I hope every one has had a beautiful weekend, mine was pretty amazing. Yesterday, Edd and I made the brave decision to leave the warmth of our bed and go for a bushwalk out in the Waitakeres. There’s something a little spectacular about walking across the top of a dam, surrounded by bush.
Looking out across the dam and pondering whether my phone camera can handle how spectacular it is.
Today is part two of the smoothie posts, and this one is a little more creative then the last (both are equally as delicious and satisfying however). This tropical gogi smoothie features a whole bunch of delicious stuff; pineapple, limes, banana, gogi berries, coconut water and some almond/coconut milk.
Together this combination is sweet and sour from the pineapple and lime, creamy from the bananas and refreshing with the coconut flavours. The gogi berries are added because I haven’t played around with them, and they added a delicious tartness. Tropical goodness, because winter is the perfect time to pretend your chilling in a pacific paradise, right?
Bonus points to this for being healthy and vegan as well as straight up delicious.
Tropical Gogi Smoothie
Ingredients
- Approx 1 C of chopped fresh/tinned pineapple
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 banana
- small handful of dried gogi berries
- 1 C of unsweetened almond/coconut milk or alternative
- 1/2 C coconut water
- Ice if desired (if not, make sure the liquids are kept in the fridge beforehand)
Method – Again, not much of a method, more of a chuck it all in and blend until smooth. This will serve two people. The gogi berries do add a bit of texture, so if you don’t like the “bittiness” of them, feel free to soak the berries for approx 2 hours in a little hot water before blending.
This is my favourite smoothie to make when we have a bit of extra time or want something with more of a flavour punch. It’s like the deliciousness of a pina colada but appropriate to be drinking at 8am. The best thing about this is that you can leave out/change up the ingredients to suit your tastes, I love the zing of the lime but you could cut down if you prefer (although if you don’t love limes and add them to everything I don’t know if we can be friends).
The coconut water may not be the miracle drink it’s hyped up to be, but it does include a bunch of electrolytes and nutrients with a low calorie impact. Gogi berries are a bit of a popular nutrient gold-mine but like any fruit should be eaten in moderation.The almond and coconut milk is incredibly tasty and is my current non-dairy favourite, with a delicious nutty flavour and not too much sweetness.
This is as close to Tank smoothies as I get without leaving the house, and it makes me wish I had a pineapple tree as well as a constant supply of limes. Also, it’s not green, and we all know how much I love smoothies that aren’t packed with sneaky spinach (one day I will come up with a successful recipe, until then the leaves will stay in the salads).
Do you have any smoothie suggestions for me to try out?