Almond Butter-Apple Pie Smoothie

Any Apple Pie Smoothie recipe I've come across that is delicious seeks to replicate the apple pie a la mode idea using yogurt or thick cream to replicate the ice cream scoop mixed in with the fruit and the crust.  So, so yummy!  

I was experimenting and found that the following ingredients come together creamy, sweet, fruity and so satisfying as a dessert smoothie that you might never want to fuss around with pie crust again!

Into your Vitamix carafe put the following:

*3 Apples, sliced, core and seeds removed
*small nob of fresh Ginger, peeled and sliced or grated
*2 T. Maranatha Raw Almond Butter
*1-2 T. Raw Honey
*1 T. Cinnamon
*Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt (or to taste)
*1 C. Frozen Peaches (Secret Ingredient!)
*3-4 C. Almond Milk (I used Almond Breeze)

Whirl together until creamy smooth.  The Frozen Peaches bring out the 'apple' flavour more than apples do on their own (don't know why?).  Try it yourself and see if it is not ambrosia!

SUCCESS WITH THE SEEDS

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Pineapple-Mango-Plum Smoothie Porridge Bowl -

I call this Pineapple-Mango-Plum Smoothie Porridge Bowl.  The pineapple and mango make for a sunny smoothie (not that you can see much of the sunny piece) and the luscious plum preserves-- a precious gift from a friend's mom-- are set like gems and criss-crossed with delicious almond butter.

Suggested Ingredients:

Start with a foundation layer of creamy oatmeal, either the overnight variety or regular cooked oatmeal.

Then:

• A simple splendid pineapple-mango smoothie made up up of fresh or frozen fruit chunks, a scoop of vegan vanilla protein powder  and water or almond milk
• Italian plum preserves
• Almond butter
• Hemp seeds

If you like this smoothie porridge bowl and are on Instagram  please snap a pic of your masterpiece and hashtag it as #smoothiemoves !

Here is a closeup;

Enjoy!

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Sweet Dates with Nuts-Strawberry Smoothie Porridge Bowl

I am calling this smoothie porridge bowl "Sweet Dates with Nuts".  Hope you enjoy!

A FEW WORDS ABOUT DATES

In the Bible, dates are referred to many times, often in reference to their sweetness.  Dates continue to be grown and eaten in-- and exported from-- the Middle East.  Our North American grocery stores now also sell soft delicious Medjool dates grown in the USA.  Such a nice change from the hard cake of dates I knew as "dates" when I was a girl in rural Saskatchewan.

Dates also turn out to have the highest nutritional profile as a sweetener. They contain vitamin K, magnesium, selenium, antioxidants  and of course, fibre.  Early risers during the time of Ramadan (fasting all day) eat dates for breakfast as a chief way to get through the day.   

Date Syrup

Many Middle Eastern cooks make a date syrup-- dates and water-- as a delightful sweetener and for baking.  There are different methods, some more traditional methods with a 100% hands-on approach: soaking the dates, squeezing all the "juices" through cheese gauze, and then cooking the date juice down with constant stirring until a honey-like texture is obtained.  

I made a syrup by pouring boiling water over  2 cups of Medjool dates and letting them overnight.  Next morning I sieved out as much liquid as I could and boiled it down.  I mashed the leftover bits and they are a mass I can call "date butter"-- basically, jam. Very yummy.

The syrup I used in the smoothie porridge bowl, along with thin almond butter to represent "the nuts."  

So, here are the suggested ingredients:

*simple strawberry-water smoothie

*almond butter, thinned with a bit of H2O 

*date syrup (see above)

*coconut yogurt

*strawberries

*Hemp seeds

ENJOY!

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SPLENDID SUNSET CAULIFLOWER

Sunset Cauliflower from West Coast Seeds

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Cocoa-Banana & Fig Smoothie (Dairy-Free, Vegan, Gluten-Free)

 This is definitely one of those less-heathy, more nostalgic-for-chocolate-milkshakes smoothies. But as you can see above, it does have quite a lot of fibre and various phytonutrients going for it, so it is somewhat healthier than a choco shake.  It's a comfort food smoothie!  My husband is on an 8-day hike and I miss him already (and worry a little).

We're still enjoying fresh figs!  Today I made some fig jam that is absolutely the best jam I have ever eaten... I'll make sure you get the recipe (HERE).  Rather than using sugar, I thought that a fig would do (bananas are also sweet).

INGREDIENTS:
2 Frozen Bananas, peeled and chunked
1 Ripe, Fresh Fig, stem removed and quartered
2-4 T. Organic Cocoa (a Fair Trade brand is the most ethical)
1 T. Almond Butter (optional)
1-2 C. Almond Mylk

Whirl it up and enjoy!