Project Smoothies

Inspired by the Crazy Sexy Kitchen Project blog, I decided to try and complete the excellent smoothies chapter in Crazy Sexy Kitchen. Unlike Brooke, I don't have the stamina to cook the entire cookbook, but one chapter I can handle. (Especially, a no-cook chapter.) It's a mini CSK Project: Smoothies.

I've already made four of the inventive and tasty recipes. Here are two more smoothies. I have three more yet to attempt. And I want to experiment with the basic nut/seed milk recipe also included in this chapter. (I just have to score some cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.)

Strawberry Fields Smoothie
It's hard not to sing The Beatles' song while making this smoothie. It calls for three types of fruit: strawberries, orange, and banana mixed with spinach and non-dairy milk. I didn't have a lemon on hand, so I added the zest from the orange. (FYI: Zesting an orange makes so much healing citrus aroma. Totally sinus clearing.) The orange didn't overpower the summery strawberry transfusion. I used frozen berries here because it is winter but I can't wait to make this drink from fresh berries, come late-May or June.  

Vanilla Mystic
Boy, this is a white smoothie. Creamy and sweet but so white, with only vanilla and a sweetener giving it a slight hue. I used almond milk as the main liquid. Also I couldn't find a young coconut to crack, so I went with the soaked cashew option. I did find raw coconut butter--so rich! This smoothie already seemed like a quasi-dessert but the coconut butter took it full decadence.

I can't imagine drinking this concoction daily. However, it'd make a good gateway recipe for skeptics who think that blended drinks are nasty or "too-healthy" tasting. You could slowly add berries and greens once they're hooked on the mystic.

Crazy Sexy smoothies continued...

Here are two more Crazy Sexy Kitchen smoothies that I made earlier this week before coming down with the flu. I really like this smoothie chapter of the January VegCookbook Club selection. Kris Carr makes me want to invest in the Cadillac of high speed blenders: the Vitamix. (And a juicer, a dehydrator, some sprouting equipment, a nut milk bag, etc.) But my current situation (tiny budget, small kitchen) means that I'm using my trusty Cuisinart food processor to blend these drinks.  

A.J.'s Power Smoothie
I made this smoothie recipe twice. The first time I used blackberries and it came out an ugly brown-shade. Also I accidentally dumped a large amount of cayenne pepper into the Cuisinart bowl. (I was trying to add a sprinkle of cinnamon. Unfortunately, the cayenne pepper bottle looks remarkably similar and was missing its lid.)

The second time I mixed the correct ingredients: almond milk, berries (strawberries this time for an attractive hue), mango, raw almond butter, kale, spinach, and cinnamon. Much better! This smoothie was light and dreamy. The book says that Chad Sarno's daughter is a big fan. She clearly has mature and enlightened taste buds. I'm also developing a taste for greens in my smoothies.    

Aztec Spirit
This smoothie put me in mind of a café mocha. I got to add cayenne on purpose to this recipe. (A pinch, not half a bottle.) Also in the mix are: unsweetened almond milk, cacao powder, vanilla, agave, kale, and a shot of espresso. I went with cold coffee here but maybe you could use hot? This combo made a heady brew, rather bitter to my green tea drinker's palate. So I added some banana to mellow the sharp flavor. A tasty treat but not a smoothie I'd make a habit of drinking.

In the meantime, I've been browsing the excellent Crazy Sexy Kitchen Project, where Brooke is taking on the entire cookbook. She calls her blog "like the Julie/Julia project but without the butter and meat!" (Ugh, those bone marrow scenes.) It is fun to read about Brooke and her family's foodie adventures. She is inspiring me to try some of the more difficult, "cheffy" level 2 recipes. The smoothie chapter has been all "easy breezy" level 1.