Well you know I am on a mission. I have a zillion fresh plums at the ready and not afraid to use them.
One of the easiest uses of fresh plums is to eat them fresh of course- no cooking, no bottling, no freezing. Simple.
Fresh fruit in a smoothie is delicious, fast and free if you have an ample supply of home-grown fruit. It is important to note however that not all fruit is compatible with fresh milk. Therefore with acidic fruits (eg: strawberries, plums, pineapple, kiwifruit etc) milk will curdle before your eyes yet for other sweeter fruits such as bananas, it will appear not to.
Sorry to burst your smoothie bubble but from what I’ve read all fruit will curdle with milk, but some slower than others, some after it hits your stomach. Now while that may sounds a bit icky, curdling is the process of proteins in the milk precipitating. If the fruit acids don’t do it, your gastric juices will eventually!
I am no science buff but it seems it is best to avoid milk and fresh fruit. Curdling looks unpleasant and it isn’t so good for your gut either as it may lead to digestion problems.
There is an alternative of course. Yoghurts are dairy products too of course, although by adding cultures of friendly bacteria, the structure changes and doesn’t have the same effect with acidic fruits.
So when looking to make a smoothie with an acidic fruit you may want to reach for the yoghurt and delicious milk alternatives like almond or coconut milk (and all the others on the market – soy, rice, hazelnut, macadamia etc).
Drinking the smoothie straight away is key especially when using fresh fruit where the acidity levels are naturally high. Leaving it in the fridge for a period of time may result in some ‘splitting’ or curdling of the ingredients over time.
Smoothie Tips:
- freeze coconut water into ice cubes: flavour and chill without diluting it with water
- freeze yoghurt into ice cubes: ditto!…and no need to waste yoghurt nearing its used by date
- freeze banana pieces: particularly good if they are looking to spoil in the fruit bowl, unpeal, freeze in segments and add as many as you want for taste
- add ice last into the blender to avoid an overly watery smoothie
Those little flecks? That’s my secret ingredient – optional of course. I find that LSA (ground linseed, sesame and almond) helps to thicken the smoothie and makes me feel fuller for longer. You may choose to use a sprinkling of wholegrain oats, a handful of toasted granola, the dregs of your muesli packet or Weetbix crumbs.
So, with no further a-do, here is my Good Morning Plum Smoothie, a perfect and hearty breakfast in a glass that will see you through ’til lunchtime. It combines your daily fruit intake in one delicious burst. 5+aDay would be proud!
Plum Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vanilla yoghurt
- 1/2 cup almond milk (I used vanilla flavoured)
- 2 Tbsp LSA
- 1 banana
- 3 fresh plums, de-stoned
- ice cubes
Method
- In a blender mix yoghurt, almond milk and LSA until well combined.
- Add fresh fruit fruit and lastly ice cubes one at a time until nice and cold and the smoothie is at a consistency you enjoy.
Well, that marks may Day #2 challenge: things to do with an overload of fresh plums! Yesterday was How to Freeze Plums….and who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Enjoy!
