Zingy Ginger & Greens Smoothie
Cook Time: ~5 Minutes
First, some history. In 2003, the UK Government began backing a campaign called “5 a day”, referring to the consumption of 5 fruits or vegetables per day, in an attempt to boost the nation’s awareness of health & well-being. It was thought that eating 5 a day would help prevent common health problems like heart disease. The term “5 a day” or “one of your 5 a day” is ingrained within the British lexicon as a result, and you’ll find it present on most consumer goods packaging & advertisements. As I sat down to write the introduction for the recipe, it occurred to me that the term might not translate to an international audience, so there is the context. A healthy balance of vegetables in one’s diet is essential and preparing this smoothie is a lazy way to take down all of those 5 a day in one sitting, or for those who feel they need an aggressive burst of nutrition and greenery. That said, I wouldn’t recommend supplementing the entirety of one’s vegetable intake with smoothies on a daily basis. Personally, I consume a lot more vegetables than fruit, and these smoothies can contain a deceptive amount of sugar; naturally occurring though they may be.
There are many variations of a “green smoothie” but after playing around with some fruits & vegetables, this is the one I found I enjoyed most.
Serves: 1-2
Time: ~5 Minutes
Information - What you require
Ingredients
• 1x Banana
• 1x Green Apple
• 1x Kiwi Fruit
• 1x Lemon (or lime)
• 1/2 of a cucumber (or one small cucumber)
• Celery (2 stalks)
• Ginger (~30g)
• Pineapple chunks (~250g)
• Mango chunks (~100g)
• Spinach (~100g)
• Coconut water (~500ml)
Optional Ingredients & Notes
• Consistency: The consistency can and may vary depending on how you like your smoothies (smooth or viscous) and the quality of your equipment. Using a small food processor, for instance, to blend the ingredients, won’t result in a smooth outcome. If you’d like a smooth smoothie… and don’t have a blender that will do that for you, I recommend either straining the finished product through a sieve or using a hand blender.
• Measurements: For all intents and purposes, these measurements are a guide. It takes a few tries to nail down how exactly you like your smoothie to be. For me, I tend to put in considerably more ginger than I have shared here. So, give this recipe a bash, and adjust as you see fit. What might help is not adding all the ingredients straight away. You can add half of everything, see how it tastes, and add more ginger if you want more of a kick, more mango if you want more sweetness, and so on.
Equipment
• Food processor, blender, or hand blender.
• Strainer (optional)
Mise En Place - Food preparation
Peel and finely slice your ginger. Squeeze the juice of your lemon or lime. Remove the skin from your kiwi and cut it into slices. Slice and/or dice everything else into a smaller form factor to reduce the workload of your blender or food processor. It’s all going to be obliterated either way.
Cooking Process
There isn’t much of a process to this. Stick everything inside of your blender or food processor, and blitz it until reasonably smooth. I would recommend adding a small amount of coconut water first, seeing how thick the smoothie is once the ingredients are blended, and adding more coconut water (followed by another blend) to break down the thickness as you see fit. For notes on what to do if you can’t get it smooth enough, see “optional ingredients & notes”. As you can see below, I like mine moderately thick and opt not to blend it until smooth.
If you do attempt this dish, please let me know how it goes, and if you variate the recipe in any way. Also, this newsletter relies upon word of mouth, so if you feel you know someone who would enjoy this publication please share it.
Thanks for reading,
Conor