I was at the Vic Market yesterday and raspberries were ridiculously cheap - 2 punnets for $5. I bought a couple of punnets, albeit with some wariness. I have bought cheap berries a few times, popped them in the fridge and found them unusable within a day or two. These ones went straight in the freezer and were bound for a smoothie. I've been making smoothies lately and am posting this one as an example of the sort of combinations I've been enjoying.
I had never heard of a green smoothie before I started blogging. I am still not quite sure what it is. I think a handful of green leafy vegetables makes it green. If this is the case then mine was a green smoothie. I added a handful of baby spinach as well as some LSA (ground linseed, sesame and almond) for a nutritional boost. I always thought the green colour of spinach was quite strong but in this case the raspberry red dominated.
I think Sylvia was pleased because she kept asking if I was making a "purple foovie". She seems to think purple is the only colour smoothies I drink. Apparently dolly likes smoothies so I give a little to Sylvia to share but she wont have any. She also has taken to asking for yoghurt and not eating it. 
The smoothie was a lovely deep purple colour and slightly tart. I had added some malt syrup but it is not very sweet and I wondered if a little more was needed. There was only a few dribbles of milk in the fridge or it would not have been quite so thick.I thought I would share a little extra green to this post. Sylvia has a little bite on her foot so we have been using some of our aloe vera plant on the swelling. One of E's friends gave it to him ages ago and we haven't taken much notice of it but it works a treat on Sylvia's foot.
Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:This time last year: Awards, happiness, quicklinks and a conference
This time three years ago: Pomegranates - the cruelest fruit?
Raspberry Smoothie with Muscles
serve 1-2
1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk, depending on how thick you like it
125g punnet of raspberries, frozen
1 banana, chopped
1-2 handfuls of baby spinach
1-2 dessertspoons of plain yoghurt
1 tbsp malt syrup, or more sweetener
1-3 tsp of LSA
Blend all ingredients - I put mine in a tall plastic jug and use a hand held blender. Enjoy.
On the Stereo:
The Best of: Leonard Cohen
I've found that I need to use more sweetener when I throw raspberries in my smoothies than, say, blueberries or pears or nectarines or plums or... you catch my drift! And yes, berries always turn my smoothies from "green smoothies" to "purple" or "brown" smoothies too :P
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed that you can get so much spinach into a smoothie and not have it look in the slightest bit green! I guess it made it's presence known in the flavour though.
ReplyDeleteI must make some smoothies soon, my freezer is bursting with frozen berries from last summer!
I have been making smoothies almost daily for the last couple of months but have never thought to throw some spinach in - interesting...
ReplyDeleteThanks Hannah - that is interesting that you find raspberries quite tart - I also find it with strawberries
ReplyDeleteThanks C - the spinach doesn't give a lot of flavour - I think it is really there for nutrition - sounds like smoothies would be a good way to help you use up your berries because your summer will be here soon
Thanks Mel - I like the idea of a bit more nutrition from the spinach - feel like I have made great inroads on the vegetable intake for the day
I love my green smooothies, although it is not really smoothie weather here at the moment.
ReplyDeleteTry with frozen banana for extra creaminess
I've never heard of a green smoothie before, I feel quite out of the loop now lol. Love the colour though, its always fun making different smoothie combos for the colour as well as the flavour I reckon ;0)
ReplyDeleteYep, green smoothie = any smoothie with leafy greens added. My favorite is with blueberries and protein powder along with the greens. I've never used aloe vera on cuts but hear it does wonders. . . how great that you have a plant at home!
ReplyDeleteI love green smoothies! And I love the photo of Sylvia, showing a bit of her cute cheeks!
ReplyDelete