Saturday Smoothies: Tropical Guava Delight

It’s hot outside today. Even sultry. The air is smoky from all the wildfires around Montana and Idaho. I am wilted! And being lazy, which is why this smoothie recipe didn’t make it up to my blog until afternoon.

And. Well. I just feel like I need something tropical and refreshing to counteract all this heat. Necessity (as in: “I need this”) is the mother of invention, right?  So, I rummaged around and found a can of guava nectar, some frozen pineapple (from last time I cut up a fresh pineapple and we didn’t eat it all right away…) and a bag full of frozen bananas (I buy them at a discount when they’re about to be too ripe, then peel them immediately and freeze them in zip baggies.)

If we’d had a papaya around I would have tossed that in too.

I added a quarter of a lemon (I get it. This add-the-lemon-peel-and-all-thing is getting old. But really. Believe me. The lemon skin and pulp add an amazing flavor to smoothies. Leave it out if you want to, but try it at least once and you’ll taste what I mean.)

Okay, a couple other ingredients just for pizazz and delight: raw hazelnuts, some toasted unsweetened coconut and a splish of vanilla extract. Yuh-ummm! There you have a Tropical Guava Delight. Go for it. This recipe makes enough for two large servings.

Makes two 16 oz smoothies (or more if you use the larger amount of coconut milk)

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 oz guava nectar
• 1  and 1/2 frozen banana, broken into chunks
• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1/4 cup raw or roasted (unsalted) hazelnuts (filberts)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut, unsweetened
• 1 to 2 cups coconut milk
• 1/4 lemon (peel and all) — optional. gives a great kick and tartness to this sweet smoothie

PREPARATION:

Put everything in the blender and pulse til smooth. Start with one cup of coconut milk. You might need to add more liquid depending on how thick you like your smoothies.