Kiwi-Coriander-Kraze

Oh was this smoothie ever a success.... Fragrant, smooth, yummy, everything a super smoothie should be. Did I mention nutritious? No fancy business here, but one I'm sure all you coriander addicts will adore. I was craving yoghurt this morning, so I went a little heavy. If you'd prefer a less creamy version, just decrease the amount of yoghurt.

1/2 cucumber
1 banana
1 apple
2 kiwis (peeled)
3/4 balkan style yoghurt
1 small handful coriander leaves and stems
1 cup cranberry juice
splash cold water

The kiwis really added a nice tang to this smoothie, and I have some neat ideas about what to do with the rest of the punnet, so stay tuned. And not surprisingly, kiwi and coriander go great together! Smoothie on!

What did you think?

Strawberries-Green-'n-Yoghurt

Sometimes, albeit rarely, a mix doesn't quite work the way I'd hoped. This just happens to be one of those times. I think had I added some more fruit, it could have worked better, or perhaps arugula and coriander just weren't meant to be... I will experiment further and get back to you on that. It wasn't terrible or anything, just not my fave.

1 banana
3/4 cup green tea
1 stick celery
1 cup yoghurt
1 handful frozen strawberries
1 handful arugula
1/2 handful coriander
1 tbsp salba

What do you think would improve this smoothie?

My Thai Smoothie

This has got to be one of the yummiest smoothies I have ever made. Inspired by flipping through Thai recipes, and by thinking of more fun ways to incorporate coriander into my smoothies (it seems like I can never use up a big bunch of coriander fast enough before the last few leaves start to brown, and it just breaks my heart to waste the beautiful stuff), this smoothie is definitely a success.

1 banana
1/2 large cucumber
1 lime, peeled
handful fresh coriander leaves and stems
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup frozen mango pieces
1 slice watermelon
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice

For this post I did my homework on coconut milk. It's a good source of manganese, iron, vitamin C, calcium, and Omega 3 (see Self Nutrition Data for more info), but it also has a heck of a lot of saturated fat in it, which isn't that great. In future smoothies, I might use the coconut milk in a lesser quantity for that reason. Although I have to say, this is a very filling smoothie, and foods with fat in them do help us get enough of that "satisfied" feeling so that we don't over eat...

As always, comments are welcome, Smoothie on!

Zingy Speckle

The first thing I'd like to point out about today's smoothie is the fragrance... it just smells incredible (all you other coriander addicts out there will immediately understand what I'm saying here). And yes, it tastes just as lovely as it smells, and it really looks pretty, too, with all sorts of different colored speckles in it. Here are the ingredients:

1 small banana
1/2 medium cucumber (unpeeled)
large handful of red grapes
1 apple, cored
1 lime, peeled
1 handful of coriander leaves and stems, washed carefully (important step - it tends to be full of earth, which is very grainy in a smoothie)
1 cup pineapple juice
1 splash (maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 cup) grapefruit juice

Coriander, Coriandrum sativum (also known as cilantro) is a fascinating herb to me - mainly because of people's incredibly strong feelings towards it. No one seems to be like "Coriander, meh.". It's always either "Holy guacamole I LOVE the stuff!!! Inject it into my eyeballs, maaan!!!", or "Don't let it even touch the rest of my food, it'll contaminate everything and make it all taste like soap". In addition to its use as a fragrant herb, of course it has plenty of nutritional and medicinal value. It's great for the digestive system, and the bruised seed can even be applied externally as a poultice to help with joint pain. The leaves are full of antioxidants, too. Smoothie on!