Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Blended Fruit Smoothie


Necessity is the mother of invention, or so they say. Well, today I'm a mother hoping to invent cool and nutritious blended foods for my youngest child who has just been diagnosed with a really ouchie throat virus. "Only clear liquids, popsicles and ice cream for the next few days," said the doctor. "No salts or citrus, no tomatoes, nothing acidic. Nothing that will hurt while being chewed or swallowed."

As much as our baby would have LOVED to subsist all week on popsicles and ice cream, H and I think it's probably a good idea to keep the protein, fresh fruits and vegetables going... in whatever way we can. Thus, the invention of my new gluten-free fruit smoothie!

Cool That Ouchie Throat Smoothie
(a.k.a. "Blended Fruit")

What you'll need:

1/2 to 1 cup pure apple juice (no additives or juice blends)
1 large ripe banana (green ones are too acidic)
1 heaping tablespoon gluten free rice protein powder
2 handfuls of frozen mango chunks
A heavy duty blender

How it works:

Start by plugging in the blender! Next, add the banana and gf rice protein powder. (We use NutriBiotic Vegan Rice Protein but MLO is also great.) Add 1/2 cup of the apple juice and begin to blend. Add more juice until you have it at a desirable consistency, not too thin but not too thick. Finally, add 2 handfuls of mango chunks and blend on high until they are fully integrated into the rest of the beverage.

To make it even more festive, serve to "kids" of all ages in fun cups or long stemmed glasses, perhaps with a lovely fruit garnish. We used the favorite "lobster" sippy cup today!

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