Matcha Smoothie!

  I generally only make and enjoy smoothies in the hot, hot summer, but i'm starting early this year. Even for Wisconsin, we have been having unusually cold and miserable weather for March, and it feels like winter will never, ever end. Thus, I have decided to push things along by adopting my summer habits, which means jogging outside and post-jog smoothies! (next thing to do is to pack away my winter coat and wear my sundresses and wedge sandals, even if I am freezing my ass off).

  While I have a standby Strawberry-Banana Smoothie, the idea for this smoothie came from Happy Healthy Life. I have had some Rishi Matcha Powder (gotta represent Milwaukee!)  in my cabinet for a few months, and much to my disappointment, I just never get around to using it. Enter this recipe! It really gives a boost after a lunch-time run, and I imagine it would be a great breakfast, if you are the type of person who has your shit together early enough in the day to get into actually making breakfast. Matcha is stimulating, but without caffeine- like side effects. And as Kathy states in the original recipe, the frozen watermelon really does help to give it a wonderful and indulgent thick ice-cream like texture (high praise coming from the capital of frozen custard). So it's not only is this smoothie good for you, it also tastes like an indulgent dessert. If I can continue to afford the matcha (over a dollar for a single packet), this just might become my new standby smoothie.

1 packet Rishi Matcha Powder (1 tsp)
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen watermelon chunks
1/2 cup - 1 cup soy milk (or almond milk)
* optional: a few shakes of The Spice House's Strawberry-Vanilla Sugar (see note at end of recipe)

  Pour milk in blender first, then the matcha powder. Blend for a few seconds to incorporate (otherwise the matcha can tend to clump up and not distribute evenly). Add banana and watermelon,blend until smooth, adding a splash or two of milk if too thick. Pour into a fancy glass, and sprinkle on some sugar, find a pink straw, and daydream about driving with the windows down, and summer festivals.


  * a note about the sugar- the smoothie is completely sweet enough without it. The little bit of  vanilla  and freeze dried strawberry on top of the smoothie just adds this wonderful perfumey- note to it and makes it feel that much more indulgent and summery. Plus, between the pink straw and the little flecks of pink strawberry on top, I imagine that the same effect could be replicated by adding the tiniest little drop of vanilla to the smoothie and sprinkling a very small amount of crumbled freeze dried strawberry on top.