Persimmon Spinach Smoothie
Let's talk about my blender situation.
I'm hard on blenders. Really, terribly abusive. I've had the same bright orange KitchenAid blender since I was about 22, and the poor girl is in bad shape. We've done a lot of fixes and repairs, but the truth is, my eight-year-old blender just isn't made to go through the kale-blending, soup-pureeing, ice-chopping daily abuse I put it through. In fact, a few months ago, some part in the blade assembly broke again, and she's been sitting in basement purgatory waiting for me to decide if she's going to be fixed again or going to go to the landfill ever since. We've had a good run, but my blender was made for folks who want to make the occasional blended margarita, and as much as I love the occasional blended margarita, I use my blender for a lot more than just that.
I've seen the big ole fancy high-speed blenders demonstrated at Whole Foods, but as much as I love a good kitchen appliance that can blend a cell phone without losing step, I gotta draw the line at dropping $500+ on an appliance that isn't really necessary in my life. I'm just way too cheap frugal to spend that kind of money. It's the same way I feel about organic red bell peppers. Would I love to buy them? Yes. But I cannot justify $4 a pepper, regardless of how pesticide-free they are.
ANYWHO. This sordid tale of my blender-related life is all to inform you about my frame of mind with I walked up to the Ninja booth at the Healthy Living Summit a couple of weeks ago. They had this beautiful, incredible, high-speed blender (the Ninja Ultima) sitting out, and right next to it, a sign saying they were giving away five blenders to HLS attendees-just as long as you snapped a photo with the blender and posted it on Instagram. I was, quite shamelessly, all over that.
And I found out the next evening-I won! I never win raffles or giveaways or things like that, so I was SO pumped. I was at dinner with Lauren, Gretchen, and Amy, and I totally flipped out.
And immediately started thinking about all the amazing things I was going to whip up in my new, shiny blender. So many options! No longer would I have to pre-smash ice. Or only blend things a cup at a time. Or drink a gritty smoothie. Oh, the possibilities!
I really wanted to put my new blender to the test, so I decided to start off with a green persimmon spinach smoothie. Green smoothies can be tricky because if you aren't careful, you might find yourself chewing your smoothie a lot more than drinking it. No one wants to chew a smoothie.
I know a lot of folks use bananas as the base for smoothies, but we don't eat a lot of bananas in our house, so instead, I make sweet, tangy persimmons the base of this persimmon spinach smoothie. If you've never had a persimmon before, it's one of the sweetest fruits on the planet, it's soft, and has a slightly citrus-y flavor. It's incredible delicious. And we're very lucky that they grow wild right in our backyard. But if you don't have your own persimmon tree, many grocery stores carry them (albeit a totally different variety than what grow around here).
The Ultima totally rocked this persimmon spinach smoothie. The thing that impressed me the most was the speed. With my old blender, it took me a good 3-4 minutes worth of blending to make sure there aren't any spinach chunks, but with the Ultima, it was ready to go in just a few seconds. And the added ice? Absolutely no problem. It was smooth, creamy, and totally delicious. I'm a big fan.
I am so thankful to Ninja for being an HLS sponsor, and giving away their awesome blenders to attendees. And if that wasn't cool enough, Ninja also decided to giveaway more blenders to two friends of the winners. Which means not only did I win an awesome blender, but so did the amazing Coach Krissie (because it was the least I could do to pay her back for all the awesome she brings to my life).
📖 Recipe
Persimmon Spinach Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup persimmon puree
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 1 cup nut, soy, or cow's milk
- Handful of ice cubes
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in the carafe of a high-speed blender. Blend on high until very smooth. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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This smoothie, of course!
Cashew cream!!! For sure.
I, too, have an old blender and I have to first grind cashews in my food processor, then finish it up in the ole' blender.
Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
I've always wanted to judo-CHOP around the kitchen with a Ninja blender, but never had the funds to purchase one! I would put that baby to use right away and finally make nut milks from scratch. I tried to make almond milk from scratch a few times and never felt like I was doing justice to the nuts, so I would be all over that!
I've also wanted to try mixing almonds, hazelnuts, and peanuts together for a nut milk and the using that in smoothies. Whoa. I know.
Thanks!
Oh I think I would make Almond Butter! And then a celebratory smoothie with cacao and dates and almond milk!
I would make cream of mushroom soup
Another one for a butternut squash soup!!!
I think I will try your recipe.
1. I've never had a persimmon
I would LOVE to have a new blender..why?
2. The Oster single blender I bought lasted approx 3 weeks before the spinny thing got stripped.
3. The blender I am currently using was inherited from a wonderful lady that rarely bought appliances so it is very old and makes alot of funny noises when I use it.
4. My 13 (almost) 14 year old daughter is on a wonderful health conscious streak and wants to make smoothies rather than eat junk so I'm game ir you're game!!
Thanks for the chance...Jenn
I would make my first try at a smoothie. The blender I have just wont handle anything much.
I know I'd love to make Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Smoothies! I can't get enough of pumpkin or chocolate (:
The first thing that I would make would be:
Salsa
Fresh Garden Tomatoes
Fresh Green Peppers
Garden Onion
Garden Habanero Peppers
Cilantro
Blend well but leave chunky and enjoy with homemade tortilla chips or on your favorite Mexican recipe.
I grow all of our vegetables yearly and loving making soups, salsa and sauces with them.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
I would make a papaya sorbet! Just freeze papaya chunks and blend with water-yum! If I am really in an indulgent mood I will replace the water with milk-papaya soft-serve!!
Thanks for the give away.
Mocha Espresso Smoothie - so yummy!
I'd make a smoothie - 1 banana, almond milk, small scoop of almond butter, chocolate protein powder, ice. Boom.
I would definitely make these serious eats melty american-style cheddar cheese slices! (http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/09/melty-american-style-cheddar-cheese-slices-for-burgers-and-grilled-cheese-recipe.html)
Melty american slices without all the gross junk! Awesome grilled cheese here I come 🙂
Butternut squash soup!
Wow - fantastic win! A new reader her from Mimi G, the seamstress extraordinaire's blog. Love what Im seeing so far here. Were I to win I'd definiely try this delish recipe out:
mint chip smoothie
4 cups baby spinach
1 handful fresh mint leaves
1 cup water (may need more depending on thickness)
1 scoop vanilla sunwarrior protein
1 frozen banana
3 cubes ice
2 tbs raw cacao nibs
1 tbs coconut oil
Smoothie! Banana, (frozen)berries, almond milk - not very original, but it's my favorite.
First, I absolutely LOVE persimmons! So glad they're in season now! 🙂
I would totally make a pesto or a soup! Maybe butternut squash soup? 🙂
Pesto:
Packed cup of basil
nub of Parmigiano-Reggiano
handful of walnuts (pine nuts are a bit expensive)
salt and cracked black pepper
a couple cloves of garlic
happy drizzle of evoo
squeeze of lemon juice
YUM! Thanks for always sharing your recipes and life with us! This giveaway is a treat 🙂
I have to agree on the smoothies! I'm a sucker for that occasional margarita too.
I would destroy my old blender Office Space-style and get to work making a different green smoothie every morning!