One of many favourite flowers is the poppy. Each year, I haphazardly throw seeds around the garden, they flower, and then I collect the dried pods and replanted them.
And now, every morning, I come out and find all sorts of colourful poppies surprising me in the garden. The petals are soft, delicate and dancing about full of happiness. There is something in seeing the gentle gracefulness of the poppy that softens the heart in its presence.
strawberry raspberry goji smoothie
Serves 6 small/3 medium glasses
For the best results in making smoothies, use your own homemade nut milk. Nutritionally, it is higher in quality and the taste is incomparable. Use very ripe strawberries that are in season – the maceration process really makes a difference to bring out the luscious flavour in the berries. You could easily use fresh coconut milk instead of the almond milk, grind ½ cup of the white flesh with the juice for a real coconut flavour. The addition of goji berries provides an extra boost of antioxidants, trace mineral, amino acids, Vitamin C and beta-carotene. Combined with the red berries, it is a power-house, nutrient-rich smoothie.
ingredients
450g very ripe strawberries
2 Tbsp goji berries
½ cup raspberries
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp lemon juice
1½ cups homemade almond or nut milk of choice
2 Medjool dates
pre-soak
1. Top the strawberries and cut into quarters, place in a bowl with the raspberries, drizzle with maple syrup and a squeeze of lemon – allow to sit and macerate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight. (For a very cold smoothie place the berries in the freezer for an hour after it has macerated.)
2. Soak the goji berries in water until soft – 15 minutes.
preparation
3. Place the berries and their juices into a blender and puree for a few seconds until smooth. Pour the puree into a jug and set aside.
4. Rinse out the blender and place the nut milk and dates – blend until smooth and frothy.
5. To serve, fill a little more than half of the glass with the strawberry puree, then add the frothy nut milk on top. For a decorative swirl, stir the puree with the nut milk, so that it creates a swirling design. Use a toothpick on top to create a finer decoration. Decorate with fresh mint and a spoon of heart-shaped strawberry pieces on top of each glass.
Goodness shared from Stacey
