Poached Pear Smoothie
Ingredients
Poached pear
- 1 medium pear, peeled *
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 1 1/4 Cup water **
- 2 tsp maple syrup or another liquid sweetener (optional)
Poached pear smoothie
- 1/2 Cup yoghurt frozen into cubes***
- 1/4-1/2 Cup plant milk
- 1/2 Tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp ground clove
- 1 Tbsp nut or seed butter ****(see notes)
- 1-2 Tbsp vanilla protein (optional)
- 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
- a drizzle of maple syrup or another liquid sweetener (optional)
Instructions
Poached pear
- Start by making the poached pear: add the pear to the pot alongside the water and spices and bring to a quick boil. After about a minute reduce to a simmer and let cook for around 10 minutes until soft.
- Remove the pear from the water, let cool for a few minutes. Discard the kernels and stem.
Poached pear smoothie
- Add the pear to a blender alongside the remaining ingredients.
- Blend until smooth and creamy. Use more or less milk, depending on how thick you prefer the consistency. I suggest you start with as little as the mixture needs to keep blending and then slowly add more as you go.
- Pour the smoothie into a jar and enjoy!
Notes
*You can use whatever type of pears you prefer. Just keep in mind that depending on the size of the pears you chose the cooking time might take longer. Once soft the pears are ready. I also have a little tip to avoid discarding the peels: cover them with a bit of cinnamon and brown/coconut sugar and bake at 150C for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Once cooled they are a delicious crispy pear-peel snack! You could also cook them with your morning porridge to add a bit more variety if you are not feeling like turning on the oven ;)
**You might need to use a little more water than the 1 1/4 Cups. It should cover the pear.
***I recommend using an extra creamy yoghurt variety, my favorite is a soy based greek style one. Freezing the yoghurt into ice cubes will make this smoothie extra thick, almost like a frozen cream depending on how much liquid you use while blending. However, you might not feel like something super cold during the chill months of the year. While i do not recommend warming the smoothie on the stove, you can certainly just skip the freezing step and use the yoghurt strait fro the tub for a less cooling version.
****The first time I made this smoothie I used a homemade walnut butter and it was so good! Now to be honest walnut butter is not a staple for me so I often just use Tahini, sometimes almond butter. Depending on your preferences and personal needs (allergies etc.) I suggest you just experiment a bit and see what you like best!