I didn’t become a smoothie person until I got an immersion blender. The tabletop blender with separate jar is too cumbersome for me to bring out from the storeroom. And to find an area on my limited counter top space to air dry the huge jar after washing is a real bother, as I often find myself transferring it a few times around the kitchen and dining area throughout the day when I need more worktop area during the meal preparation times. So when the immersion blender finally arrived at my home, I find myself making smoothies (and milk shake, and cream soup, and sauces, and …. I simply love my immersion blender!) more often. I make it a point to stow away the wired stick control immediately after using, and that leaves me with just the blade attachment to wash and leave to dry on my dish rack.

The smoothies I prepare are more for providing nutrition than for satisfying a craving for sweet food or cold drink.  I make it a point to use ingredients with good fats and proteins, and natural sweeteners or spices as much as possible.  This vegan recipe is inspired by a Japanese soy milk smoothie recipe book.  I like the way they name their smoothies as “精力湯”, which loosely translates into “genki soup”, meaning energy providing liquid.  It would be much better to make a smoothie that revitalize than to drink a cup full of sweeteners that makes me feel sluggish afterwards.

After going through all the 121 soy smoothie recipes with beautiful photos, I realized that there are so many ways that I can alter the recipes depending on what I have in my fridge.  I start to imagine starting my day with a smoothie filled with lotus roots, pumpkin, cherries, spinach, figs, tomatoes, basil, celery ………

I have a penchant for banana that really thicken up my smoothie.  What’s your favorite ingredient in your smoothie?

BANANA CASHEW SOYMILK SMOOTHIE

1 cup soymilk
1 banana
1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts

** If you prefer your smoothies cold, use chilled soy milk and frozen banana.  I prefer my morning drink at room temperature.

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth.  Serve immediately.