Protein Packed Smoothie that nobody can resist. Seriously, it’s shocking that it’s healthy.
Ingredients:
- 1 banana (or more if you need to use them up)
- 1 cup of fresh fruit
- 1/2 tray ice cubes
- 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1/3 cup orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed, but work with what you have)
Blend until, uh.. smooth.
In other concoctions, I’ve added flaxseed for Omega3s and have used almost every kind of fruit, fresh and frozen. I always prefer fresh, but sometimes it’s just not possible, so do what you can with what you have.
Tonight’s smoothie variation was peach. Use superfoods like blueberries and fresh oranges when in season and almonds or walnuts for a little extra girth to start (or finish) your day.
It’s like a 5-second breakfast, so you have (really) no excuse.
These are really interesting little guys. The girl at Brown’s Farmer’s Market today called them “husked cherries” but with a little bit of research I found they’re actually the fruit of a Physalis, or a “cape gooseberry.” How fantastic! They’re sweet, kind of a pineapple-y tomato-y thing. Unsheathed, they look just like tiny cherry tomatoes, but lighter in color.
(from Wikipedia)
Physalis peruviana (commonly known as physalis, Cape gooseberry, ground-cherry, golden berry, uchuva, or Inca berry) is a species of Physalis indigenous to South America, but grows well in Africa. It is related to the tomato (and not to the cherry, gooseberry or Chinese gooseberry, as its various names might suggest). The fruit is a small round berry, about the size of a marble, full of small seeds. It is bright yellow when ripe, and very sweet, making it ideal for baking into pies and making jam.
Its most notable feature is the single papery pod that covers each berry. Because of the fruit’s decorative appearance, it is sometimes used in restaurants as an exotic garnish for desserts.
Native to Colombia, Chile and Peru where the fruits are casually eaten and occasionally sold in markets but the plant is still not an important crop, it has been widely introduced into cultivation in other tropical, subtropical and even temperate areas. The plant was grown by early settlers of the Cape of Good Hope before 1807. In South Africa it is commercially cultivated; canned fruits and jam are staple commodities, often exported. It is also cultivated and naturalized on a small scale in Gabon and other parts of Central Africa.
Soon after its adoption in the Cape of Good Hope (presumably the origin of the name ‘Cape gooseberry’) it was carried to Australia, where it was one of the few fresh fruits of the early settlers in New South Wales. There it has long been grown on a large scale and is abundantly naturalized, as it is also in Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and northern Tasmania. It is also grown in New Zealand where it is said that “the housewife is sometimes embarrassed by the quantity of berries in the garden”, and government agencies promote increased culinary use.
But what we REALLY went to market for today are these glorious beauties. I admit it. I’m smitten on New England tomatoes. They’re so freaking delicious, I just can’t bring myself to pay the $4 ticket for its bland cousin at the supermarket. For half that price (and also while supporting local commerce) you get a sparkling jewel disguised as a superfood. These are the most luscious fruits and this time of year they are extra red, extra ripe and ridiculously tasty. These t’maters aren’t for everyone, only New Englanders- but you can get close with your local farmers – and certainly better than the product-formerly-known-as-fruit at the usual corporate box grocery store.
(down with the suits!)
I may have to go get more this weekend and can them, just so I can have them through the winter.
Oh, and I got some peaches & plums , bell peppers and some squash, too – all really delicious (especially the plums). Everything for under $8.
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