banana

Apricot Banana Soymilk -Yoghurt Smoothie recipe

wpid-frankie.jpgWe are going out jogging with the Watcher and guardian of our house Frankie, during the week it’s compulsory daily dog walks but in the weekend we often take her on longer walks to parks or fields where she can dash and frolic around. It’s a morning ritual as soon as we step out of our bedrooms, she either is sitting up on her haunches wiggling her tail or doing her morning stretches and then follows us down the stairs for her breakfast and water bowl.

Today we have decided to walk along the Rijn-Schie kanaal in Leiden and Frankie knows she is going along with us, eagerly standing before the door ready to go. She rushes through her breakfast bowl while I am preparing ours to fuel us with energy and vitamins.

Apricot Banana Soymilk Vanilla Yoghurt Smoothie

Our morning ritual when we open our eyes is a strong cup of coffee or tea first since we are going for a long walk we choose to make a breakfast smoothie. I had soaked the soybeans the day before and made a fresh batch of soy milk yesterday, together with fresh apricots, a ripe banana and quick oatmeal for fibres to fuel us and extra energy.

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Fresh homemade soy milk 1 cup of soybeans yields 1,5-2ltrs

 

Apricot Banana Soymilk smoothie

Apricot Banana Soy milk yoghurt smoothie

[recipe]

Silken tofu Smoothie with strawberries & banana

Energizing boost to start your workday, pre- or after workout, full of nutrients and proteins. Fresh fruits and Silken Tofu makes this a wonderful breakfast, a powerbooster and great muscle energizer after a fitness workout.

Tofu has a low calorie count, relatively large amounts of protein, and little fat. It is high in iron and depending on the coagulant used in manufacturing, may also be high in calcium or magnesium. The perfect low-fat, low-cholesterol fresh ingredient suitable for everyone in any diet.

Silken Tofu in Smoothie’s
Using tender soft-tofu has become one of my regular ingredients in my own smoothie concoctions, I prepare this for breakfast or more often after a gym workout. After having read many advices and recommendation for protein powder based shakes I thought why not use fresh soybean milk or silken tofu instead, combined with seasonal fresh fruits or frozen berries. For a sugar sweetener variation I use honey, Torani almond syrup or non-caloric substitute Stevia, you will find the preparation in the recipe box here under. If you can not find the silken tofu or unavailable in your local toko or Chinese supermarket, you can substitute silken tofu with soy yoghurt but not with blocks of dou fu (beancurds). Although both derived from soybean it has different textures.

Silken tofu information

Soft or silken tofu is named 嫩豆腐 nen dou fu in Chinese, “soft or “smooth tofu”; 絹漉し豆腐, kinugoshi tōfu in Japanese and “silk-filtered tofu”; 순두부, 純豆腐, sundubu in Korean. More recipes will follow soon from mentioned cuisines as well as healthy recipes starting with the powerboost Strawberry-Tofu smoothie. Soft tofu, a custard like appearance has a soft and very light consistency than regular tofu. In terms of firmness the very opposite of regular tofu, silken tofu crumbles immediately. Therefore an ideal ingredient for use in protein smoothies, vegetarian dishes as in dips, baking or sauce thickening agent.

Both silken and regular tofu can be found in soft, medium, firm and extra firm packaging. Dou fu also known as bean curd is derived from soy beans and a staple food in many east-Asian and south-east Asian cuisines, but they are processed slightly differently, and are not interchangeable in a recipe. Dou fu has a subtle flavour and is used in sweet and savoury dishes adaptable to almost all cooking techniques and appeals to vegan and non-vegan whether it is raw or cooked.

Note: A personal preference, I listed ice-cubes optional because all ingredients were taken straight from the refrigerator and cooled between 5°- 7°C. It’s a well known fact that blood vessels widen and narrow due to body temperature conditions. After a workout, headaches and belly cramps do not need “ice-cold”.

Over the years I have collected quite a few cooking books, several focusing on 豆腐 dou-fu, my latest purchase is a very informative and comprehensive guide titled ‘Asian Tofu‘; Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook it at Home by Andrea Nguyen in English. Describing techniques for DIY home-cook in making home made dou fu or just cooking one of the featured 75 recipes.