Matcha Green Tea Smoothie, Energy Boost (Vegan & Gluten-Free)
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
It's been really hot lately, it's been in the 90's in L.A. and yesterday it was 103F. The warm weather makes me sluggish so I decided to make something with matcha, so that I wouldn't be relying on coffee to give me a boost. I'm having this smoothie almost daily. I've got my coffee drinking habit down to 1 cup a week or less, and it's a small cup at that. Now, I notice that when I have coffee, it makes me anxious and irritable. Having matcha instead gives me energy that sustains throughout the day and there's no crash. Sometimes, I need to stop and lie down in the late afternoon but with one serving of my matcha smoothie, I don't need to rest.
It's delicious, healthy and energizing! And as a female, I've got to watch out for what is sucking the calcium out of my bones, which coffee can do because it is acidic. (Having too much acidic foods causes the body to draw calcium out of your phones to neutralize the acid and keep your pH in balance).
The amount of water and meat in a fresh coconut varies, so adjust accordingly. One coconut can have as much as 2 cups of water and 1 cup of meat. But the yield is usually a little more than half of that. If there is less coconut water, add a little bit more water and sweetener. With the blender filled with all of the ingredients, the liquid should reach 3 cups. I like to make this smoothie a little thin and watery during the summer, that way I stay properly hydrated. Add more ice and spinach or kale to make it thicker. Matcha has caffeine and so I drink this smoothie in the morning or early afternoon.
The version with fresh coconut has lasted 5 days; on the 5th day, it still tasted great, pretty much like it did on the first day. My guess is using a young Thai coconut helps with shelf life.
Yield: 32 ounces
INGREDIENTS
1 young Thai coconut, water & meat (or you can sub a banana or 2 dates + 10 oz water)
3 tablespoons (60 g) almond butter, (whole almonds or cashews)
1 handful (80 g) spinach or kale
2 teaspoons matcha green tea powder
10 ice cubes (289 g)
3 dates (48 g)
12 oz water (320 g or amount needed to reach the 3 cup mark after filling up blender with all the other ingredients)
Alternative sweeteners: 8 drops Stevia (I use SweetLeaf English Toffee) or 2 teaspoons maple syrup
DIRECTIONS
Put the ingredients in that order into the blender--the coconut water & coconut meat (or water, banana & almond butter) goes in first and the ice cubes go in last.
If needed, add water to reach the 3 cup mark with the other ingredients in the blender.
Blend on high until smooth, store in separate serving jars to take on the go.
*Note on stevia: Different brands will have different levels of sweetness. If you stick to one brand, you’ll get a better sense of how much you need in your recipes. The great thing about it is, although it can get bitter if you put too much, your taste buds will eventually adjust. The more you have it, the more you’ll get used to it and over time, you can use more drops instead of sweeteners and it won’t taste bitter. I made a smoothie for my brother and I to split. He made a little face and said, “It tastes a little bitter.” I knew that meant there was a little too much stevia for his palette since he’s a newbie and that I had gotten used to it. I said, “Really?! Yes!” He did an eye roll and sarcastically said, “Oh joy, yeah, that’s great.”
