy blending)

1/2 large mango (fresh or frozen. I used fresh today)

100ml unsweetened soy milk (or homemade almond milk)

2 tsp natural peanut butter (I used Woolworths smooth organic peanut butter)

1 tbsp golden or normal flax seeds

1 tsp molasses

1/3 cup rolled oats

Optional: 3-4 cubes ice

Method:

In a blender, combine the frozen banana, optional ice cubes, mango and soy milk. Pulse to crush ice, then start blending at an intermediate speed. Whilst blender motor is running, add the flax seeds, peanut butter, rolled oats and molasses. Continue blending until smooth.

Top with raw cashews and some coconut if desired.

Frozen Banana and Ice – add first

Don’t forget the Peanut Butter!

Success!

Hope you enjoy this refreshing summer smoothie. Feel free to let me know what you think!

Notes:

1. Almond milk will produce a creamier smoothie with a richer texture.

2. The ice cubes will water down the taste a bit and result in a thinner texture.

3. The flax seeds are not essential and do not affect the taste of this smoothie greatly, but I like to add them due to their nutritional value. They are an especially valuable source of Omega-3 fatty acids.

4. I like to add oats because I like a chunkier texture – I actually eat my smoothies with a spoon most days. If you aren’t a fan, simply add less oats or omit them completely.