The Smoothie
Always throw fruit that’s on the brink of over-ripeness into the freezer—especially bananas. At least that’s the mantra in my house. It’s a way of catching the fruit at its most aromatic and sweet but before its inevitable decline. You can just peel and bag bananas up before freezing. Thus rescued, frozen fruit can go into quick cakes such as Mixed Berry–Oat Kuchen and banana bread, sauces, and compotes, but most often I mobilize frozen fruit into smoothies. Bananas are the best of the lot: pureed, they convert themselves into a creamy ice cream–like texture that makes even a not-so-indulgent smoothie feel like a milk shake.
Extra ingredients: very ripe bananas, frozen; coffee
Time: less than 5 minutes
Makes 1 breakfast serving or 2 servings as a beverage or snack
1 peeled frozen banana, cut into chunks
2 Medjool dates
¾ cup milk or almond milk
1 tablespoon almond butter
½ cup brewed room-temperature or cold coffee (or 2 shots espresso)
Combine the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.
VARIATIONS
Change the fruit. The best fruits for freezing are whole berries of all sorts; peaches, mangos, pineapple, and nectarines cut into chunks; grapes; and pitted cherries. Fruit likes to be frozen in small pieces on sheet trays, then bagged up. Citrus is better frozen as a juice, and apples and pears prefer to be cooked into a chunky sauce before freezing. Practically any frozen or fresh fruit can be whizzed into a smoothie, although only avocado can compete with frozen bananas for creamy, smooth consistency. Some especially nice combinations: raspberry, almond butter, and almond milk (for a PB&J sensation); or avocado, mango, and orange juice.