Angoori Lassi/ Grapes Lassi

Lassi is a great thirst quencher in hot summer days. Even though the summer is coming to an end, ( have you noticed there are fall and winter stuff everywhere!!) after the kids come back from playing, they love to get their hands on any kind of cold juice. I usually keep OJ. When they would want something else, I let them pick their fruits and make them a juice.

This Angoori Lassi is a twist to the regular lassi. Made out of angoor or grapes, the lassi takes the color of grapes used. Here I have used black seedless grapes, which gives a nice purple shade to the Lassi. If you use green ones, it gives a beautiful pale green color.

Prep Time: 5 min | Makes : 2 tall glasses

Ingredients:

Seedless Grapes - 1/2 Cup
Non-flavored unsweetened Yogurt - 1 Cup
Cold water/ Ice - 1 Cup
Honey/ Sugar - 1 tsp.
Salt - a pinch
Cumin/ Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp.

Method of Preparation:

~ Blend all the above ingredients and serve it chilled.

Chaas/ Spiced Buttermilk

Chaas is a yogurt based drink which is popular all over India. Each region in India prepare their buttermilk in different ways. Each differ from other in a minute way. Our household we make "Phanna Taak" which is very similar to Chaas. I will post that some other day. Chaas is something I like to make this way since it's super simple and quick. 

It's common in India to have buttermilk especially during summer time. It instantly cools your body (and mind I would say). Many household it's common to serve this as drink when someone comes home on hot summer day. This summer in India I had more than my share of buttermilk. I am not the one who ends meal with yogurt with rice (like most of them do at my MIL's and Mom's place). I somehow cannot have yogurt in that manner. I do like to drink this thinned version of yogurt or just plain yogurt with some sugar. I do like seasoned yogurt rice. So there you go. :o) Now here is recipe for Chaas my way. This style is more popular in northern part of India.

Prep Time: 5 min | Serves : 4 Cups

Ingredients:

Yogurt - 1 Cup
Water - 3 Cups (or more if you like it thinner consistency)
Cumin (Jeera) seeds - 1 tsp. / Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Green Chili - 1 small
Ginger - Small 1/2 inch piec
Asafetida (Hing) Powder - 1 pinch
Salt - 1/2 tsp. or to taste
Coriander/ Cilantro leaves - handful + 1 tbsp. for garnishing

Method of Preparation:

~ Add everything, except cilantro leaves for garnishing, into a blender. Run blender on low for few minutes until everything is blended.
~ Serve garnished with Cilantro.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Smoothie

Carrots are famously known for beta-carotene and vitamin A, which promote good eye sight. My mom would randomly drop in while I was studying and shake a carrot in front of me (literally) and say snack on this, your eye sight will be good. You see I was the only one with glasses in the family. :o)

And then there was a time when I was in high school I was very skinny and was getting tired all the time. My blood count showed that I had low level hemoglobin. My dad had taken me to an old Ayurvedic doctor during this period. One look at me and he said, she needs to eat more carrots. He asked me to just blend one carrot every day and drink it up in the morning. "If you follow this for a month, your cheeks will be of carrot's color!", is what he said. :o) I did that for few days, but I totally hated it. Since all I was putting in was carrots!

Last few years I have been juicing, carrot has been integral part of it. I just pop in a few in many of my smoothies. But recently I added few additional things when I saw a carrot cake smoothie on one of the raw veggies sites. It was really yummy. Almost like having a carrot cake but hey with hardly any calories compared to the real one. 

Prep Time : 5 min | Makes : 8 oz glass

Ingredients:

Carrot - 1 large
Banana - 1
Quick Oats - 1/2 Cup
Protein Powder - 1 tbsp. (optional)
Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp.
Vanilla Essence 1/2 tsp.
Almond/ Coconut Milk - 3/4 Cup
Water - 1/2 Cup
Coconut Shavings and/ or Almond slices - Few to top (optional)

Method of Preparation:

~ Peel and cut chunks of carrot.
~ Place all the ingredients (except the toppings) in a blender and blend it until smooth.
~ Top it with coconut shavings and almond slices and enjoy the heavenly goodness at your fingertips.

Banana Apple Breakfast Smoothie

I love munching on apple and even my kids. For ages I had never added any apples to my smoothies. And then one of those days when you run out of fruits and veggies to put in your smoothie and you look around.... yeah, that particular moment apples called my name. I said why not, just skip eating it today.. I never use sugar in my smoothies. Boy, I was glad that day, since I realized how sweet they are.. It was actually too sweet for me. But now it's become my sweet tooth fixer. :o) Here is how I do it, but you can make so many variations to it. I keep the skin on apples, since most of the fibers are out in the skin. Just rinse thoroughly to remove the wax on outer layer and you are good to go.

Prep Time: 5 min. | Makes : 8 oz.

Ingredients:

Banana - 1 (peeled)
Apple - 1 small (I usually use Gala apples)
Baby Carrots (optional) - 3
Instant Oatmeal - 1/2 Cup
Cold Almond/ Soy/ 2% Milk - 1/2 Cup
Cold Water - 1/2 Cup



Method of Preparation:

~ In a blender cup add water, milk and instant oatmeal.
~ Cut apple into four pieces and remove the seeds.
~ Add apple chunks, carrots and banana to the blender and mix until smooth. 
~ Enjoy the smoothie as it brightens up your day! :o)

Note: For kids, you can skip or add little oatmeal and add a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.


Sending this delicious dessert to my event Bon Vivant #14 - Spring Surprises

Kale Breakfast Smoothie

My lil one had a bad cold yesterday. So I called mom to figure out what I can make so she can breathe easy. Mom recommended some home remedy. She was all perky and happy today morning. I asked her how did she feel after the drink. She said, with wonder in her eyes, "Amma (Grandma) is Genius Mommy. She is doctor or what! I feel better already!" LOL, I had such a good laugh after hearing this 3 year old. 

Well coming to this smoothie, it had nothing to do with above situation. But this is what I had for my breakfast. I soon realized I haven't blogged it, so took some quick pictures to go with it. All in all, it took me just extra 2 minutes of my morning for that. This super easy, nutrient and mineral rich smoothie is sure to delight you. It's so filling that you won't be hungry for few hours. 

Kale is one of my favorite for breakfast, I usually make this or the spicy smoothie version. You can make these Kale Chips with it too. Kale is supposed to help boost immunity. So go ahead grab some while grocery shopping today.

Prep Time : 2 min | Makes : One Tall glass

Ingredients:

Kale leaves - 1 Cup (packed)

Banana - 1

Pineapple pieces - 1/2 Cup

Almond Milk/ Coconut Milk/ Skimmed Milk - 1 Cup

Quick Oats - 1/2 Cup

Method of Preparation:

~ Put everything in a blender and mix until smooth.

Sending this to ongoing Bon Vivant #11 - Healthy Appetite

Vardhini's New U,
Simply.Food's Let's Cook Healthy Breakfast,
Veg Junction's Healthy Diet - Smoothies
Breakfast Club at Farmersgirl Kitchen
CookCookandCook andThoushaltcook's – Mission Breakfast at Nivedhanam

Pistachio Milkshake

When I had made a small quantity of this Watergate Salad, I had some Pistachio pudding mix left over. So instead of adding to fruit salad, I tried this refreshing drink! It was soo good that had my kids asking for more. I hope you can see from picture, how it had a divine light pistachio color to it.

Prep Time ~ 1 min | Serves ~ 1

Ingredients:

Cold Coconut Milk / Skimmed cold milk - 1 Cup
Pistachio Instant Pudding Mix - 1 tbsp (I used Jello-O)
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp.
Honey/ Sugar - 1/2 tsp.
Ice - Few cubes (if required)

Method of Preparation:

Ofcourse, put everything in blender and mix it up. It's that simple. :o)

Note: You can add a tbsp of yogurt if you like it thicker.

Sending this to ongoing event Bon Vivant #6 - Refreshing drinks

And to Serve It - Blended hosted by Krithi, started by Denny
Showcase - Fun In Sun hosted by Divya

Sparkling Watermelon Juice

This is a very simple juice that my mom would often make. My kids love watermelon just like that. They want me to cut the minute we get it home. But when they are huge, I cut them up and save some to make this juice from my childhood to savor.

Prep Time: 5 min| Serves : 1

Ingredients:

Watermelon - 1 cup
Ice/ Ice cold Water/ Sparkling Water/ Plain Soda - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp.
Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt - a pinch
Pepper - a pinch

Method of Preparation:

~ Blend the watermelon along with all other ingredients.
~ Strain the juice and serve it.

Sending this to ongoing event Bon Vivant #6 - Refreshing drinks

And to Serve It - Blended hosted by Krithi, started by Denny
Showcase - Fun In Sun hosted by Divya
Love Lock with Juices and Milkshakes @Recipe World

Spicy Tropical Green Smoothie

This is one of my favorite smoothies to have in the morning. It's very filling and the spicy kick leaves you with wanting more. You can alternate with any fresh green vegetable you like. This is my kids favorite too. They don't realize that they are having a vegetable in that with so many fruits packed in. 

I use Kale mainly because, while juicing a green vegetable you get the maximum benefit of gaining most of vitamins and mineral. Kale is rich in calcium and has one of the fewest calories, a cupful is only about 30 to 40 calories. Since I have been watching my calorie intake, Kale has been a blessing in disguise. Try it out and let me know how you liked this spicy yummy treat.

Prep Time: 5 min | Makes: 2 large glasses

Ingredients:

Kale/ Spinach/ - 2 Cup packed

Mango cubes - 1 Cup (Frozen)

Pineapple cubes - 1 Cup (Frozen)

Banana - 1 (Optional)

Lime juice - 1 tbsp

Cayenne Pepper/ Chili powder - 1/2 tsp. (Use discretion)
Coconut milk/ Almond milk/ Milk/ Water - 2 Cup

 

Method Of Preparation:

~ Blend everything up into a smoothie.

Note: Use icecubes instead of water if all fresh fruits are used.

Linking these up to two events going on in my space.
Bon Vivant #6 - Sunny Refreshing Drinks

and SYF&HWS Series - Red Chili, brain child of Anu , guest hosted by me all this month.

And to Serve It - Blended hosted by Krithi, started by Denny
Showcase - Fun In Sun hosted by Divya
Love Lock with Juices and Milkshakes @Recipe World

Berry Blast Smoothie

This is one of my kid's favourite smoothie. Fruits and flaxseed makes it healthier. I make ours with frozen yogurt and kids with icecream. Enjoy this delicious smoothie on a hot summer day!

Ingredients:

Strawberry - 1 1/2 cup
Blueberry - 1 cup
Frozen/ Thick yogurt - 1 cup ( Can substitute vanilla ice cream)
Skimmed Milk - 1/2 cup
Flaxseed meal - 2 tbsp.
Honey - 3 tbsp.

Method Of Preparation:

~ Place everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
~ Serve chilled.

Sending this to following events,
May event of Bon Vivant #4 - Fruit Recipes

Also sending this to Radhika's Let's Cook - Fruits,
Tomato Blues Summer Spirits

Strawberry Banana Protein Smoothie

This is one of my all time favorite breakfast smoothie. Especially if am in hurry to get out, all it takes is two minutes. I do love to sit down and enjoy every sip of it though. Here is a quick look at the quick recipe.

Prep Time: 1 min| Makes: About 2 and half cups

Ingredients:

Strawberry - 5 to 7 (I use the ones that I froze)
Banana - 1 medium
Protein Powder - 1 tbsp (optional)
Cold Milk - 1 Cup

Method of Preparation:

Blend everything to smooth consistency. Serve it chilled.

Note:
~ Options are endless to what you can add to this combination. I usually add another piece of fruit or flaxseed meal or oatmeal.
~ You can add sugar or honey if you need more sweet. But usually the fruits compensate for that.
~ Since I used frozen strawberries I didn't add any icecubes. You can add one or two cubes if needed.
~ Serve it immeditely, otherwise bananas will tend to make the shake loose it's bright pink color.

Sharing this at May event of Bon Vivant #4 - Fruit Recipes

Also sending this to Radhika's Let's Cook - Fruits,
Srivalli's Kids Delight hosted at UK-Rasoi,
Chandrani's Spotlight - Healthy Breakfast ,
Divya's Let's Party - Breakfast 

Banana Avocado Breakfast Smoothie

DH and I love Guacamole, so I keep buying Avocado in bulk. Once I came across this recipe on webmd, I wasn't sure how it would turn up. But I thought if I don't like it, am just gonna discard and not try again right? So one morning I tried this smoothie. And when I say I fell in love with it, I am not exaggerating! It was so smooth and creamy, full of flavor.

It's loaded with Potassium, Dietary Fiber, Vitamins C, B6, E, Manganese, Magnesium, folic acid, and last but not least high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids. So what not to love about this! It's so filling that I don't get hungry for next 3 -4 hours. Kids loved the creamy flavor too. So now it’s a regular in my house.

Prep Time: 5 min. | Serves: 1

Ingredients:

Banana - 1 large

Avocado - 1

Cold Skimmed Milk - 1 cup

Milled Flaxseed - 1 tbsp. (optional)

Honey - 1 tbsp. (Or Sugar)

Method of Preparation:

~ Cut Avocado in half, discard the seed, scoop out the flesh into blender.

~ Add all other ingredients and blend until all combined.

~ Serve this cool smoothie immediately in tall glasses.

Sending this to Bon Vivant - Breakfast Ideas happening at my place.

And also linking it up to, Radhika's Serve it - Chilled Delights event.