Blenders are big business in the kitchen department nowadays, a staple of the appliance kind thanks to the rise in popularity of shakes, juices and meal replacements. As people around the world become more health conscious the blender has become a great way to pack in a few of your 5 a day all at once in one easy container which can be consumed on the go as well!
Fruit shakes are extremely popular here on Koh Phangan and you can find stalls dotted around the island and also most restaurants have shakes on their drinks menu. All of these are made with the trusty blender which is very affordable to buy here from 200 Baht upwards either from places like Home Mart, Lazada website or by keeping your eye on adverts from other travellers. If you are not staying for too long it is still worth investing the small amount as there’s always someone new who’ll be arriving that will want to buy one!
Although you can get shakes and smoothies on the go, you could save yourself a good amount of Baht by making them at home with the added benefit of knowing exactly what is going in to them.
Smoothies are a great way to start your day and perfect if you are in a hurry to get out into the sun, onto the beach or to work here on the island, you just roughly chop the ingredients and pop them in and blend, done!
You can buy all of your ingredients from supermarkets or support the local community and hit up the many fruit and veg shops here. You can get bunches of bananas for between 25 - 60 Baht, pineapples for 40 Baht and much much more for under 50 Baht.
Remember to look for what’s in season and what grows locally as well as there will be a better supply for a better price! Plus this is more sustainable.
If you want to really boost your smoothies then you can buy all sorts of things like Flax Seeds for protein and fiber, chia seeds for omega-3 and even spirulina if you don’t mind the taste. The great thing about blending everything up is that it will give you all of these benefits and nutrition all at once with the added element of tasting great whatever you chose to put in!
If you want to make more of a shake than a smoothie then just add crushed ice, but make sure your blender can handle it, make sure it’s pretty crushed beforehand!
Blenders are a great way to make some edible easy soup as well. Simply just cook up all your veg with whatever flavouring you chose, blitz it up in the blender and hey presto, you have soup! Perfect if you feel a bit ill or need to get your veg on after too many nights indulging in booze and fast food!
We got some nice recipes for you to try out from our very own in house Nutritionist and Trainer Eva Wellness;
Strawberry Coco Cream Delight Smoothie:
(1 serving)
1/3 cup coconut milk (or 1/2 cup almond/soy/rice milk)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 ripe banana
3-5 dates or 1-2 tablespoons of raw honey
a dash of sea salt
optional: 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds
optional : a scoop of protein powder (I like organic hemp protein as I'm intolerant to whey)
Blend ingredients until smooth. If blender doesn't want to blend just add a tiny bit of water.
Banana & Peanut Butter Smoothie Bowl
Serves 2
2 cups frozen bananas
2 cups frozen papaya
6 TB crushed peanuts
2 TB peanut butter
5 -8 dates or 2-3 tablespoons of honey or 3-5 drops of stevia extract
1/2 -2/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of Crushed nuts and mint to decorate
Place frozen bananas, papaya, 6 table spoons of crushed peanuts and coconut milk in blender and blend until smooth.
Pour in a bowl and sprinkle with crushed peanuts.
Enjoy!
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