Some 4th of July Fun

NOT a news flash, I adore food.  With this time of year I particularly enjoy making smoothies, creating all sorts of different flavors and colors.  There are some pretty amazing people out there making all kinds of artwork, using none other than some of my favorite things... FOOD!  And not just any food, but healthy, whole foods.  Foods that make me feel good, causing me to use ALL of the senses I've been blessed with, instead of taking them for granted.

For my latest food adventure I was prompted to create a layered smoothie. Okay, so the possibility of winning a new Vitamix helped.  Yes I already have one, but my thought was if I win a new one I can give my current one to my oldest, so she too can enjoy all the benefits Vitamix has to offer.   Geez, the things we do for our kids ;).  I really like making smoothies, but to be honest, I wasn't sure about this layering thing.  I thought, wow, they look really pretty, but do I want to be spending that much time creating totally different smoothies at once?  Isn't it a pain to keep cleaning out the blender?  How many ingredients is this going to be? Pretty much I was psyching myself out.  Finally I thought, my goodness don't be a baby, try it once, if you don't like then just stick to one from here on out.

I realize preparing foods isn't for everyone, but when I experiment with whole foods it's visually pleasing for me, you know, eye candy.  It gets my juices flowing (don't go dirty on me).  With greater appreciation, I find that seeing all the amazing natural colors makes me want to create something that will nourish me from the inside out.  My sense of vision gets activated first with all the colors.  Then I get to add my sense of touch by being mindful while I am preparing the food, noticing if it's cold, if it's textured, does it have seeds or pits? My senses start to do a sort of dance, moving sinuously from one to the other, and back again.  Now my sense of smell gets to join in as I peel, chop or dice up rainbows of joy.  Even my sense of sound is included as I pay attention to the sound of the peel, or the blend of perfection.  Of course, all of this has literally been setting my sense of taste up for the grand finale.  With my mouth already watering, I experience the satisfaction of my, I mean my blenders, hard work.  Once again, all of my senses swirling in synchronicity as each one is sent back into action by that first sip or bite of whatever I've created.  As I think about all of this I become eager to finally create a layered smoothie recipe, if nothing else, at least it will be pretty, I hoped.

As I decided on what my first attempt at a layered smoothie might be, there were some ground rules I set for myself.  One, make it simple, and two, tie in the upcoming holiday.  So this has led me to a 4th of July Smoothie concoction.

4th of July Layered Smoothie (serves 2)

Ingredients:

Red Layer -
1 cup unsweetened coconut water
1 1/4 cup frozen strawberries

White Layer - (coconut cream)
1 can coconut milk (full fat) placed in the fridge the night before
1 Tbsp. lucuma powder (or pure maple syrup if you want it sweeter)

Blue Layer -
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut water
1 packet Blue Majik
1 large frozen banana

Directions:
1.  Combine red layer ingredients, blend until smooth.
2.  Pour into bottom of two cups, rinse blender (don't bother washing or drying it).
3.  Open the coconut milk, pour out coconut water (save for later or use in next layer).
4.  Scrap the thick cream into blender, add lucuma or sweeter of choice, blend until smooth.
5.  Pour some onto red layer, you will have some left over, store in an airtight container in the fridge (use on pancakes, waffles, etc. or freeze to use later)
6.  DO NOT rinse blender this time, the little bit of cream will add a nice flavor to the blue layer.
7.  Place blue layer ingredients into blender, blend until smooth.
8.  Pour onto white layer, top with chopped strawberries, blueberries and coconut shreds.

This literally took me about 5 minutes to make.  I wasn't sure how long each layer would stay thick enough to hold the next layer put on top, so I put the cups back in the freezer between each layer.  I'll have to work on my layering skills, but my goodness this smoothie is rich, creamy, and most definitely satisfying! I hope you enjoy.