A glassful of health
Load up on fruits and vegetables with a nutritious blended drink every morning
Let’s face it; smoothies are super healthy and yummy too. They’re nutritious, delicious, thick, fruity and the perfect food for every mood. All you need is throw in all or any fruit or veggie together and the result will always be amazing. Here are some chefs who have shared with us their secret smoothie recipes.
Banana and berry smoothie
This smoothie is nice and refreshing which can take care of your diet plan as well hunger at same time. While banana on one side is a quick source of instant energy and is good for the skin as well, it also helps curing ulcers and improves digestion. On other hand berries are also packed with antioxidants, and are great source of fiber which helps in digestion.
Ingredients
Banana 1
Frozen mix berries ½ cup
Low fat milk ½ cup
Low fat strawberry yoghurt ½ cup
2 tea spoon honey 2 table spoon
Method
Mix all ingredients in a high speed blender and serve fresh and cold.
Recipe by Chef Ritesh Negi, Executive Chef, Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre
Chef Ajmer Singh from Marriott Suites has curated these recipes. Each recipe is different and yet it shares something common. The uniqueness of these smoothies is that they all are induced with spinach which makes it even healthier. As he says “Popeye always used to be strong and fit because of Spinach. All the three recipes are induced with spinach in such a way, that they taste heavenly but give you all the essential vitamins and proteins for battling the diseases of the season. So get your blender in place and start smoothing it up for the season.”
Apple Smoothie
Ingredients
Non fat plain greek yogurt 1/2 cup
Fresh spinach 1/2 cup
Granny smith apple, cored and
sliced 1
Honey 1 tablespoon
Cooking oats 1/2 cup
Apple pie spice 1 tablespoon
Crushed ice 1 cup
Method
Blend all the ingredients together. If you prefer a sweeter pie smoothie, simply add more honey.
Chocolate Chia Smoothie
Ingredients
Banana, peeled 1
fresh spinach 1 cup
Ice 1 cup
Milk or almond milk 1 cup
Chia seeds 3 tablespoon
Unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tablespoon
Vanilla extract 1/2 tea spoon.
Method
Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth. Serve with some chocolate sprinkles and slices of banana.
Kiwi Banana Smoothie with a Twist
Ingredients
Kiwis, sliced and frozen 5–6
Bananas, sliced and frozen 2
Handful of fresh spinach
Greek yogurt 1 cup (240 g)
Milk ½ cup (120 ml)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together and serve cold. Freeze the fruits rather than adding ice cubes, the smoothies are better and more filling this way.
Chef Anita Gawas, Junior Sous Chef at Four Points by Sheraton Pune, says “The Aromatic Pumpkin Smoothie is creamy and light and is idea for an afternoon drink. It is also truly an indulgence for all your sugar cravings. It is also an apt winter drink, very much comforting due to the variety of spices used. Its healthy contents brim with nutritious richness make it a complete diet”. The Melon Vegetable Smoothie is filled with goodness of vegetables and fruits making it a super nutritious beverage. It’s especially high in iron and carotene content.
Aromatic Pumpkin Smoothie
Ingredients
Soya milk 1 glass
Pumpkin 1 cup (roasted)
Banana 1
Dates (soaked in water) 4
Ginger ¼ tsp.
Cinnamon powder ¼ tsp.
Nutmeg powder a pinch
Honey 3tsp.
Method
Mix all ingredients and puree it. Serve cold.
Melon Vegetable Smoothie
Ingredients
Beetroot 10gms
Cucumber 40gms (de-skinned, de-seeded)
Muskmelon 30gms
Carrot 10gms
Watermelon 40gms
Celery 5gms
Spinach 5gms
Black salt a pinch
Honey 3 tbsp.
Method
Mix all ingredients and puree it. Serve cold.
Jomy Abraham, Director Food & Beverage, JW Marriott says, “Smoothies make for the best healthy indulgence and are very easy to make. Loaded with fruits, skimmed milk and honey, this is the ideal nutritious drink to start your day with.”
Strawberry Smoothie
Ingredients
Chopped fresh strawberries 1 cup
Milk 2 cups
Honey 1tablespoon
Vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
Method
In a blender, combine milk, honey, vanilla and frozen strawberries. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.
Banana Smoothie
Ingredients
Banana 1
Cold milk 1 cup
Squeeze some honey
Method
Peel the banana and cut it into pieces and at it to the blender. Top it with milk and a good squeeze of honey. Whiz the blender until the banana is smooth and the shake is frothy. Pour into a glass.
Power Green Smoothie
Ingredients
Spinach 4–5 leaves
Pear 1 no
Coconut milk 1/2 cup
Oats 1 tbsp
Chia seeds (soaked for 15 mins in water) 1 tbsp
Water 1 cup
Ice cubes
Method
Blend all the ingredients except for chia seeds. Pour in a tall glass topped with chia seeds soaked overnight in water.
Breakfast smoothie by expert nutritionist Avanti Deshpande
zainab.kantawala@goldensparrow.com
Originally published on The Golden Sparrow
