N° 75: In This House, We Believe in One Smoothie

Good morning,

In this house, we believe in one smoothie.

If you are under 27 (You don’t look a day over it—unless that line offends your ‘I’ve earned these lines’ sensibility, in which case, you look exactly your age, maybe even older!), I have been making, drinking, perfecting this smoothie longer than you’ve been on Planet Earth.

Its recipe, which I finally committed to paper (sticky note) last year, remains affixed to the kitchen window, just above the counter where we set the blender, for reliable consultation at all times. The recipe is sometimes doubled, to fill two large Duralex glasses, but never halved. It is the creamy, milkshake-style kind of smoothie—not the juicy, fruity, or green kind.

Devotion to this smoothie requires a simple commitment: to own a blender and to perpetually stock a few ingredients in one’s kitchen. They are: nut or seed butter, bananas, dates, salt, vanilla, espresso or tea or cocoa—be they powdered or brewed), and ice.

Also (if you know, you know):

Thanks for reading this. Talk to you soon. Enjoy the smoothie.

Brian

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Vegan, gluten-free, fruit-sweetened

As previously stated, the following recipe yields “the creamy, milkshake-style kind of smoothie—not the juicy, fruity, or green kind.” I typically include the “optional” date, but the smoothie’s sweetness can be adjusted to suit your taste by omitting or adding dates. Milkshakey thought it may appear, this cold sludge is rich in plant-derived proteins, fats, fiber, vitamins/minerals, and antioxidants. (As you know, I’m not a nutritionist, but doesn’t that all sound health-giving?) While I most often make the trusty base recipe, you’ll see below that there are plenty of ways to vary the recipe in order to spice things up or accommodate your pantry, should you heretically lack any of the basic ingredients.

Yield: 1 large smoothie
Total time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS: