Blueberry & Mint Smoothie
I’ve just discovered my new favourite smoothie for hot summer days: blueberry and mint. I love blueberries and I love mint so it was a no-brainer that I would like this one, but I wasn’t quite prepared for just HOW GOOD it was.
We’d been working hard in the garden, trying to get a few jobs finished before we go off on our summer holiday and were feeling more than a little hot and frazzled, not really stopping to eat properly.
When we finally downed tools for the day, I needed something refreshing but with a bit of food value too as I wanted it to see me through until dinner time. A cool, fruity smoothie was the obvious answer.
I always keep a good range of fruit in the freezer; it means zero waste as I can take out just as much perfectly ripe fruit as I want and enjoy a variety of juices, smoothies and smoothie bowls without having to have the same old thing. I’ve usually got some slices of frozen banana in there too as, although I rarely take a banana from the fruit bowl, if they’re looking a little overripe I peel, chop and freeze them to use in smoothies, mainly for the creamy texture they give rather than the taste.
Blueberries are regulars among the fruits I have in the freezer; I love their combination of tart and sweet, as well as the appetizing colour they give to everything. While I really don’t buy into the concept of ‘superfoods’, there’s no denying that blueberries are a good source of vitamin K and also contain vitamin C, soluble fibre and high levels of antioxidants (substances believed to prevent or slow damage to cells). Like most berries, they’re not as high in sugar as many fruits although they do contain more sugar than say raspberries or strawberries.
I find that spearmint is always refreshing, so I put in a hefty dose from the garden. I think this was the killer ingredient that made this smoothie so good; our mint was a bit late to come up this year but the still-small sprigs were intensely sweet & aromatic.
For liquid I added cold coconut water and a few ice cubes, for a bit of a zing, a big squeeze of lemon and, for added nutritional value, a little ground flaxseed.
BLUEBERRY & MINT SMOOTHIE
Serves 2
Blend together:
- 160g frozen blueberries
- Half a frozen banana, in slices
- 250ml coconut water (or plain water)
- squeeze of lemon
- big handful of mint leaves
- ice cubes (optional)
- dessertspoon of flax seeds or 2 tsp ground flaxseed (optional)
Divide between 2 glasses and top with more blueberries and a sprig of mint if liked.
For summer evenings, I think that ditching the banana and flaxseed, adding a glug of white rum and some lime instead of lemon would turn this into a sensational blueberry mojito.