If You Like Pina Coladas...

Oh man, this will be a new family tradition for us. The picture is a bit misleading because the coconut we made this with was a young Thai coconut (they are green coconuts with a good part of the husk left on in a cylindrical shape, and coned at the top). The young coconuts are filled with coconut water and the "meat" is really soft. They make for great smoothies. You can have the smoothie plain coconut by emptying the water into your blender and scraping the meat in there as well. Then lend with some ice, and voila! It's a very healthful, mildly sweet drink. We added some pineapple and pineapple juice to ours and it was really good. You could add sweetener, but I think the natural taste is lovely.

I did some research on coconuts and found out some AMAZING things. For instance, coconut water can be used in place of plasma in transfusions! Coconut water saved lives in WW2. You can read more here:

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/coconutwater.html

There's more on this site as far as recipes go, too. Enjoy your coconuts!

I'm Thankful for Sweet Potato Smoothie

I kind of just threw this all in a blender to see what happened. Turned out like a sweet potato pie shake. Much better than I anticipated. And all natural sugars. Creamy and healthy. The best of both worlds. I think this just may be my new favorite holiday drink.

1 Cup of Soymilk

1 1/2 Cups of boiled Sweet Potato wedges

5-7 pitted dates (depends on how sweet you like it)

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground Cloves

1 1/2 Cups of Ice

Blend together until nice and creamy. Serve right away. Almost like pumpkin pie in a shake. Gets that sweet tooth satisfied.

Banana Shake

This is what I make when i have a sugar craving. We make these several times a week, usually late at night to enjoy while watching a good movie or an episode of star trek. :) Before you can make this you need to freeze ripe bananas. Because we use so much of these I try to buy over-ripe bananas in bulk from the produce manager. They will often give them to me at half off or some other deal. I peel and break the bananas in half (if your blender isn't very tough you'll need to break the bananas in bite size pieces) and stuff them in big zip-loc bags to freeze. The frozen bananas are what makes the shake so creamy. Don't substitute unfrozen bananas! In a few hours they'll be ready for your banana ice cream.

3 Frozen Bananas
1 cup vanilla Soy or Rice Milk
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

This isn't a science. I hardly ever measure anymore, I just grab a few frozen bananas, add enough milk to blend it and make the the consistency you like and add spices to taste. Blend until it's all smooth and enjoy.

Mango Peach Green Smoothie

- 1 Handful of Kale
-1 Handful of Spinach
-1 Handful of Parsley
-1/2 a Medium Cucumber
-1 Handful Green Grapes
-1 Kiwi
-1 Peach (skin and all)
-1 Mango
-1 small Banana
-1 Scoop of Soy Ice Cream (optional)
-4-6 large ice cubes

-Water (This is just to blend easier. You could also use soy or rice milk or V-Fusion Vegetable Fruit Juice; I like the Mango Peach one)

-A parsley or mint leaf, lemon or lime slice for garnish (optional - this is so it looks pretty)

Toss into blender and blend well. If it doesn't all fit into your blender at first, just start blending some of it to make space and then toss the rest of the stuff in. My son thinks it's yogurt. I don't care what he calls it so long as he drinks it. He loves it. It tastes just like a Jamba Juice smoothie. Makes for a yummy breakfast. Yields about 4 very filling drinks.