Pears; I really do love pears, and I use them in desserts or in salads, but I hardly ever think of these lovely fruits for smoothies. We had a whole bag of these beautiful green tear drop shaped powerhouses of flavor and as I grabbed ingredients for my smoothie, I thought "why the hey not?"
I'm sure there are other recipes for pear-containing smoothies (I mean, there are recipes for everything and every variation is seems!) but I hope you try this one because it tastes like a pear and ginger vanilla tart. If you have read any of my blog recipes, I clearly liken my smoothies (a lot!) to desserts; no exception made here (and no apologies)!
Sustainability Spotlight: Did you know that for each type of crop grown in the United States, there are commodity groups with vested interest in the yields of those crops (farmers, cooperatives, lobbyists, and investors)? And as a part of those yields, there is a sustainability component as a part of the "image" and viability of that crop for consumer selection which could be levied for evaluation and adaptation by the farmers and farmer cooperative groups? Yep, and (you guessed it!) you are a part of that evaluation.
Part of the orchard farming system, pears have been traditionally grown (like most orchards) with very high levels of pesticides, herbicides and insecticide use. Since they are grown in trees, and trees are havens for birds, bees (yep, flowering trees are fruit trees and bees collect nectar from flowering trees!), and all other types of beetles, ants, spiders, etc., orchards use more frequently and heavier doses of these chemicals to increase yield. Mostly through aerial spraying techniques.
However, orchards have not only begun, but in some places have largely, moved away from use of these chemicals by making very simple changes to reduce the use and frequency of chemicals. Those changes include (specifically for California pear farmers) inspection of orchards to determine any pest management decisions (i.e. - is it really needed). Pheromones have also been utilized as a form of pest control (i.e. - "tricking" the pests into thinking that the is a threat at the orchard by a predator using "smell"). These changes are rapidly being adopted and exchanged for the historical orchard management practice and benefit not only the yield of the crop, but also human health and environment. Choosing fruits and vegetables from farmers and farmer cooperatives which selects alternative farming techniques such as these signal to them all that consumers care about sustainability.
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen cauliflower florets
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (Garden of Life - Plant-based Sport)
1 ripe banana
2 ripe green pears (skin on)
2 cups coconut water
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plain cashewmilk yogurt (I used Forager)
1 x 1 inch fresh ginger piece (peeled and chopped)
1 large handful baby spinach
Optional Garnish: fresh pear slices
Directions:
Place all ingredients (cauliflower through spinach) in the order shown above in a high-powered blender.
If you have a Vitamix with smoothie button, turn on and wait for the blender to automatically stop. Proceed to Step #4.
If you do not have a Vitamix with a smoothie button, turn on blender on low and gradually increase in increments of 20 seconds each all the way up to the highest setting. Use a tamper or scrape down sides as needed and blend until smooth (~4 minutes).
Pour into glasses and top with the optional garnish(es) noted above. Serve & enjoy!
With love & hope for a better future for all of us - Jamie