What is your favourite quick breakfast?
I always say I’m going to bake a whole bunch of muffins to grab and go, but either the muffins don’t get baked, or they don’t make it to breakfast. 😉 I like granola and muesli but I can’t eat commercial brands due to my allergies…and for some reason, I never get around to whipping up a nut-free batch. This is where fruit smoothies come in…and in particular, smoothies with added shoots and leaves.
My current favourites are smoothies containing corn shoots. I’ve been growing batches of corn shoots on the windowsill, in full sunlight, as well as in the darkness of the closet (not sure if my hubby enjoys having corn growing on the floor below his freshly washed and hung shirts, but hey! he ought to be used to my weird experiments by now). The blanched corn shoots are definitely sweeter in taste, but I must admit I almost prefer the “grassier” notes of the shoots grown in sunlight. Either way, they are absolutely stellar in smoothies!
Green
Blanched
Here’s the recipe if you want to give them a try:
Corn Shoot Smoothie
1 frozen banana, roughly chopped
1 handful corn shoots, thoroughly washed
2 oranges (I like Cara Caras), peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1 cup plain yogourt
Throw everything into a food processor and pulse until thoroughly blended.
This recipe can have a ton of add-ins and substitutions – the sky’s the limit! If you don’t like (or grow) corn shoots, try sunflower shoots…or kale…or spinach. If you wish to go dairy-free, use almond or cashew milk. If you want a thicker smoothie, use Greek yogourt instead of regular. If you’re substituting a less sweet green such as kale or spinach, you can add a bit of honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup. I’m going to put in some coconut next time I make this – I haven’t seen fresh coconut in the grocery stores here just yet, but I think some finely shredded unsweetened baking coconut would give the whole thing a pina colada type of vibe.
Mmmm…pina coladas….
Do you like breakfast smoothies? What greens – if any – do you put in your smoothies?