Happy July! I wanted to pop in with a little smoothie (bowl) recipe just to say hi. I crept patiently through June with a few getaways here and there to enjoy the weather I wait for all year. But any month that starts with a four day weekend is my kind of month. For those extra days we went up to the Adirondacks for an unprecedented long weekend without having to use a vacation day. It’s one of our favorite places in the world, and aside from the most beautiful kayak trip ending in a torrential downpour after dark and a brief, but terrifying scurry in the dark amongst the haunting cries of aquatic birds to try to find our way back to where we started, it’s a time of year worth celebrating.
To do that, meet my favorite summer smoothie. Cherries-the jewels of the summer, blueberries, bananas hemp seeds and a bunch of greens. Almond milk and water achieve the desired thickness. The key is to keep it sweet enough to hide the fact that there may have been arugula in the fridge you needed to use up, without venturing into the realm of sweet milk shake. When I want something more substantial, I take the same ingredients and make it thicker by reducing the almond milk/water content, throw it in a bowl and add tons of toppings. On this one I’ve got pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds for crunch, additional fruit for a unique blend, goji berries, shredded unsweetened coconut, a sprouted super-seed mix of hemp/flax/chia that I found at Trader Joes. It makes for a good start to the morning. The big deal for me here, the thing that makes it summery is fresh cherries and blueberries. Feel free to use frozen though. With smoothies anything goes.
In the meantime, my plant game remains strong. These days I’ve been relying a lot on the art of the bowl, aka the “throw together everything you have in the fridge and creatively into a bowl.” Spices and sauces make all the difference here. I’ll share one of my favorites next week that has actually become a staple. I’ve also been making all sorts of varieties of socca –-a quick 15 minute chickpea flour-based pizza with all the toppings. And I have a ridiculous taco recipe that I’ve just been unsuccessful at photographing every time. Mashed black beans are a tough subject even in the best lighting. No offense to black beans, I’m sure they’re pretty on the inside.
Also, I tried to pull the blog up at work the other day and I got a daunting grey and red screen with warnings saying it’s blocked by organizational policy. I’m being filtered out by the firm’s firewall! Something in the coding makes this lil’ old space seem threatening to the legal community. While I have to say it’s kind of a bummer, it’s also pretty bad ass. The firm’s security thinks the content here is a threat. I must be doing something right.
Enjoy the heat and sun. See you next week! xo
SUMMER GREEN SMOOTHIE
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 banana (the riper it is the sweeter the smoothie will be)
- 2-3 cups of spinach (or green of your choice)
- 1 cup cherries, pitted
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup plant milk (I use almond milk)
- 5-6 ice cubes
Optional toppings
- hemp seeds
- chia seeds
- gogi berries
- desiccated unsweetened coconut
- nuts
- pumpkin seeds
- extra fruit
DIRECTIONS:
Combine ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on medium to high until smooth. Pour into bowl or cup, add toppings and enjoy!
So glad you are getting in some vacation time. This smoothie looks perfect for sipping and relaxing on that porch.
Thanks, Jovina. I hope you’re staying cool this summer 😉
There’s some amazing goodness in those – I bet you could almost live on them!
I know what you mean about photographing black beans – they are so dense that they disappear. Try adding a desk lamp on the side furthest to the window or a big white card (…or even a mirror) to reflect light back in. Happy July – it”s good to hear from you 🙂
Thanks, MD. Good to see you here too. Yes you probably could live off the smoothie. Thanks for the tip. I’ll see how it goes 😉 be well!
Thank you for sharing your smoothie with us! I love cherries and blueberries so much this time of year, and also smoothies. The kale in our garden is starting to be very abundant, so I need to do something with it! I think I could use it in this smoothie instead of the spinach. I really like the juxtaposition of the green smoothie and the dark red cherries in your photos. Such deep colors must mean lots of healthy nutrients! Glad you had a nice time in the Adirondacks…..Someday I want to go back there so badly. I love the photos of the porch–very rustic and natural, just the way I want to be in the summer. 🙂
Thanks, Jenny. I’m so jealous of your garden and the kale. I use so much kale and spinach in these smoothies. It’s a good way to get all the phyto-nutrients. And yes, the deep colors make me feel like I’m doing something good for myself. That porch was from the AirBnB we stayed at in the mountains. It was so nice to have a full kitchen and an outdoor space and trees. These getaways are necessary especially in the summer. So great to see you as always. Actually, at work I tried to go to your site too and you’re blocked. I found out you were blocked first. We’re threats to the status quo! Be well. xo
Haha, that is funny that my site is blocked too! We food bloggers are definitely a wild bunch. 🙂 I love AirBnB! We stayed at a cabin in the woods in Ontario last summer, and it was absolutely magical. And we didn’t pay any more than we would have for a hotel. I’m making a green smoothie tomorrow morning! 🙂
That’s awesome on all fronts. Have a great weekend!
we’ve also been on a smoothie kick, what with the heat wave we’re experiencing. i typically throw in chia seeds though, as that is what we always have in the cupboards. so glad to see your post up, but happy that you’re enjoying the season.
I sometimes throw chia seeds in too. Thanks for your sweet message. It does seem like working on anything in the summer is harder, even the things you love. Hope you guys are enjoying the summer. Xo
Such a beautiful post Amanda. I love reading you and admire your mad photography skills so much. The way you’re heading with food calls out to me. The march towards the plant-based diet. I can imagine how good one feels after drinking that smoothie on a porch in the Adirondacks. Where do you stay when you visit? It’s only a four hour drive from Kingston – the mid-way point between Kingston and NYC. Perhaps one day we’ll collide there…. xox
Thank you, Lindy. You’re always so kind. I’ve been mostly plant based for about a year though not 100%. It does feel good and it was a pretty natural transition. The Adirondacks are about that far from me too. I like to stay near lake placid or Keene or saranac lake on airbnb cabins. It’s just such a reset for me. It would be lovely bumping into you 😉