A few months ago I bought a blender.  I was obsessed, when I bought it, about buying it.  I thought it would be an integral part of the perfect storm that would swirl around me and suck off all my extra pounds.  Ummm.  Not really.

After I bought the blender, it sat on the counter for an embarassingly long time before I got around to finally using it.  I can be like that sometimes.  Hurry up and wait.  I didn’t have any recipes, I didn’t have all the right ingredients, this or that would be missing, maybe an apple, orange, banana.  Then I started the Eat-Clean diet and I didn’t want to do anything that would compromise my success, although smoothies are allowed as long as the ingredients are good.

Great book, tons of recipes.

After I bought the blender, I bought a couple of smoothie recipe books, because apparently the challenge of coming up with my own recipes is too much for me.  The book that has been the most fruitful is The Smoothie Bible by Pat Crocker.

This book contains far more than simply smoothie recipes and I just love that.  The first chapter details the body systems: cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, immune, musculoskeletal, nervous and respiratory.  Then a chapter on health conditions, alphabetically from AIDS/HIV to water retention.  Healthy foods are covered, fruits, vegetables, herbs and other ingredients.  And then the recipes begin, at page 151.  There’s so much more there than just the recipes and it’s all useful information.

And what tasty recipes they are too.

I have only scratched the surface in terms of what’s on offer, but the recipes that I’ve tried so far have been delicious.  Except for one that had way too much molasses in it, the Avocado Shake.  No, that one wasn’t a favourite, but it did introduce me to the benefits of molasses.  I drank it all up because it was good for me.  But it was tough.

Easier to take is the Orange-Pom smoothie, made with an orange, apple, carrot and some pomegranate seeds.  I add a scoop of protein powder to it, makes it mousse-y as well as a complete meal.  I learned that from the Eat-Clean book.  I put protein powder in my oatmeal too.  I would never think of putting these ingredients together.  This is why I need a recipe book.

Another favourite is the Apricot and Oatmeal Breakfast Special.  Again, I would never think of making a smoothie out of a bowl of oatmeal.  I use dried apricots that I dice and add to the oatmeal, which then sits sucking up whatever I use to make it until I’m ready to whip it.  I’ve substituted the water with apple juice.  Oranges are used to thin the oatmeal, yogurt and dates are added along with the protein powder. I hit liquify and sham-zam, oatmeal I can drink.  I.  Am. Loving. It.

I have on hand a good supply of oranges, which seem to be a staple in smoothie world.  Dried fruit can be used for fresh.  I learned how to section an orange and a grapefruit.  That makes the peeling of both fruits a lot easier but also a lot messier.  That might improve with practice.  We shall see.  The book didn’t actually show me how, but the recipe calls for sectioned oranges and I had no idea what that was so I looked it up online.  I had a short impromptu cooking lesson right there in my kitchen.

I’m looking forward to trying out more.  Next up Apple Spice Cocktail, an interesting combination of apple, ginger root, cardamon, nutmeg and cranberry sauce.

What’s the strangest food combination that you’ve found delicious and surprised to taste?