Minty Melon Mid Summer Smoothie

Minty Melon Mid Summer

Smoothie

So let's be clear... I have a great and wonderful life full of places I love.  One of my real "happy" places, though, is the Farmer's Market.  I have my favorites but I am happy to go to any Farmer's Market and often try to seek them out when I am traveling.  I remember a Farmer's Market in a small little village in Italy where I bought fresh vegetables to make a homemade soup in our rented apartment.  I was so ready for some home cooked food and this market provided me with all the veg I needed for that. And it was local!!!!!

Recently I have been swept right off my feet by the abundance of melons at my local Wednesday Santa Cruz market.  Oh my goodness!  These melons are so good and so bloody cheap!  I have been buying and consuming Crenshaw melons by the pound at only $4 each!  Not $4 a pound, but $4 for the entire huge larger than a football melon!  There are a bunch of other flavors as well but I am in love with the ginormous Crenshaw.

For years now we've been drinking the same basic smoothie every morning - it has some super foods, nuts, berries, banana, an orange or lemon, lots of green vegetable, an occasional cucumber or carrot or celery stalk (even broccoli when I have some to spare).  I have decided that it is time to start experimenting and branching out seasonally in our smoothie consumption.

(And can I just say that it is entirely RUDE to say to someone, "What is that?", "That looks awful.", "I would prefer to eat my food", "It's so green it looks disgusting".  You really gotta try a green smoothie before you can judge, people!  Come on..... dig deep and drink it up. And... I do eat my food, a lot of it, actually.)

Here is my newest smoothie.  One might call this a "dessert" smoothie because it is so darn good.  Really, really good, folks.  And yes, it is very green but a beautiful light sweet kind of green, kind of like a grassy meadow.  Light and delicious!

 
Look at that!  Isn't it pretty?

Minty Melon Mid Summer Smoothie

2 cups almond milk

4 cups of melon

small handful fresh mint

4 - 6 cups spinach

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 cup frozen grapes

Put this all in the Vitamix or blender and blend until smooth.  Then drink it all morning or share it with a friend.  This makes 2 full quarts of smoothie.  It keeps well in the refrigerator for the next day, too.

Two sweet little bowls of cashews and frozen grapes.  Have you ever eaten frozen grapes at night when you are really desiring ice cream?  It's an amazing treat but I encourage you to only buy organic grapes.  Grapes are one of the dirty dozen.  I've added a section at the bottom of this blog post about the "dirty dozen".

Here is my blender full of the smoothie fixings - almond milk , then melon,  cashews, grapes,  mint, and handfuls of spinach.

There are so many variations on this theme.  I've made this smoothie with watermelon.  I've added parsley and a cucumber.  I've used frozen or fresh strawberries instead of frozen grapes.  There is a light quality to this smoothie so I try to use really "watery" fruit and vegetables - spinach, beet greens, sprouts, parsley, grapes, orange, lemon, cucumbers, etc.  I really like the consistency of the cashews in the smoothie rather than almonds or walnuts.

And finally....
Could I possibly write this post without a photo of one of my dogs?  Here is Harry watching the stove top popcorn maker like it is a God of some sort.  He is hoping against all hope that some will spill on the floor for him. Fat chance, fat doggy boy!  Keep dreaming, though.

The following excerpt is from the web site,  http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02985/Foods-You-Should-Always-Buy-Organic.html

The following "Dirty Dozen Plus" had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic versions - or to grow them organically yourself:
Apples
Strawberries
Grapes
Celery
Peaches
Spinach
Sweet bell peppers
Nectarines
Cucumbers
Potatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Hot peppers

Plus these which may contain organophosphate insecticides, which EWG characterizes as "highly toxic" and of special concern:
Kale/collard greens
Summer squash