Mango Banana Coconut Smoothie

As I don't usually eat breakfast, smoothies are an ideal way to get needed nutrients to start your day. Fruit is essential for most of my smoothies, along with coconut milk or almond milk and other juices, such as carrot juice and cranberry juice.

This smoothie is one of my tastiest yet and very easy to whiz up in a regular blender — no high speed action needed to make this one that comes together in a few minutes. It's very creamy, with those distinctive mango and banana flavors.

Mango Banana Coconut Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on August 19, 2016 Cold, refreshing and delicious smooth frozen mango and banana smoothie with coconut milk Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 frozen banana (2/3 cup sliced) 1 cup frozen mango pieces (1/2 large mango) 3 pitted dates, chopped 2/3 cup coconut milk 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 1/2 cups water, or as needed Instructions: Prepare the banana the night before. Peel, slice, and place on a small parchment lined tray. Pop into the freezer. The same can be done with the mango, but I used frozen mango pieces for convenience. Toss all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary. If you like, add some freshly squeezed orange juice for a citrusy flavour. Serve cold. Makes about 4 cups or 2 large servings

Other smoothies to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange and Ginger
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie
Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie
Oat-Mango Smoothie with Blackberries

Cherry Coconut Milk Smoothie

Breakfast is an important meal of the day as it provides the necessary nutrients and fuel to get us going in the morning. I have never been a big breakfast person though, so instead I often have a power-packed smoothie with fruit, almond milk, sometimes a bit of protein powder and various other delights.

This smoothie might just be one of the tastiest yet. Cherries are coming into season here and that means they are bursting with flavor and affordable too. Of course, pitting cherries is not my favorite activity, but it's well worth the effort when you have a bowl of glistening red cherries to use however you please. They star here in a creamy beverage with coconut milk, some almond milk, frozen banana and a dash of vanilla. Apart from a blender, that is all you need.

Cherry Coconut Milk Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on July 13, 2016 Cold, creamy, delicious and refreshing cherry and banana smoothie made with coconut milk Print this recipe Ingredients: 2/3 cup coconut milk 1/3 cup almond or hemp milk, or more as needed 1 frozen banana, sliced (2/3 cup frozen slices) 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted 1 teaspoon vanilla Instructions: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add a bit more almond or hemp milk if the mixture is too thick. Tip: To freeze bananas for smoothies, peel the banana and cut into slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag. The bananas will freeze well for up to 4 to 6 months. Makes 2 servings

More smoothie recipes to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Beet and Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie
Avocado Blackberry Smoothie
Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

Audio Accompaniment: Sam Maher - New York Handpan 01

On the top of the reading stack: The Camp of the Saints

Beet and Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

I've been topping up my breakfasts lately with quick frozen fruit smoothies, and this bright pink strawberry concoction has very quickly become one of my favorites. Cold, refreshing and creamy, it's not only packed with plenty of sweet strawberry flavor but also with the super vitamin and mineral nutrition of red beets. It's so tasty that I've started buying bags of red beets to have on hand instead of small bunches … and so nourishing, too, that you'll want to serve it any time of day. In fact, I think I'll go make another one right now!

Beet and Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Just Beet It Published on March 4th, 2016 A refreshing cold and creamy bright pink strawberry smoothie with the goodness of raw beets Print this recipe Ingredients: 2 small or 1 medium red beet, peeled and chopped 1 1/2 cups almond milk 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1 tablespoon vanilla 3 cups frozen strawberries 1/2 banana (optional) 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (optional) Instructions: Blend the beets, milk, yogurt and vanilla in a blender until the beets are processed. Add the strawberries, banana and honey or maple syrup, if using, and blend until smooth. Serve cold in two tall glasses. Note: add a scoop or two of your favorite protein powder to make this a protein shake. Makes 2 large servings (4 cups)

More Smoothies to enjoy from my kitchen:
Avocado Blackberry Smoothie
Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie
Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange and Ginger
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

On the top of the reading stack: Vegan Delights: 88 Delicious Recipes for the Complete Three-Course Meal

Avocado Blackberry Smoothie

The holidays are often a time of indulgence. Larger meals and more sweets. Once the festivities are over, many of us turn to healthier and cleansing solutions for meals. Smoothies are always a good choice to start the day, especially when creamy avocado and berries take the shining role, as they do here along with banana, almond milk and hemp seeds. In addition, not only is this smoothie packed with nourishment, but it takes hardly anytime at all to whiz up. If you like your smoothies sweeter, simply add more honey.

Avocado Blackberry Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on January 6, 2015 Quick, easy, refreshing and creamy smoothie with avocado and blackberries sweetened with banana and honey Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and chopped 1 cup blackberries 1/2 ripe banana 3 tablespoons hemp seeds 1 cup almond milk 1/2 cup coconut water or additional almond milk 2 to 3 teaspoons raw honey, to taste Instructions: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth, adding more almond milk or coconut water as necessary. Serve in glasses. Makes 2 servings

Other smoothie recipes to try:
Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange and Ginger
Frozen Mango Lime Lassi
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

On the top of the reading stack: Delicious Mornings: Comforting Breakfasts Baked from Scratch

Audio Accompaniment: Chantal Acda

Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange and Ginger

Fresh smoothies are a terrific way of getting some nutrients on those mornings when you don't really feel like a solid breakfast — the chunkier the better for "tricking" your body into thinking it's eating instead of just getting a drink. Mind you, it's not just a drink when all this goodness is packed into one glass. But I confess that up until now I've never really been a fan of the popular practice of adding vegetables into healthy smoothies … it's inevitably been an unsuccessful exercise in trying to mask tastes that I otherwise really enjoy in salads, cooked dishes or just raw on their own. I've been sticking to fruit for the smoothies, thank you, and giving the vegetables pride of place on the dinner table.

But I've changed my mind now with this astonishingly tasty beet smoothie that I came up with in response to my beautiful friend Jacqueline's challenge to come up with a smoothie incorporating at least one vegetable for this month's No Croutons Required roundup. It turns out that I was just using the wrong vegetables. Fresh raw beets have a slightly sweet taste that's surprisingly cool and refreshing in a smoothie, and adds a lovely pink color too. A great "blood building" vegetable too? Never mind! Combined with a crisp green apple, fresh squeezed orange juice, tangy yogurt and a little fresh ginger for a bit of zest with a frothy mellow almond milk backdrop, this smoothie is so delicious that you won't even be thinking how good it is for you. But do throw in the mild-flavored and vitamin A rich beet tops for even more goodness while you're at it.

One more bit of goodness in this smoothie — as if it needed more — is the addition of oats soaked in good whole fat yogurt overnight at room temperature. A variation of the muesli technique that I often use, the process makes the proteins in the oats digestible and easily absorbable, and really brings out the natural tangy flavor of yogurt besides.

Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange and Ginger

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on June 18, 2013 A delicious, refreshing and wonderfully nourishing smoothie with the goodness of beets, beet tops, apples, oranges and ginger in a tangy almond milk and yogurt base Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/4 cup rolled or steel-cut oats 2/3 cup plain whole fat yogurt 1 fresh small beet with tops 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped juice from 1 orange (1/4 cup) 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (1 tablespoon) 1 cup almond milk 1 tablespoon raw honey (optional) 4 ice cubes Instructions: Stir the yogurt into the oats and let soak overnight at room temperature in a covered non-plastic bowl. In the morning, trim the beet greens and peel and chop or grate the beet. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and frothy (use a little less almond milk if you want a really thick smoothie). Serve cold with breakfast or as a snack. Makes 2 servings (3 cups)

More smoothie recipes you will enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie
Blueberry and Maple Syrup Oat Smoothie
Pomegranate and Blueberry Oat Smoothie

On the top of the reading stack: browsing the shelves

Audio Accompaniment: Sasha

Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie

I haven't entirely jumped aboard the chia seed bandwagon, but even if they're not the universal panacea as has been suggested, I don't mind taking advantage of the omega-3 acids, fiber, iron, calcium, protein, vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants that chia seeds provide. Apart from delightful chia seed puddings, chia seeds are easy to incorporate in smoothies, which I frequently enjoy for a healthy, easy-to-digest and quick and easy no-cook breakfast pick-me-up. And since chia seeds benefit from the same soaking and fermentation method that make the proteins in rolled oats digestible, they're a simple addition to the oat and yogurt mixture that I prepare the night before my smoothie in a variation of the traditional muesli technique — simply stir oats and chia seeds into plain whole-fat yogurt and leave overnight at room temperature, and the next morning you've got a nourishing, tangy and delicious base for adding any variation of fruits and natural sweeteners to make a smoothie.

This combination of yogurt, oats, chia seeds, raspberries and bananas makes for a particularly refreshing and substantial breakfast smoothie — so tasty, in fact, that it felt like I was drinking a fresh dessert!

Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on May 5, 2013 Wholesome, refreshing and delicious breakfast or snack smoothie made with oats, yogurt, raspberries and bananas with a dose of nourishing chia seeds Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup rolled or steel-cut oats 1 tablespoon chia seeds 1 cup whole-fat yogurt 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen red raspberries 1/2 banana, chopped 1/2 cup whole milk 1 tablespoon honey 4 ice cubes Instructions: Stir the yogurt into the oats and chia seeds. Let soak overnight at room temperature in a covered non-plastic bowl. In the morning, blend the soaked oats together with all the other ingredients in a blender until smooth and frothy. Add more honey if desired. Makes 6 cups or 3 to 4 servings

Other smoothies you will enjoy:
Oat-Mango Smoothie with Blackberries
Blueberry and Maple Syrup Oat Smoothie
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie
Pink Mango Smoothie - Tinned Tomatoes

Peach Lime Lassi

The first baskets of fresh brightly-colored local peaches may have coincided with a spell of intensely hot and humid weather, but the way the summer in southwestern Ontario is going this year the introduction of every kind of local produce will be met with the same. Time for some simple recipes to beat the heat and to keep me out of the kitchen as much as possible, and a cold peach and yogurt lassi does just both those tricks.

Fruit lassis are an invention of India, where they know a thing or two about hot weather. Made from blended ice, yogurt, fruit and frequently a little Indian spicing, lassis are ridiculously simple to make and they're delightfully cold, smooth, and creamy — satisfying like an ice cream milkshake but lighter and easier on the stomach with the added refreshing tang from the yogurt and fresh lime juice. Lassis are a perfect vehicle for sweet fresh peaches, and I've added a dash of cardamom for a hint of spicy-sweet flavor and fragrance.

The beautiful color, aroma and flavor of fresh peaches makes this lassi a perfect drink to serve on the patio during an afternoon summer, but it's also great for breakfast too!

Peach Lime Lassi

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: Indian Published on July 16, 2012 Cold, smooth and creamy yogurt lassi made with fresh sweet peaches and a refreshing zing of fresh lime juice — perfect for beating the summer heat Print this recipe Ingredients: 4 large or 6 medium ripe peaches, pitted 1 1/2 cups ice cubes juice from 1 lime zest from 1/2 lime 1 1/2 tablespoons honey pinch of ground cardamom (optional) 3 cups plain whole-fat yogurt mint sprigs or slices of lime for garnish Instructions: Place all the ingredients in a large blender and process until smooth and frothy. Pour into chilled glasses and serve with a sprig of fresh mint or a slice of lime for garnish. Makes 5 cups or 2 large servings

Other fruit recipes you are sure to enjoy from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Baked Blueberry & Peach Pancakes
Fresh Fruit and Berry Soup
Oat Mango Smoothie with Blackberries
Pear and Fig Whole Wheat Pancakes

On the top of the reading stack: The Hunger Angel by Herta Müller