Who said healthy had to be boring?
Nutritionist Lola Berry has devoted her life to helping people understand that healthy food can still be fun.
The best-selling author is often spruiking her healthy message on radio and TV, or coming up with delicious new menu items at her cafe/juice bar Happy Place, which she runs in partnership with St ALi‘s always entrepreneurial Salvatore Malatesta.
Lola’s Happy Place menu (at Stall 56 at the South Melbourne Market) includes some remarkable smoothies, and these are five of her favourites.
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Avo Dreamboat
- Serves 2
I know the words avocado and smoothie sound weird together, but trust me, it will make your smoothies the best consistency ever, plus your body will soak up the avo’s amazing fibre, vitamins and healthy fats. - Ingredients
1 avocado
1 frozen banana
2 tbs extra-virgin coconut oil, melted
80 g (2 cups) baby spinach
Vanilla pod (1/2), split and scraped
500 ml (2 cups) coconut cream
2 tbs desiccated coconut
2 tbs coconut nectar
For the topping…
1 tbs shredded coconut
Coconut nectar
75 g berries (about 1/2 a cup) - Method
Scoop out the avocado and place in your blender with the banana, coconut oil, spinach, vanilla seeds, coconut cream, desiccated coconut and coconut nectar. Process until silky smooth. Pour into tall glasses and top with a sprinkle of shredded coconut, drizzle of coconut nectar and a few berries of your choice. It’s hard to believe such a sweet treat is so amazingly good for you. - Tips
If you don’t have any coconut nectar, you can substitute the same amount of raw honey, maple syrup or 3 drops of stevia if you’re a fan. It’s all good. Also, if you’re out of vanilla pods, use 1/4 tsp of pure vanilla powder. Coconut cream is full-cream coconut milk (it is thicker and contains more coconut fats).
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Pumpkin Pie
- Serves 2
This one takes a little prep but it’s so worth it. All you need to do is steam the pumpkin in advance – this can be a day or two before. - Ingredients
400g (1 cup) steamed pumpkin
4 medjool dates, pitted
60g (1/4 cup) almond butter
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
500ml (2 cups) almond milk
2 tbs maple syrup
For the topping…
A handful (about 6) pecans, pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
A drizzle (about 2 tsp) of maple syrup - Method
Pop everything into your blender ( and you know what, if you don’t add too much almond milk, this becomes like a thick mousse and it tastes awesome for dessert or a sweet brekkie, try that too). Then top with your goodies and enjoy this decadant smoothie. - Tip
If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice mix, make your own by mixing together 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and clove and ½ teaspoon ground ginger.
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Golden Goodness
- Serves 2
This one is inspired by visits to one of my favourite health spots in Bondi. The Health Emporium makes these next level smoothies and they always write sweet messages on the cups. I’m a sucker for all that cute stuff. - Ingredients
2 frozen bananas
2 frozen mango cheeks
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 cm piece of ginger
Handful of macadamia nuts, soaked for 2 hours or overnight, then rinsed
4 medjool dates, pitted
500 ml (2 cups) coconut milk - Method
Pop everything into the blender and give it a good whizz up. Now the macadamia nuts need a little longer so keep it going until everything is nice and smooth!
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Lucky Lavender
- Serves 2
I know this one sounds really fancy pants, but it looks so pretty and tastes so incredible that I just had to share it with you. - Ingredients
300g (2 cups) blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tbs chia seeds, soaked in water for 10 mins
80g macadamia nuts, soaked for 2 hours or overnight, then rinsed
2 tbs coconut nectar (or maple or rice malt syrup)
2 tbs extra-virgin coconut oil, melted
500ml (2 cups) coconut water
For the topping…
1 tsp chia seeds
Pinch of dried lavender - Method
Place the blueberries, chia seeds, macadamias, coconut nectar, coconut oil and coconut water in your blender and process until creamy smooth. Pour into tall glasses and top with the extra chia seeds and lavender. - Tip
The dried lavender I use is actually organic lavender tea made from a pure, food-grade lavender. It’s a wonderful calmative, and is sometimes used to treat insomnia.
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Apple Crumble Smoothie
- Serves 2
This actually tastes like a treat! It’s the best and if I’m honest I do actually make it super thick after dinner sometimes so it’s almost like a dessert. - Ingredients
250ml (1 cup) unsweetened apple sauce
250ml (1 cup) almond milk
80g (1/2 cup) cashew nuts, soaked for 2 hours or overnight, then rinsed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 Medjool dates, pitted
For the topping…
1 handful of chopped macadamia nuts
A drizzle of maple syrup - Method
Pop everything into your blender and away you go, then serve up and top with chopped macas and a lovely drizzle of maple. If you have time, you could give your macadamias some extra sweet crunch by cooking them in coconut oil and maple syrup in the oven for just 10-15 mins on 180C.
