NATH@N KINKA.DE

I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been in a state of transition — moving from San Francisco to South Florida. I’ll write more about that soon, but for now I must write a few words about one of the most important things in my life: smoothies. I haven’t had a proper smoothie in weeks, and having just moved into my new apartment I was able to make one this morning. I was so impressed that I was inspired to write about it.

For quite a number of years now my breakfast has consisted of a smoothie. I’ve had plenty of time to refine the recipe and I share it here. It’s nothing complicated, but it’s pure goodness in a glass:

• 1 medium banana
• 1 small apple (or 1/2 of a large apple), preferably fuji or braeburn
• about 1/2 cup of mixed berries
• 1 tbsp of flax oil
• 1 tbsp of green vegetable powder
• 1 or 2 tbsp of peanut butter
• 2+ cups of water (or enough to make the consistency you want)

I don’t mention them above, but there are brands that I really have come to appreciate:

• Flax oil: Spectrum flax oil with DHA
• Peanut butter: Santa Cruz lightly roasted creamy. All peanut butter is not created equal. I once tried Whole Foods own 365 brand organic peanut butter and it wasn’t half as good as that from Santa Cruz. Don’t even think about Jiff, Skippy or any other of those vile peanut butter wanna-bes.
• Green vegetable powder: Amazing Grass GreenSuperFood. There’s nothing specific that I’m looking to get from this ingredient, but my reasoning is that a freeze dried powder of all sorts of green vegetable matter can’t but be packed with loads of valuable nutrients.
• Mixed berries: Whole Foods 365 branch frozen berry Medley. Fresh berries would be better, but this is acceptable to me and it adds a little chill and thickness to the smoothie.

I would normally never have toast for breakfast, or at any other time, no matter what the USDA may recommend. In my opinion the food pyramid is totally flawed at best, a health hazard at worst. However, a friend of mine, Cabe, introduced me to some bread that is make with only sprouted grains, no flour. The brand is Food For Life “Ezekial” bread. It can be found at any Whole Foods, and I even saw it at a Publix recently. I toast two pieces of the bread and top it with some vegan, organic vegetable spread.

I eat this meal every morning for breakfast and I never tire of it. I eat it around 7AM to 8AM and I don’t find myself hungry again until around 1PM. The vegan salad I eat frequently for lunch is another post.

Update (Thu Oct 30 09:58:56 EDT 2008):
My good man Jon Phillips was kind enough to repost on his blog the recipe for this smoothie.  However, someone left a comment about having tried it and said that it tasted like “cat sick.”  However, this person didn’t follow the recipe, and I realized that I should make a few other observations about the smoothie to spare others from drinking “cat sick” for breakfast:

• Use a electric blender.  You cannot blend an apple and frozen berries by hand.
• Do not substitute the peanut butter with Vegemite.
• Do not use cranberries, or use very few of them.  Cranberries are great, but they are bitter.  Use berries that are sweet.  My mix contains strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
• The green vegetable powder has a tendency to impart an “earthy” flavor to the smoothie.  I have found that this is largely tempered by what type of berries are used and in what proportions.  In my experience, the more strawberries, the sweeter the flavor.  If the vegetable powder is too strong a flavor, use less of it or omit it altogether.