Going Green, Smoothie Style

The whole world is going green. And so am I . . . in my own way. In an effort to increase our daily greens and hopefully our daughter's ability to absorb nutrients, we've been starting our day off with a [green] smoothie. I have felt so good every day that I drink it that I thought I'd share the goodness. So, here's what you'll need if you decide you'd like to try it too:

2ish cups of almond milk (I prefer vanilla - but we accidentally grabbed "original" either works, but if you prefer sweet, vanilla is what you'll want)
2-3 kale leaves (remove the center)
1 handful of spinach
2 Tbsp chopped walnuts (or nut of your choice)
2 cups frozen fruit (I buy the mixed non-sweetened strawberries, mangoes, pineapple and peaches)
1/2 banana (I add this for my girls cause it really sweetens it, but if you're wanting to keep your sugars down and not have a sugar crash after drinking it, leave the banana out).

*Coconut milk is not necessary as pictured. I just happened to buy it and try it. And . . . it's not my favorite (although I do like coconut milk - it just doesn't seem to have the same effect as the almond). I have been adding a small amount to our smoothies every morning just to not waste the whole container. So, here's what you do:

Pour milk into blender and add greens and nuts. Blend thoroughly so as to diminish the "leafy texture."

2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add fruits and blend again until smooth.
Serve. My mother suggests drinking up to a quart for nutrients and says that will get her through with plenty of physical and mental energy until early to mid-afternoon. I drink two cups and a little more each morning and I'm not hungry at all and feel a little emotional boost to confront my challenges daily. The chlorophyll is just what I've needed on blue winter days when I don't see the sun.
And my girls? Well, they love it too. Shhhh, don't tell them that it's weird to drink green. They are totally into being Popeye girls and love all the talk about being strong and smart.

And my favorite, their green mustaches.
Please share if you try it or have other healthy blending concoctions I could try. If you're not as daring, start with baby steps. Make the fruit smoothie and add only 1 kale leaf or half the spinach. These greens really don't have much flavor when mixed with fruit. And if you're even more daring, you can do what I do when the girls aren't drinking with me, I throw in a handful of parsley too and I love the flavor burst that comes with that. Call me weird, but I've always loved parsley.

Happy Blending!

Fresco de Piña / Pineapple Horchata

Remember the very first time I posted on this blog way back in 2007 and I showed you a bag of pineapple skins I was going to freeze to use another day and told you I'd share with you another recipe for it? Well, three and a half years later, here it is. Finally.

This Fresco de Piña is another original of Doña Rina's. She doesn't like to waste any part of the pineapple so instead of throwing away the "pine" she washes it well and makes a delicious rice/pineapple/cinnamon drink with it. I like to call it pineapple horchata. That's just my personal interpretation.

You'll need:

Pineapple skins of one pineapple
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1 cup of uncooked rice
sugar to sweeten

1. So, once you've sliced your pineapple and you're tempted to throw the skins away, instead fill a pot with water and throw the skins in there.
2. Add cinnamon sticks. If using cinnamon sticks from the Mexican food section, be generous.
3. Add 1 cup uncooked rice.

4. Cover and boil until rice opens and is soft and cinnamon sticks are completely open. Mixture will be very watery.
5. Blend entire boiled mixture from the pot (including cinnamon sticks) until there are no major chunks.

6. Strain mixture into a pitcher.

7. Using a spoon, press any extra liquid out of the remaining strained ingredients.

8. Fill pitcher with cool water until drink is at required consistency and sweeten to your desired sweetness. (It takes quite a bit of sugar to get this sweet).

Sometimes she prepares this drink thicker than others. I prefer it a little more watery than thick. Make sure to chill before serving.

Enjoy with any meal or as a delicious refresher after a long days work!

Watermelon Lemonade

Prepare Fresca de Sandia as mentioned in the previous recipe and add fresh squeezed lemon to taste. If you're entertaining, it's fun to garnish with a slice of lemon and a wedge of watermelon. If not, you probably won't have enough time to garnish before you chug this down and make another glass.

Fresca de Sandia / Watermelon Juice

Depending on where you're from, this summery delight could be called Agua de Sandia, Fresca de Sandia, Jugo de Sandia. And in the end, it's all the same . . . delicious, refreshing, summer in a cup. I love summer's fruits that fill our pitchers with delicious, fresh "frescas" on a regular basis. My favorite is probably watermelon because I can make the most with it.


Slice Watermelon in half. Place the open side down (flat) and slice in half again. Now slice that half in half so you have a fourth. I like to slice that in half again and then cut the watermelon right along the curved line of seeds so that I can easily remove them. Place the large chunks of watermelon in the blender. Blend with sugar and water to taste.

1/2 Watermelon
Sugar to taste
Water

Most official recipes I've read online direct you to make a "syrup" out of the sugar and water because sugar granules don't dissolve well in cold water. In all my time amongst Latin-Americans (where this drink is like OJ on their breakfast table) I have never seen them do this. And quite frankly, I'm lazy.

Another tip I have learned from my in-laws is that they go to the market and buy all their fruit once a week. So, when they don't get around to eating it right away, they slice it up and freeze it to make "frescas" later. Sometimes they even slice it and freeze it right away if they know they will be making the fruit into juice. I'm following suit and right now I have strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, and cucumber in my freezer just waiting to be turned into some delicious juice concoctions. More on that to come.

Summer Citrus Drink

It's warming up outside, so we're keeping cool with this . . . I know it just looks like a normal glass of lemonade or limeade, but really, this drink is bursting with all the citrus fruits you can think of!

That's right, if you look close, it has grapefruit, orange, lemon, and lime!

I used about this much fruit. If you don't want to count it was:

2 grapefruits
1 orange (would have used more if I had them)
2 limes
2 lemons
I juiced out all the juice and pulp I could get out of the fruit into a pitcher. I also added a little bit of fresh lemon and lime zest from the leftover rinds.

Then I added almost a cup of sugar (YIKES!) I do this a little at a time so I can taste test as I go.
Then I filled the pitcher with lots of ice and water. (I added the ice so it would be cold right away).

And ta-da a delicious, refreshing, summer drink.
Credit goes to my sister-in-law, Ana, who made something similar for me 3 summers ago and I just remembered it today. Thanks, Ana!

Atol de Calabaza (Pumpkin Atole)

I hope you haven't all thrown out those Jack-O-Lanterns cause here's a great way to use up all the scrumptious pumpkin. My sister-in-law, Ana, taught me to make this the first year Armando and I were married and I think we've made it every year since, but this is the first time I've made it all by myself. If you want a definition of atole, go here. In my words it's basically a yummy thick drink made out of anything (generally corn or fruit) - it's kind of like a porridge - watch out three bears, cause this one is delicious!

Here's what I did - (we didn't carve our pumpkin so here's the steps from the beginning). Cut open the pumpkin and remove all seeds and guts.

Slice pumpkin into several small pieces.

Fill a large pot with hot water and place pumpkin pieces in water. Boil until soft. Let pumpkin cool.

If outer shell of the pumpkin is really tough, you may remove it or you can leave the shell on if you think it will blend well. (*Note: I left the shell on a few pieces and it added nice little darker orange specs to the drink, which I liked).

Place as much of the pumpkin in the blender as possible (you may want to slice into smaller pieces) and blend with part of the water it was boiled in).

Mixture will be thick.

Pour pumpkin mixture back into pot and bring to boil with a cinnamon stick or two. Stir often. Add sugar to taste. Then add milk to thin to your preferred thickness - the drink is meant to be somewhat thick.

Stir until milk/pumpkin have blended and drink has heated through. Add a bit of vanilla 1/2 to 1 tsp. Serve warm.

Annie visited the other night and we enjoyed a delicious cup as we talked. I love this season of warm drinks and being inside talking with friends and family. As we talked and I analyzed how it turned out, I thought it would be pretty to serve with a little whip cream on top with a dash of cinnamon for decoration. If you try this, let me know if you like it.

Cantaloupe Blend

Do you have a cantaloupe that's just a little too ripe (or way too ripe)? Or even a cantaloupe that you cut into that's underripe? Here's a delicious solution to tossing it - blend it and drink it!


Remove seeds and rind from cantaloupe.
Cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Fill blender 1/2 to 3/4 full of cantaloupe

Add water to just above fruit line
Add plenty of ice cubes
Add sugar to taste (depending on the ripeness of the fruit) or if you add less water, this is even good without sugar! Blend until smooth and enjoy! *This drink is even more delicious after being refrigerated for awhile.

Keeping Cool - Pineapple Blend

Got one of these sitting around waiting to be eaten? Try drinking it! At our house in the summertime, we like to mix just about any kind of fruit you can imagine into a delicious, refreshing drink to keep us cool in the three-digit temperatures.

1. Slice off the top, bottom, and sides of pineapple skin. (Set aside). Cut pineapple into chunks (do not include center core of pineapple).

2. Place chunks of pineapple in blender with a few ice cubes, sugar to taste and about half full with water.

3. Blend until smooth and ice chunks are gone.
4. Cool in refrigerator and enjoy!
The secret to a delicious fruit blend is the temperature. The colder the better! This recipe is also tasty with milk in place of the water.

Freeze pineapple skins. (I'll share a great recipe for these another day!)