I used to think it was strange that people insisted on puréeing their food. Why? Is it some kind of attempt to regress back to the baby stage? The more you make and taste them however, the easier it is to understand their attraction, especially using fresh fruits and berries to make something tasty, colourful and refreshing on a winter Morning.

My absolute favourite smoothie is really easy to make and delicious and I’ve shared it with many friends since discovering it. As one of these friends recently asked for the recipe again, I thought I might as well share it through the blog. So here we go! The recipe was originally from a great little cafe “The Exhibitionists” on Museokatu, Helsinki. When I first tasted it, they told me that they were inspired by a recent trip to Morocco. Not surprising then it should become one of my favourites, given my love for North African cuisine. Here we go: avocado smoothie – enjoy!

Avocado smoothie

2 avocados

5 dl milk

Seeds from ½ vanilla pod

(1 teaspoon sugar or honey)

Mint leaves to garnish

Second favourite is a fruity smoothie that brings sunshine into the darkest winter morning:

“Brighten-up-your-day” -smoothie

½ a pineapple chopped into cubes and frozen

2 bananas, chopped into cubes and frozen

1-2 dl frozen cranberries

5 dl organic yoghurt (natural or vanilla)

1-2 tablespoons of chia & cranberry mix

1 pomegranate (2/3 into the mix, 1/3 to garnish)

+ mint leaves, pomegranate and lemon verbena leaves to garnish

There are obviously an infinite number of smoothie recipes online, as well as discussions on the pros and cons of the smoothie craze (does it help you to lose weight or on the contrary make you absorb too many calories much too easily, does it help to detox; is it a good way to ensure kids eat their greens etc. etc. In one of the blogs I went through someone even asked the rather pointless question “smoothies versus coffee?” Surely you can have both?!

Some examples can be found here:

• A collection of basic recipes: http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-recipes/20-super-healthy-smoothie-recipes?s=1
• Hard-core green smoothie fans: http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/top-10-benefits-of-green-smoothies/
• That (rather silly) coffee question: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24621394
• Diana’s vegan food blog has some beautiful recipes, e.g.: http://foodblogveda.weebly.com/blog/blueberry-acai-bowl