Ladies and gentlemen, the breakfast smoothie bar is open.
I know, smoothies aren’t rocket science, but they are pretty much all I have been having for breakfast for the past two weeks. The warm weather means that I want something quick, refreshing and healthy. And sometimes this blog needs to be about sharing the simple, uncomplicated things that don’t require an oven.
Also, I’m a bit of a late comer to this, but . . . frozen bananas, such a revelation.
I have spoken about brown bananas before, but summer weather is not conducive to making endless supplies of banana bread. So I have been peeling and cutting up the brown bananas into thirds and then freezing them. It makes smoothie making so much easier as you don’t need to add ice, which can water things down.
For once I think I might be sad to see summer turn to autumn, because to be honest, I may be in danger of turning into a smoothie. Can not get enough.
The three flavours featured are the ones I have been drinking the most. I throw in a tablespoon of chia seeds, to add some protein and fibre, and I’m good to go (for photographic purposes I haven’t added the chia seeds in these ones, because unless you leave them to soak for 15 minutes, they don’t really blend down and are therefore still visible. In a frog-spawn kind of way).
The chocolate cherry one is perfect for when what I really want is chocolate spread on toast, but don’t have any toast (chocolate spread on corn cakes is not the same). Sweetened with the banana and a splash of maple syrup, it tastes indulgent without being loaded with sugar.
And the banana and mango one has two unconventional ingredients – carrot and turmeric. You can’t tell that either of them are there as such, but they do make a difference. I have used both fresh mango or a scoop of this mango ice cream, either works.
I prefer to use almond milk in my smoothies, but if you want to use cow’s, goat’s or soya, go ahead.
Breakfast Smoothies
Banana & Strawberry Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2/3 frozen banana
- 10 strawberries
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- Unsweetened almond milk, enough to cover the other ingredients
Put all the ingredients in a blender, or if using a hand-held blender, a tall plastic beaker, and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance and kept in the fridge until needed. Contents may separate so stir before serving.
Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2/3 frozen banana
- 10 cherries, stones removed
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- Unsweetened almond milk, enough to cover the other ingredients
Put all the ingredients in a blender, or if using a hand-held blender, a tall plastic beaker, and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance and kept in the fridge until needed. Contents may separate so stir before serving.
Banana & Mango Smoothie with Carrot & Turmeric
Ingredients:
- 2/3 frozen banana
- 1/4 cup fresh mango, or a generous scoop of this mango ice cream
- 1/2 small carrot, grated
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- Unsweetened almond milk, enough to cover the other ingredients
Put all the ingredients in a blender, or if using a hand-held blender, a tall plastic beaker, and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance and kept in the fridge until needed. Contents may separate so stir before serving.
© The Pink Rose Bakery 2014
The Pink Rose Bakery 
My blender has just been sold in the big leaving-hk-sell-everything-we-own house sale 😦 If i was still in possession of one I’d defiantly be making that cherry and chocolate smoothie – sounds delicious!
LikeLike
Oh, I’m sorry. Guess it’s going to be quite frustrating for the next few weeks, until you are on your way, then it will be exciting!
LikeLike
Andy is under strict instructions not to sell my oven until the very last weekend! You’re right though, the frustration will defiantly be worth it once we’re off 🙂 great excuse to treat myself to shiny new kitchen equipment soon too! X
LikeLike
Oh gosh, definitely don’t sell the oven until just before you go!!
And yep, I would be making a list of shiny new things now 🙂
LikeLike
I love smoothies!
LikeLike
Me too 🙂
LikeLike
Yum! I love a good smoothie! I always have frozen bananas in the freezer too. They are so good for lots of things. At the moment Im making lots of “ice cream” with them!
LikeLike
I haven’t done the frozen banana ice cream thing yet. I’ve read lots about it and it does look yummy. There seems to be a lot of halved bananas frozen on sticks and then dipped in chocolate around on the internet at the moment, especially Pinterest. Some of them look very rude!! 🙂
LikeLike
I’ll be putting a couple of bananas straight into the freezer. We’ve been making smoothies for the Husband every other day or so, with banana, strawberry, home made yoghurt, a glug of apple juice and skim milk and sometimes a bit of mango or guava nectar. Chia seeds is an idea I’ll also try – but a teaspoon of inulin powder doesn’t hurt either.
LikeLike
Sounds yummy.
I have to admit that I had to google inulin powder as I had no idea what it was. It sounds interesting. Apparently it can be used in ice cream to make it creamy! Although it does say to limit the amount used as excess can cause flatulence! Ha!
LikeLike
It does thicken and make things like that creamy, and best of all, it’s gluten free, unlike many commercial starches that do the same thing. It’s tasteless, too.
LikeLike
I shall have to keep an eye out for it. I don’t recall seeing it in the local health food store, but then I wasn’t looking for it!
LikeLike
Yum, they look refreshing 🙂
LikeLike
They have been the perfect breakfast for the past few days!
PS – not forgotten about the cheese challenge. I have a recipe planned for this weekend. It’s a bit of an experiment, so fingers crossed it works!
LikeLike