Banana-Peanut Butter-Dark Chocolate Milkshake

BANANA-PEANUT BUTTER-DARK CHOCOLATE SMOOTHIE

Adapted from The Kitchn

DELICIOUS and HEALTHY to enjoy this smoothie as a BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE. The first time I made this, I forgot to add the vanilla extract and this smoothie still tasted delicious without it. I added a tablespoon of crushed ice so I can achieve a thicker "smoothie" consistency. NO SWEETENER ADDED! 

1 large FROZEN sliced banana (170g)
1/2 cup carton UNSWEETENED coconut milk or any type of milk of choice (113g)
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter or almond butter (14g)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons crushed ice (7g to 10g)
2 tablespoons chopped Trader Joe's 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate or your choice (11g)

Combine all ingredients, except the dark chocolate, into the container of a blender. Blend until smooth. Use the blender tamper to push and stir if you need to. 

Add the dark chocolate and blend just until finely chopped and incorporated. Ready to serve.

Yield approximately 11 ounces, 345 calories

Banana-Peach-Mango Smoothie

Banana-Peach-Mango Smoothie

I was lucky to receive some homegrown mega-size peaches from my friend's harvest. The peaches ripen faster than I can consume them so I had to put most of the peaches in the freezer. The peach skin separated very easily from the peaches. I slice the peaches into thick slices and place them in a single layer on a plate lined with waxed paper. Place the plate in the freezer and freeze the peach slices until they were firm enough to transfer into a large plastic storage bag. Now the frozen peaches will separate easily until I am ready to use them.

It's my day off today and started my day with a delicious breakfast smoothie using frozen banana slices, peach slices, mango chunks and 100% pineapple juice. NO SWEETENER OF ANY KIND NEEDED. Just blended the frozen fruits together with the pineapple juice and I had a large glass of thick slushy smoothie.

 

3.0 ounces frozen banana slices (about half of a large banana)

4.0 ounces frozen peach slices (about 1 cup)

3.0 mango chunks (about 1/2 cup)

6 ounces 100% unsweetened pineapple juice

1 tablespoon crushed ice (optional)

 

Place all ingredients into the blender container in order of ingredient listing, starting with banana slices and ending with crushed ice. Blend until smooth, using the blender tamper to push and stir.

 

Yield 16 ounces, 280 calories

 



Hibiscus Tea (Agua de Jamaica)

Hibiscus Tea (Agua de Jamaica)

Hibiscus tea is more of a beverage than a tea. This beverage gets its rich burgundy color from the dried hibiscus flowers which is steep in boiling water for about 1 to 2 hours. While hibiscus tea does not contain any tea leaves, the steeping of the dried flowers is why this beverage is referred to as an herbal tea. I like to make my hibiscus tea a little strong so that when served over ice, the flavor will not weaken as the ice dilutes the beverage. The flavor of this beverage is a little cranberry-like and a little plum-like. This beverage is so refreshing, especially on a hot day. Without sugar, hibiscus tea is very tart so you need to add sugar to taste. I like the hibiscus tea sweet and a bit tart, like drinking cranberry juice or pomegranate juice. Dried hibiscus flowers, aka Jamaica, can be purchased at any Hispanic supermarkets sold in bulk bins.

6 cups cold water (48 ounces)
2 cups dried hibiscus (Jamaica) flowers (3 ounces)
1-1/2 cups organic cane sugar (10.2 ounces)
3 cups cold water (24 ounces)

Place 6 cups of cold water in a medium-size stainless steel saucepan which includes a lid. Bring water to a full boil. Add the dried hibiscus flower and sugar and stir to combine. When mixture returns to a boil (which is almost immediate), remove from heat. Place the lid on the saucepan and let steep for about 1 to 2 hours (I steep the flowers for about 1-1/2 hours). Strain tea through a coffee filter into a pitcher. Add the remaining 3 cups cold water. Stir and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

Yield 2 quarts

Grapefruit, Lime and Ginger Juice

Grapefruit, Lime and Ginger Juice
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

It's sweet, it's tart and it's gingery and I love it. It's definitely thirst quenching!. This is my second time to make this, although I did double the amount of sugar and water to the recipe the second time I made this (alreaady adjusted in the recipe below). I'm thinking that some fresh mint leaves would be good too!

2 cups cold water (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger (1.2 ounces)
6 tablespoons evaporated cane juice (1.8 ounces)
About 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (3.2 to 3.6 ounces from 2-3 limes)
About 1-1/3 cups fresh ruby-red grapefruit juice (11 to 13 ounces from 2 grapefruits)

In a small pot, combine the water, ginger and sugar. Cook over medium heat until it just starts to come to a boil. Lower heat to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Combine the grapefruit juice and lime juice in a small glass pitcher. Strain the ginger-sugar-water, pressing on the ginger to extract as much liquid from the ginger. Add the ginger-sugar-water to the juices and stir until combine.

Yields about 1 quart

Masala Chai Tea

Masala Chai (Indian Spiced Tea)

Masala Chai is an Indian spiced black tea. I am addicted to this tea and actually crave for this in the evening like a cup of hot cocoa. The tea is infused with cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, ginger, pepper and fennel which are all great benefits to our health. The spices are steeped along with black tea leaves in water and milk; then strained into a cup. You can conveniently purchase chai tea bags in your local supermarket, but I find that the tea bags are very weak. In an Indian market, you can purchase instant chai that are sold in boxes of 10 or 20 pouches per box. I prefer the instant chai from an Indian market than the tea bags. Of course, homemade is always better. Chai is very simple to make, but there are so many variations to preparing chai, depending on the region where the recipe is originated. After a long search for or a good masala chai recipe, I decided to combine several recipes to come up with my own version. This recipe is pretty darn close to the chai I love to drink from our favorite Indian restaurant.

Masala Chai Spice

1-1/2-inch stick cinnamon
8 cloves
8 green cardamom pods, gently crushed to just crack each pod
4 black peppercorns
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of oven. Place cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamon pods, peppercorn, ginger, and fennel seeds in a small shallow ovenproof plate. Roast for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Place spices in a coffee grinder and process until very fine. Transfer to a small airtight container and this can be stored for up to 6 months.

Masala Chai

2 cups cold water (16 ounces)
2 cups 2% reduced fat milk (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons loose orange pekoe black tea or Darjeeling tea (0.4 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon Masala Chai Spice (recipe posted above)
3 tablespoons organic natural cane sugar (0.9 ounce) or to taste (optional)

In a small pot, add the water, milk and tea. Cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in the masala chai spice. Cover and let tea and spice steep for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, uncover and return to medium heat. Add the agave nectar or evaporated cane juice, if using. Cook just until it starts to bubble. DOUBLE STRAIN by pouring through a very fine-mesh strainer into a gold coffee filter fitted over a glass coffee carafe. Ready to serve. Alternately, you can use a milk frother to give it some froth before pouring into individual cups.

Yields 2 to 3 servings

NOTE: I usually double the masala chai recipe and leave the carafe of chai in the refrigerator. Stir and reheat inidividual servings in the microwave.