I promised you some of my veggie smoothie recipes, which if you think about it is really a drinkable soup. Still you can’t just pour soup in a cup and go, well you can, but it won’t be a smoothie, it will be a cup of broth. It’s best to have a smoothie that tastes good cold and is, well smooth (chunk free).
I’m really enjoying taking a veggie smoothie with me when I’m out running errands. Eliminates the need to stop for nourishment, keeps me hydrated and I like having something delicious to sip on as a change from drinking plain water.
If you want a perfectly smooth smoothie then you’ll want to peel and de-seed all vegetables. I don’t always (as in never) have the time and I like to get the nutrition contained in the peels and seeds, so I leave them in.
When pureeing vegetables, roughly chop the veggies, place a little liquid in the blender, then the veggies and buzz until smooth, adding more liquid if needed. Once the veggies are pureed, then you can add the rest of the ingredients and buzz until well mixed.
Depending on the broth or tomato juice that you use you may or may not need to add salt or pepper to your smoothie. So my suggestion is to make the smoothie without adding any salt or pepper, taste and add if needed.
Cucumber Salsa Smoothie
1 medium cucumber
1 large tomato
1/4 cup fresh salsa
1/4 fresh cilantro
1/2 cup salsa juice, tomato juice, vegetable broth or water
Virgin Bloody Mary
This recipe didn’t take much imagination on my part but it sure is delicious!
3 stalks celery from the heart, including leaves
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
dash Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 dashes hot sauce, or to taste
2 limes, juiced
1 (48-ounce) bottle tomato juice
Chop the celery, including the leaves, and puree in a food processor or blender. Once the celery is pureed add the remaining ingredients and buzz until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher, add the tomato juice, and stir.
Cucumber Dill Smoothie
1 large cucumber
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup silken tofu or yogurt
1/4 cup fresh dill or 1 to 2 tablespoons dried dill
salt and pepper to taste
Add more broth if needed.
Mediterranean Smoothie
This recipe is based on one of my favorite soups. I substituted cucumber for the eggplant in the original recipe as eggplant does not taste good raw – trust me, it does not.
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
1 large cucumber, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
3 cups canned tomato juice
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (such as tarragon, thyme, or parsley), chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt
cayenne pepper
If too thick thin with additional broth or tomato juice.
Creamy Tomato Smoothie
I love creamy tomato soup so I came up with this recipe for a creamy tomato smoothie. You can change it up by using 1 cucumber in place of 2 of the tomatoes.
1/2 cup plain yogurt or silken tofu
1/2 cup tomato juice or vegetable broth
2 large tomatoes, quartered
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
If smoothie is thick thin with broth or tomato juice.
Smoothie de Tortilla
Since Sopa de Tortilla is one of my favorite soups, I was looking forward to developing a smoothie recipe that incorporated the same flavors.
If you can’t find a Sopa de Tortilla broth you can use a canned Sopa de Tortilla as long as it doesn’t contain pieces of chicken.
2 cups Sopa de Tortilla broth
2 large tomatoes, quartered
1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked corn
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Thin with additional broth or water if needed.