The Last Days of Summer

Summer is slowly fading into fall, a time where hoodies and leggings become a common occurrence in northern Virginia. Change. That’s that word that comes to mind with a season’s birth from its predecessor's death. The wind is crisper. The air is cleaner. The sky is temperamental and absolutely beautiful in contrast with the leaves turning color. With such amazing feats of nature, why focus on the stressful things in life?

So much is going on behind the scenes of Meals with Morri, things I am timid with sharing and bringing out into the open. The majority of it has nothing to do with food or cooking, but everything to do with moving on, wellness and healing, and personal empowerment. Luckily, I have a plethora of posts I’m really excited to share with you, such as:

• A product review (click here)
• A new page on the MWM site
• Food inspirations from friends and family
• Fermenting (which I have been doing, I swear)
• Foodie adventures
• Getting back into the GFRR groove
• Health and fitness updates
• … and so much more!

As this is the last official week of summer (when did that happen?), I thought to share a recipe or two of something I view to be the epitome of the summer months.

The smoothie.

Oh, there’s a smoothie or two on this blog already, but I feel that next summer will be the smoothie season on this blog. Blended into a drink of nutritious goodness, you can put anything in it as meal on the go. Fruits and veggies, dairy and non dairy components, powders and spices… it is so versatile and takes maybe a minute or two to go from blender to cup.

Smoothie making, what a beautiful concept indeed.

In my vigilance to lowering my coffee intake (it’s between 30 – 60 ml now), my adrenals have been grateful and my mornings are not so chaotic and manic. There are some days, though, where a pick-me-up is desired and I came up with this recipe.

Good morning, Sunshine! Smoothie

1 Frozen banana
140 g Frozen mango chunks
10 g Chia seeds
10 g Bee pollen
240 ml Filtered water*
11 g Coconut electrolytes*

Place all of the ingredients into the blender and mix until thoroughly combined.

Makes 2 servings.

* You can use anything in place of the water, such as coconut water (in which case the electrolytes wouldn’t be needed), dairy or non-dairy milk, or juice.

The following recipe was my most recent smoothie attempt. It has fresh fig in it, a fruit that I adore dried and baked but really want to learn to like them fresh. It also has açaí puree, an interesting find in my local Harris Teeter’s frozen food section. Both fruits are not overtly sweet as far a fruits go, and most certainly not tart at all. The resulting smoothie, as it was pointed out to me, tasted like a simple bowl of oatmeal made right.

I’m still figuring that statement out.

Açaí and Fig Smoothie

100 g Frozen açaí puree
4 Fresh figs *
1 Banana *
360 – 480 ml Unsweetened almond milk, depending on preference to thickness

Place all of the ingredients into the blender and mix until thoroughly combined.

Makes 2 servings.

* I would recommend freezing the figs and banana for a creamy, ice cream-like consistency, though blending them from room temperature is fine.

Healing with Smoothies

Between the smiles and the sighs, I’ll have to say that turning my life upside down has been a worthwhile experience. The things that ended brought about opportunities, so I know this crisis will blow over soon. I’ve started regaining my drive towards what I really want to do for the world, feeling so sure and secure with my efforts that I rarely have time for much else. Funny how that happens once you are honest with the universe, give up television, and nourishing myself for a change.

So don’t worry about the turbulence that comes with an abrupt change, my friends, because sooner or later the storm quiets down.

In the midst of all this change, I’ve been making recipe after recipe after recipe, sometimes losing the paper I wrote it down on (I really ought to get a notebook for this sort of thing), but truly focusing on balance. While camping, I attended a class called “The Five Elements of Nutrition”, and immediately purchased the recommended books when I had access to my laptop. Since I’ve started reading these books, I’ve been thinking about foods in the aspect of “cold” and “warm”, “damp” or “dry”, “sour” and “sweet” and “pungent” and “spicy”, etc. As I work on using food as a form of healing, I’ll definitely post my efforts as I read through it.

After coming back from our trip, I was really big on smoothies for the days following. Green smoothies, sweet and savory smoothies, fruit and vegetable smoothies… you name it, I tried it. It helped me deal with the heartbreak, knowing that I was cleansing from the inside out, and I am thinking of making smoothies a usual thing in my daily meal plans.

Green Goodness Pineapple Smoothie

280 g Frozen pineapple chunks (Mango works beautifully as well)
100 g Frozen spinach
1 English cucumber, seeded and cut into chunks
1 Green bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
Fresh ginger, to taste (at least the size of your thumbnail)
500 ml Coconut water

Place all of the ingredients into the blender and mix until thoroughly combined.

Makes 2 servings.

Updates, News, and Cool New Features

If you told me in April of last year how much Meals of Morri would grow, I would have been wide-eyed and incredulous. I look back at my old posts fondly and see so many wonderful things: how my photos have improved (although I am still learning); how my understanding of hypothyroidism has broadened; how rock climbing and yoga have changed my life; and finally, how my recipes have been seen all over the world.

It’s amazing and mind boggling and absolutely fantastic.

There are a couple of things I want my readers to be aware of in the next few weeks/months that I’m particularly excited about:

1. Why my Fitness Page is m.i.a. (coming soon!): It is currently being updated to look a lot like my Health & Hypothyroidism page. I wasn’t really happy about my fitness log idea, because I would get so down on myself for not doing it exactly as I’d written. So what’s going in place of it, you’re asking? Rock climbing, yoga, and other fantastic activities I fall in love with along the way.
2. A FAQ page (coming soon!): This is going to be your go-to page for any questions you may have in regards to my recipes, cookbook and product reviews, my blog, my health, and my photography. And if you find I don’t have an answer to a particular question, feel free to write me an email.
3. Post variety: Besides recipes, I plan on doing more product reviews, video posts, organic gardening, foodie adventures, discussing what I find concerning thyroid function, fitness fun (how-to’s, places, and helpful hints), and non-recipe recipes (i.e., hair care, skin care, gluten free arts and crafts, etc.).

In the meantime, you can enjoy…

1. Meals With Morri has a Facebook page: Yes! Finally, a place where you can be notified of recent posts, ask questions (and answer them), provide solid feedback for when I’m stumped on recipes, or write about what recipes you want to see on the site.
2. Drinks, Smoothies, and Shakes: Remember when I said to enjoy those muffins while I was buying Vega One in bulk? Well, I meant it and it is due this week. As I fall more in love with rock climbing and yoga (that, and the hot summer months are just around the corner), I want to make sure that people remain hydrated with nutrient-dense drinks.

In fact, here is a smoothie recipe to get you started. It’s a green smoothie… with kombucha.

Ah, kombucha… a most refreshing fermented delight. What? You’ve never heard of kombucha? Well, let me enlighten you: it’s fermented tea. Pure and simple.

Some people may roll their eyes at my love for this stuff, because it’s become this “trend” in the alternative health world. But it has been around for a lot longer than hippies and New Age dippies. From the Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BCE) in China who referred it as “a beverage with magical powers enabling people to live forever” to 19th century Russia’s “tea mushroom” (чайный гриб) and “tea kvass” (чайный квас), it is said to aid digestion and promote other awesome things for your overall well-being. I personally just love the stuff, and have two cultures on the kitchen counter living and fermenting green and black teas as we speak.

But until I can drink my own, I treat myself to a bottle of GT’s Kombucha. I’ve tried many of the flavors, and like every single one I’ve had. The one I have the most often, however, is the multi-green. I enjoy the “green” taste of it, and it is a perfect base for a green smoothie.  

Greener than Green Kombucha Smoothie

240 - 350 ml Kombucha* (I used G.T.’s multi-green)
1 Frozen banana
85 g Frozen spinach
1/4 Avocado

Place the ingredients in the blender and blend until thoroughly combined.
Pour in a large glass and serve cold.

Makes 1 serving.

What's in a Name? That Which We Call a Recipe...

I like to name my recipes. Like a newborn or a family pet, a recipe’s name should have something with meaning, something with importance. Sometimes all it takes to name a recipe is to say what it is, like “Blueberry Oat Bagels” or “Panna Cotta”. But for the most part, it takes a lot of creativity and even more thought, such as: “Sweet Pea Pucker Smoothie”; “All Dressed Up Quinoa Salad”; “Little Bitty Popover Bites”; and finally, this recipe… “Agent Orange Smoothie.”

Now, you’re probably thinking: “does she mean the cocktail or the pesticide (definitely not), the comic book character or the Tori Amos song?” If you thought Tori, you thought correctly.

There are some songs that pop into my head on their own accord, and besides the Rites of Passage by the Indigo Girls, Tori Amos’s Boys for Pele is one of my favorite albums. Her song “Agent Orange” transports me to Miami, where tropical foods are plentiful and suntans equally so. I imagine Agent Orange to be a Miami Vice kind of detective, with an orange as a head, whose favorite highball drink is organic carrot juice and vodka, and is a sucker for the ladies. Or maybe he is a redhead investigator in San Francisco who falls in love with a tourist that insists on calling his beloved city “Frisco”. There is no way to tell what the lovely Ms. Amos meant, but that’s the beauty of her music. It’s all about the stories you find in her lyrics.

So listen to her album, skip to track no. 14, and take a sip of this orange-less orange drink simply made for a year of eternal summer and clear blue skies.

"Agent Orange" by Tori Amos (1996)

Gotta tell you what I heard

From agent orange

Mister suntan

Mister happy man

Mister I know the girls on all the world tours

Mister agent, yeah

He's my favorite

And they don't understand

He's got palm oil pants

Yes, he's down and there and everywhere

He's getting in too deep in this

Underwater city where she swims and swims

Agent Orange Smoothie

140 g Frozen Mango chunks
1 Frozen banana
420 ml Carrot juice
200 g Whole milk yogurt (or canned coconut milk for a vegan delight)

Place the ingredients in a blender until thoroughly combined.
Pour into 2 glasses and serve cold.

Makes 2 servings.

Stumped & Flopped

I’ve been producing quite a few “half-baked” recipes lately. It’s a term I use to regard a recipe as having the potential to be delicious, but it’s missing something crucial. There were two of which I was particularly bummed about, because I was really looking forward to blogging their awesomeness and I’m usually quite good at figuring out what recipes need.

These two, however, have stumped me silly. 

So if anyone out there in cyber space with some time and the ingredients could make it and tell me what’s missing, I’d gratefully appreciate it.

The first of these borderline flops was a smoothie similar to the “Sweet Pea Pucker Smoothie” recipe I made early on in my Meals with Morri blogging. I had a bag of key limes I needed to use up and was craving a key lime pie sort of smoothie. I don’t think it was nearly tart or sweet enough (that, or the sweet and sour flavors weren’t balanced correctly), and could have possibly used a banana in the mix.

Key Lime Pie Smoothie

Juice of 6 Key limes
1/2 Ripe avocado
81 g Frozen spinach
150 ml Coconut milk
120 ml Almond milk, unsweetened vanilla (found in Trader Joe’s refrigerated section by the milk)
122 g Applesauce, unsweetened
Stevia, to taste

I blended the ingredients until smooth and poured it into two jars lined with almond meal and flaxseed meal (the “crust”). It tasted okay, but I wasn’t very much impressed with it overall.

The second one was also a disappointment, though edible. I wanted to make an indulgent oatmeal breakfast with cocoa nibs and powder. I’ve had issues with cocoa powder before (see this post for my cocoa powder flop moment), so maybe baking chocolate would have worked better. It also wasn’t balanced in flavor, a little to bitter and not sweet enough. Instead of water, I think almond milk would have helped in making it creamy and decadent instead of strong and grainy. It’s also quite possible that the cocoa nibs should be on their own, like a chocolate chip or something.

Chocolate Crunch Oatmeal

20 g Steel cut oats
20 g CGF rolled oats
240 ml Water
5 ml Unrefined apple cider vinegar
7 g Cocoa nibs
5 g Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/4 tsp. Bourbon vanilla
Stevia, to taste
1/4 tsp. (1 ml) Coconut oil

I combined all of the ingredients except for the coconut oil the night before to soak, and then cooked it over medium heat the next morning (oil included). I poured it into a bowl and garnished it with a whole banana, a spoonful of peanut butter, chilled coconut milk, and a dash of cinnamon. Again, I think if the garnishes were integrated in the oatmeal, it would’ve tasted phenomenal.

Let me know what recommendations and alterations you’d make with either (or both) recipe, and I’ll make them again and credit you for helping me in its success.

Looking to the Future with a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

A lot of turning points happened this week. It was a merry-go-round of enlightenment. I went to a resume builder workshop on Tuesday. I roamed a job fair on Wednesday. I facilitated a focus group and partook in a CARmunity meeting on Thursday (As of this week we are officially recognized by George Mason University and the first School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution student organization legitimated by the school!). I went to my chiropractor appointment and walked out with spider technology for my wrist as well as my monthly visit with Cheryl. As for today, I’m writing it down to make sense of it all after coming back with the boyfriend from the pumpkin patch in Delaplane.

Well, that, and also to tell you the joys of pumpkin and my latest smoothie creation.

As I sat in the workshop I couldn’t help but feel so underachieved in comparison to the others. One was in the navy for nearly twenty years and was worried about finding a job. Another worked full time, volunteered often, and managed a 3.97 GPA. Sure, I was part of the BFSI this summer and I helped to create CARmunity with a small group of amazing individuals in both cases. I’ve facilitated talks, simulated conflicts, done extensive research based on theory and practice, attended seminars, and went abroad to Sweden. I have over three years of office experience and a year working in two cafés. I will be working with kids in an after school program part time in the next week or so at a local community center. But after my job fair experience on Wednesday, I feel so unprepared for life after graduation.

I considered grad school, but I missed the deadline for spring due to some mishaps with my grades. True, I have wonderful references, but the Universe seemed to say that I needed to go out in the world and take a break from traditional academia for a semester. So that’s what I’m doing, and I have no idea where I’m going.

The employers at the job fair were mostly computer or business oriented, and one or two maybe had jobs for public relations or human resources. As a CAR major, our blessing and curse is how wide our potentials are. Since my concentration is international (with a little community/organization on the side), I could be a diplomat, run a non-profit, and work for the government. But I left that fair disheartened; no one there was looking for a Morri.

For a brief moment I felt like the world didn’t need what I had to offer, and that there was a lack of belief in my visions and potential. Doubt spread throughout my being like a sickness, a disease that only cooking and talking to other CAR majors experiencing something similar helped put it into perspective for me.

I have this vision, of founding a movement that follows in Busboys & Poets footsteps, a restaurant that promotes to flourish a healthy and cohesive community, one centered on the arts, dialogue, and holistic food. The holistic food part of my aspirations will have a modern take on traditional and comforting foods, that’s allergen friendly, mostly organic and local, and finally (I cannot stress this enough), affordable.

So I keep thinking about that job fair, all those people dressed in three-piece suits with resumes and this air about them I couldn’t relate to, and started thinking I was unqualified for what lay before me. Graduation is closing in, a mere two months away, and I don’t know what to do.

Actually, I do know what I want to do, and what I will be doing. I will get a job helping an amazing organization with sustainable development around food, or something to do with food distribution to those who may not know when their next meal will be, or do field work revolving around food and conflict. In a few years I’ll earn enough money to go to Johnson & Wales or Boston University and learn the art of professional cooking, restaurant management, and hospitality.

I will have my restaurant by the time I’m thirty (or at least something similar). Make no mistake about it, and it will be the most bangin’ thing since gluten-free sliced bread.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake, Trial 1

Now, about my love affair with pumpkin.

I’m sure you know that the wondrous pumpkin is incredibly rich in vital flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants and vitamins such as leutin, xanthins, and carotene. It is a member of the cururbaceae family along with cucumber, squash, and cantaloupes, and is one of the most popular commercial field crops all over the world.

Oddly enough, I’ve found I’ve been craving pumpkin almost as much as I’ve been craving socca (definitely another post of the multiple variations I’ve done since my sweet and savory carrot socca recipe), and I think it has to do with manganese.

True, the pumpkin seeds (or pepitas) are the part of the pumpkin that has the majority of this trace mineral crucial to – you guessed it – thyroid and adrenal function.

According to The World’s Healthiest Foods website, high-manganese foods:

• Help your body utilize several key nutrients such as biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline
• Keep your bones strong and healthy
• Help your body synthesize fatty acids and cholesterol
• Maintain normal blood sugar levels
• Promote optimal function of your thyroid gland
• Maintain the health of your nerves
• Protect your cells from free-radical damage

And although manganese deficiency is rare in humans, the symptoms include (with mine starred):

• Nausea*
• Vomiting
• Poor glucose tolerance (high blood sugar levels)*
• Skin rash*
• Loss of hair color
• Excessive bone loss
• Low cholesterol levels
• Dizziness*
• Hearing loss
• Reproductive system difficulties*

If you think of incorporating more manganese into your diet, consider using these gluten free food sources:

Excellent sources of manganese include flaxseed, mustard greens, kale, chard, raspberries, pineapple, romaine lettuce, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, kale, maple syrup, molasses, garlic, grapes, summer squash, strawberries, oats, green beans, brown rice, garbanzo beans, ground cloves, cinnamon, thyme, peppermint, and turmeric.

Very good sources of manganese include pumpkin seeds, leeks, tofu, broccoli, beets, and tempeh.

Good sources of manganese include cucumber, peanuts, millet, figs, bananas, kiwifruit, carrots and black beans.

I have been eating pumpkin and socca almost every day and literally cannot get enough of either. Even more interesting is that most of my favorite foods and spices are listed above. Anyway, here, have a piece of pie in a glass.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

8.6 oz (about 1 c.) Canned pumpkin
1 Banana, frozen (or fresh) and halved
4 oz Carrot juice
4 oz Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg

Place all of the ingredients into the blender and mix until thoroughly combined.

Serves 1, but can easily be multiplied to the servings you need.

On Family & SOS KItchen Challenge Events: PB&B Oatmeal Smoothie

Family is important. You may not see them as often as you would like. You may not agree. You may not always be related. But one thing is certain: spending time with the people you love is time well spent.

I consider myself an extremely lucky person. I have a broad spectrum in my definition of family. It not only includes my parents, my stepparents and step-siblings, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles, and my cousins, but there are people who fit those roles as extended members of my family tree. These branches consist of but not limited to next-door neighbors that I’ve known for over a decade, people I’ve met through my school career past and present, extracurricular activities, the spiritual community, and traveling. Sometimes there is a family member, like a cousin for example, who takes on the role as a sibling. Sometimes there’s an elder who takes on the role as a parent. And sometimes there is a friend who becomes something more.

But as you get older, as the people you cherish go on with their lives, months – maybe years – can pass by without seeing loved ones. And it’s not that you love them less or vice versa, but life happens. You grow up; you walk down a path you made for yourself, your dreams in tow. It is likely, but not required, that you will move away from everything that is comfortable and safe. But this is what’s so gosh darned amazing about family: even after an extended amount of time has been spent out of contact, when you come together it would be like no time was spent apart at all.

I’ve quite a Sunday ahead of me. For almost a decade, a wonderful family from Bangladesh has lived across the street from me. In the years I was considered too young to be home alone in the summertime, the family watched me until Mama Dazz came home from work. I experienced the wonders of Bangladeshi cuisine, soap operas, and culture. Over the years the family provided us with hot peppers from their garden. I’ve attended barbeques on their patio, celebrated their becoming U.S. citizens and the marriage of their eldest son. Today I’m celebrating with family for another grand occasion.

He and his wife are having a baby!

As I checked for the time and address for today’s celebration, I was horrified to learn that I was to have an RSVP sent… last week. I thought the celebration would be at their lovely house across the street as it always was. But it was at a kabob place… in Arlington. Oh dear. In panic I called him this morning, apologizing and stating that I had not RSVP’d, nor had I included Mama Dazz or my food intolerances in the mix. In his love and compassion, he told me not to worry. As being part of the family, all we had to do was show up and enjoy the company.        

Let me just say I have the coolest family in the world.

But my Sunday doesn’t stop there. Since I spend Father’s Day in North Carolina with Mama Dazz’s parents, Dad and I are celebrating it a little earlier. We are going to a concert at Wolf Trap. Guess whom we’re seeing. Go on… guess!

That’s right, The Indigo Girls!!! This fantastic duo has been part of my travels as a kid in many of my adventures. Rites of Passage was the first CD I member rocking out to, and still remains one of my all-time favorites. Rumor has it Dad and I have box seats in the pavilion.

I promise photos and hilarity for the next post. As for this post, I want to talk about a breakfast, and a new monthly challenge. In April 2010, Kim of Affairs of Living and Ricki of Diets, Desserts, and Dogs came up with the SOS (Sweet or Savory) Kitchen Challenge blog event. It’s based on the idea that, similar to the Gluten Free Ratio Rally, you can find ways to eat delicious food despite following a special diet surrounding health conditions or allergies. To quote Kim:

“The SOS Kitchen Challenge invites you to create delicious sweet or savory (or both!) dishes based on a key ingredient that we select. At the end of the month, we post a roundup on both our blogs, giving your recipe double the exposure and offering a one-stop shop for health conscious readers and cooks.”

Last month was carob. The month before that was asparagus. This month’s challenge is blueberries, and my first time taking part.

Let me tell you, it was harder than I thought it’d be. True, I’m no stranger to vegan or vegetarian cooking, and refined sugar is a strict no-no for me, but I didn’t want to make something that’s been made over and over again. I wanted to put a new twist on how this small indigo-ish berry is eaten. I didn’t want to simply add it to my oatmeal or make a smoothie. I wanted to try something different, possibly a savory recipe. I googled ‘blueberry’ and ‘savory’ and ‘vegan’, and the only thing that came up was a blueberry sauce to top pork or salmon.

As I recall, pork and salmon are not vegan foods.

Anyway, from various food blogs I learned about the oatmeal smoothie (Namastegurl and HEAB), about lacto-fermenting grains (Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried), and a thought occurred to me. A blueberry oatmeal smoothie. Sadly, Kim had already done an oatmeal smoothie with blueberries for February’s SOS Kitchen Challenge with stevia. But I really liked the idea, so I decided on making it with my own twist to it. And a tablespoon of peanut butter wouldn’t hurt either.

Peanut Butter & Blueberries Oatmeal Smoothie

1/2 c. Rolled oats
1 1/4 c. Filtered water
1/2 tsp. Unrefined apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Chia seeds
1 tbsp. Flaxseed meal
1 tbsp. Peanut butter
1/2 c. Blueberries (fresh is preferred)
1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
2 pinches Nutmeg

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the rolled oats, filtered water, vinegar, salt, chia seeds, and flaxseed meal.
Cover with saran wrap and let sit overnight in the fridge (between 6 and 24 hours).

Place oat mixture and the remaining ingredients in the blender, and mix until thoroughly combined.
You can serve immediately or wait up to half and hour for ultimate thickness.

Serves 1.

Sweet Pea Pucker Smoothie

Is there such a thing as posting too many recipes in one day? It seems like I’m taking photos of everything food related, then posting it with a recipe. But at the same time, it makes sense because I’m working on getting used to my new Nikon D50 and, well, this is a food blog. Still, I fear the god of blogging may find my attitude overzealous and my offerings to be fickle and insincere, thus causing the rest of the deities in the cyber pantheon to make my laptop’s ability to do even the simplest of tasks harder than it has to be.

So far, lightning has not struck me from where I type. I guess that means I’m safe… for now. Unless, of course, my cell phone taking a spin through the washing machine is somehow related to my recent blogging habits.

Nah.

On a lighter note, this recipe was inspired by the oh-so green smoothie concept that seems to pop up now and then in various food blogs. After the first few times visiting Cheryl of Harris Whole Health, she wanted me to do two things: more seafood intake at least three times a week and more protein and vegetables throughout the day. The first two were easy enough, but the veggies? That was little more difficult.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I love vegetables. It was just a matter of fitting them into the before-noon meals that were a challenge. In the mornings my body wants a complex carbohydrate-based breakfast from whole grains, something to give me immediate energy and the comfort only hot cereals, quick breads, and porridge can provide. It occurred to me, however, that I rather liked smoothies, and having one around noon or in the early afternoon sounded wonderful.

The outcome was a complete success.

It is an extremely refreshing drink, filled with vegan greenage goodness. I highly recommend it while enjoying the sunshine on a not so cloudy day (Or on any day, for that matter). Flip flops are encouraged, but not required.

Sweet Pea Pucker-Up Smoothie

1 Ripe banana
7 Frozen mango chunks
3/4 c. Frozen petite peas
1/2 c. So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 Lemon, juiced

Put all the ingredients into a blender.
Mix until smooth.

Serves 1.