This morning I had an avocado sitting in my refrigerator. If you don't eat avocados when they are just right, they turn old fast. This one wouldn't last another day, but I didn't know what to do with it.
My choices: 1) Peel it and eat it outright (boring), 2) make a sandwich (I didn't have any bread on hand), 3) make a salad (I didn't have any lettuce either), or 4) make a smoothie. I chose option 4. But I had never made an avocado smoothie before.
Everyone knows how to make a simple smoothie with a banana, some cocoa, soy milk and ice. That's easy, but this was very different. An avocado is not sweet and doesn't go with everything. It's also very oily and thick. I had no idea what would go with it.
But I had a solution at hand. I recently purchased a smoothie recipe book called "365 Vegan Smoothies," by Kathy Patalsky of the website www.healthy-happy-life.com. The book publisher is Avery, a division of Penguin. It has the word vegan in the title, but that just means lots of fruits and veggies.
This isn't just any smoothie book. It is a true cookbook because it has so much more information than recipes. This book has 365 smoothie recipes, one for every day of the year. I counted 33 for avocado with titles like:
- Brainy Avocado Green Smoothie
- Chocolate Avocado
- Avo-Pineapple Glow Shake
- Book of Greens
- Silky Greens
- Skinny-Avocado-Peach
It also has a wellness section, FAQ section, a list of smoothie ingredients and their descriptions, gorgeous photos by Kathy to ogle, fun smoothie names, and so much more. Besides a fabulous recipe, each smoothie features a description and nutrition information.
One or more of these 12 categories (one for each month of the year) may particularly appeal to you:
- Detox Smoothies
- Energizing Smoothies
- Slim-Down Smoothies
- Strengthening Smoothies
- Calming Smoothies
- Brain-Boosting Smoothies
- Healthy-Digestion Smoothies
- Healthy-Heart Smoothies
- Anti-Aging Smoothies
- Mood-Boosting Smoothies
- Immunity-Boosting Smoothies
- Beauty-Boosting Smoothies
I chose "Heart of Green" from the Healthy-Heart category for my avocado smoothie. I had all the ingredients, fortunately.
Sometimes we don't have on hand vegetables or fruits for a smoothie we know how to make. The simple ones like blueberry or mango. Sometimes there is something we'd like to "use up" but are not schooled in putting together recipes to get a smoothie that tastes good. Therefore, a recipe book like this is a book to be used often for many reasons.
For seniors, making smoothies a regular habit will add a generous dose of nutrition to the day. They are easy to make, convenient, delicious and bursting with flavor. And now this book makes it even easier to make any smoothie because the hard work of knowing what goes best with what has been done for you, plus so much more.
You can find this book in Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores and online at Amazon.com. (Average 5 Stars on Amazon comments.)
I personally feel better since I have included smoothies into my daily meals. I believe if you want to get on a healthy track, smoothies is a good way to start. Pick up "365 Vegan Smoothies," by Kathy Patalsky and, like Kathy says, "get blending."
