Not that we don't let in a little air through the night-- we just don't keep the windows open enough for him to fit through if he should pull off the screens.
Cold smoothies for breakfast are a good way to get in lots of fresh raw fruit, nuts if you want them, protein powder if you use it.
I don't. Nor do I use all those wonderful smoothie recipes that fill family magazine food pages throughout Spring and Summer. I use a method instead, and it's perfect because it lets me adjust to what is in the fridge, fruit basket, and pantry at the moment of making. And it can be vegan, raw, half raw, gluten free, nut-free; whatever you need.
First, I like to start with some frozen fruit-- it removes the need for ice, which helps when you have a food processor instead of a blender. But if having complete raw is your thing, just refrigerate some of your fruit overnight. About a third of the 11-cup processor bowl gets filled with cold or frozen strawberries, blueberries or mixed berries, and any bananas that might have gotten thrown in there to keep them from dying a moldy death. If the fruit is big, chop it in half or thirds with a sharp chef's knife, even for a blender.
Process until the fruit is very small or pureed, then add the fresh fruit, washed, chopped, pitted & peeled as needed. Apples I peel, peaches I don't. I use as much fruit as I can, and as little of anything else as possible to make a rich, creamy drink. Any fruit is good, but some combos are better than others-- berries and banana work together, banana/plum/peach/nectarine and nuts with some nut butter and/or apple are good. Cherries are great with any other fruit. If you can afford the exotics, you likely know how to mix them. Melons work with berries or apples, but are more watery and better with soymilk than yogurt, so a thickener like ground flax or a handful of raisins or craisins is helpful.
If I'm going to be adding sweetened yogurt, almond or soy milk to the mix, I won't sweeten till the last blend. But this is a good place to add soaked, drained nuts, or flax seed, or a drop of vanilla. For almonds, you can let them soak in cool water on the counter all night, or soak for 6 hours before bed and stick them in the fridge, drained. An hour or so for softer nuts, then drain, etc.
Get the whole thing smooth, taste, and add just enough of any of the above liquids or yogurt to thicken it to your ideal mouthfeel. Or use a splash of any juice you have on hand to thin it a bit, and add more flavor too. A dash of spice like ginger, fresh or dried, or ground cinnamon or coriander, can be nice. We like it simple, most times.
Sweeten to taste with agave, maple, honey (warming this slightly in the microwave helps it dissolve in the cold smoothie) or a little sugar if you want, and process again till fluffy and thick, stopping to swipe the chunks down from the sides of the bowl towards the blades if needed.
You'll have a great cool smoothie without fuss or having to measure things in spoons & cups before your coffee. It makes about three good drinking glasses full, when the old FP is 2/3 or a little more full of smoothie. Add more to make more-- there's just two of us, since the cat doesn't like fruit, and I'm happy with one glassful.
Maybe you'll be more adventurous-- if we had a juicer, we'd be getting veggies in there too, and now that I think of it, some zucchini would easy to hide in a cherry-berry smoothie. Hmm. The hubby-man would never know. Think I'll be trying that tomorrow. Keep Cool!
Peace, Mari
