Breakfast Smoothie

I haven't historically been a great fan of juices and smoothies. I could never quite understand why you'd take a perfectly good fruit salad and turn it into slop. And anyway, most commercial smoothies contain banana, with which I have a complicated relationship, so it's not even a perfectly good fruit salad most of the time, in my opinion. If you're trying to limit your sugar intake, they're also a bit of a no-no. Even fruit sugars can give you blood sugar spikes, especially when all the lovely chains of complex carbohydrates that they come naturally packaged with, in you know, the fruit, get smashed up to bits and so release all their sugary goodness into your bloodstream in a great, big, sugary flood, rather than in a nice, gentle drip feed as you digest them, with, you know, the rest of the fruit. I can enjoy a sugar rush as much as the next person but I'm not a fan of the crashing bit or the hormonal imbalances for that matter. Anyway, this is a (sort of) recipe for a smoothie, so there ends the smoothie bashing!

I actually came round to the murky world of smoothies a few years back when I was having some nutrition coaching and learning to balance and add more fats and proteins to my diet. (Vegan diets don't generally lack in carbohydrate or fibre!) I went over to the dark side briefly and had a phase of relying on packaged protein powders for an extra breakfast protein hit. Putting these into smoothies convinced me that a breakfast of mashed up stuff that you ingest through a straw could be made to taste better than you might expect and, being portable, was actually extremely convenient at times. But packaged protein powders, even the ones without all the extra junk in, are expensive and processed, and I do like to try and eat, well, actual food where possible. I even experimented with using banana. Desperate times...

Thankfully, at that point, I made the happy discovery that cooked red lentils can supply all the lovely thickening action of banana without the actual banana, at the same time as supplying a decent hit of protein without the expense (and questionable packaging) of commercial protein powders. 

I knew I was on to a winner and there began the gradual process of refinement that saw me swap kale for spinach (a much milder taste!), experiment with different plant milks, develop a passing taste for creamed coconut, become accustomed to freezing little smoothie portions to further expedite breakfast and get generally reliant on their place in my breakfast menus.

And then I encountered Ayurvedic practices, which completely pulled the rug out from under my smoothie fuelled feet. Ayurveda has quite a lot to say not just about what you eat, how you eat it (are you chewing properly?) and when, but also what you eat in the same sitting as other foods. Fruit, according to the principles of Ayurveda, should only be eaten with other fruit. and only the same kinds of fruit at that. No, not even yoghurt. I briefly considered an apple and pear smoothie but found myself back round full circle at the fruit juice criticism. I'd really rather just eat an apple.

Stewed fruit became a bit of an alternative for me and of course, my favourite Breakfast Kedgeree, but that couldn't really be called a convenience food. So, I rose to the challenge, applied a few Ayurvedic principles to my previous smoothie refining processes and developed a whole new approach to breakfast smoothies!

​This is a sweet, thick, rich, filling, nutritionally balanced and tasty breakfast which requires some, but minimal prep and can be served in a portable container! You're essentially making yourself a lentil and vegetable soup for breakfast, but  I wouldn't call it that, it tastes much better if you call it a smoothie. I find a bit of prep before bed is ideal as it allows a nice long cooling/stewing time. I tend to start mine about half an hour before bed, while I'm having my sleepy tea! Here's what you do:

Breakfast Smoothie How To:

Take whatever you consider to be a sensible portion size of dried red lentils. I use about a third to half a cup, depending on what sort of day I'm anticipating! Get them boiling (soaking is not necessary but you'll want to skim the foam off) and prepare a chunk of sweet potato, about half a chunky carrot and a thick slice of butternut squash by peeling and roughly chopping. Pit and chop two dates (apparently these don't count as fruit according to Ayurveda. Woo hoo!), then peel and thinly slice a piece of fresh ginger root. When the lentils are underway, add all the chopped veggies and dates, cover and simmer. 

When it's cooked down so the veg is getting soft, turn off the heat and stir in a small handful of cashew nuts and a spoonful of the breakfast spice I described in the Breakfast Kedgeree recipe (or that would be about a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon, the same of turmeric, and a quarter teaspoon each of powdered ginger and  cardamom). Pop the lid on and go to beddie byes!

​In the morning, or when it's cool if you've skipped the 'before bed' bit, scoop the whole lot in to your smoothie jug or blender with a good handful of fresh spinach (Ayurvedic principles would probably suggest this should be cooked too but I've got to draw the line somewhere) and just enough soya milk to whizz it all up well to your preferred viscosity. Almond and coconut are tasty too but often full of junk so I prefer the 100% soya and water milk for even more protein, actual coconut water or a homemade almond milk! And there you have it, a low sugar, vitamin and mineral packed, proteinous slug of tasty, convenient joy to take with you on your next adventure, or just to sip gently while you gaze out at the world from the gentle glow of a happy morning.

Incidentally, I like to top mine off with a generous spoonful of home made soya yoghurt for extra creamy richness but I've never got as far as working out what the ancient rishi would have had to say about that. At least I'm not eating it with fruit..!

​Enjoy xx

The owl shaped mason jar is not critical. It's just a lot of fun.