Random Blatherings

I love fruit smoothies. Mainly because I like fruit, but sometimes find it inconvenient to eat it. I love the fact that I can sit at the computer or whatever, slurping three of my five-a-day without the inconvenience of dealing with cores or pith. I also love the fact I can vary the recipe to make each smoothie suit my mood. If it’s a hot day I might have melon, grapefruit and some celery juice (much nicer than it sounds). If it’s cold, I might have apple and cinnamon with a dab of honey.

One thing I’ve noticed while juicing is that berry fruit such as raspberries, blueberries or blackberries often have a lot of seeds, which can be a right pain when you’re expecting a nice smooth drink. A trick I’ve learned is to juice these fruits separately, then strain them. I put them in the blender with a tiny little bit of apple juice, whizz them up, and then strain them through a tea strainer. The fine mesh prevents the seeds from getting into the drink, but you still get the flavour.

The book I use in the main to provide me with smoothie recipes is Juices & Health Drinks. I got it quite cheap from a charity shop, and it’s proved to be invaluable. It’s spiral bound, which is a massive help when you’re fingers are covered in fruit juice and you don’t want to stain the pages. I used to just do apple+banana+grape (imaginative, I know), but you haven’t lived until you’ve tried the Melon Mint smoothie from this book. Some of the recipes sound a little extreme (one of them contains spinach), but I’m working my way through them, and finding more than a few gems. And of course, it’s a great leaping off point. I’ve been inspired to invent quite a few of my own fruit smoothie recipes.

When I’ve been drinking smoothies regularly, I can definitely see a difference in my skin and energy levels. They also seem to help me with my diet, because I find some of them rather filling (banana+mango) which helps me stop snacking. And it makes me feel good to know that I’m eating a healthy snack, instead of fattening chocolate and crisps/chips.

I’ve even tried adding some unusual ingredients to smoothies - bell pepper, celery, etc, as well as some more obvious ones such as carrot. They all add a different nuance to the drink, as well as the health benefits. Extra fibre in a diet is always a good thing, as well as antioxidants and less refined sugars.

I use an ordinary home blender to make the healthy smoothies. I do have a juicer, but it’s a bit of a pain to clean up afterwards. A smoothie maker So I peel and core, and slice a bit, then stick it all in the blender and whizz away. It’s a very cathartic method of creating, and watching the mixture change from lumps of fruit to smooth drink is quite satisfying.

If you’d like to have a go at juicing, but don’t know where to start, check out Juices & Health Drinks. It’s a great book for the beginner juicer. If you already do make smoothies, what is your favourite recipe? I’d love to hear it.