Meatless Monday - Purple Smoothie

My husband is on a smoothie kick around here, and we're all benefiting from it!  The inspiration for his latest smoothie is Alton Brown.  We recently watched Alton Brown's Good Eats show where he talks about his diet changes and his subsequent weight loss.  (Lists, oily fish, and real food are all involved.) 

Fruit packed smoothies are also part of his diet.  The base of his smoothie consists of a purple juice (like acai juice or pomegranate juice), soy milk (because dairy is a food that triggers more eating for him), and enough fruit to make a 24 oz drink.  Why use a purple juice?  Purple fruits - think blueberries, pomegranates, acai berries - are known to be packed full of antioxidants.  The great thing about this smoothie is that it's a fun way to get a lot of fruit into your diet fast.  Kids (and adults too) will often go for a smoothie even when they won't eat a piece of fresh fruit. 

This smoothie makes a wonderful snack.  It could also be a breakfast - and a good one if paired with something protein rich.  (I actually think that my husband's other tofu-based smoothie makes a better breakfast by itself because it has a lot more protein - good for getting you going and keeping you going all morning.)  My husband used almond milk instead of soy milk, and he used POM pomegranate-blueberry juice for his antioxidant packed purple juice.  (Disclaimer:  I have received free samples of POM in the past.  We actually bought the juice used in this smoothie, however.)

We all really liked this smoothie when it was first made and full of ground bits of frozen fruit.  I hate to say it, but I'm the only one that still liked it once all of the fruit had thawed.  While my husband thought that it was refreshing while icy, he found it too gelatinous once it had thawed overnight.  Something to consider if you make this.  You might want to drink it straight away while it's still icy!

Alton Brown's Purple Smoothie

(Use a mix of your choice of frozen fruits.  These are just suggestions.)
1 banana
4 oz vanilla almond milk, soy milk, or regular milk
4 oz purple juice (such as POM pomegranate-blueberry juice)
4 oz strawberries, frozen
4 oz blueberries, frozen
4 oz mixed berries, frozen
2 oz mango, frozen

Put liquids in the blender first, and then add the frozen fruits a little at a time.  Start the blender on low speed and work up to high speed for best results.  Enjoy!


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