Fig & Banana Smoothie

 

I’m finally back in the States after spending most of my Summer in Taiwan. What I miss the most is having fresh tropical fruits on a daily basis. So now that I am back, I have been trying to incorporate more fruits in my diet. I bought two pounds of fresh brown turkey figs because they’re delicious, in season and I got them for $5!

California’s Fresh Figs Seasonal Chart

Chart and descriptions below from California Fresh Figs

• Fresh Brown Turkey Figs 

They are a light purple to black skinned fig with pink flesh and a robust flavor.

• Fresh Black Mission Figs

They are a purple to black skinned fig with pink flesh and an intense earthy flavor.

• Fresh Kadota Figs 

They have a creamy amber color when ripe with a light delicate flavor.

• Fresh Calimyrna Figs 

They are large pale yellow skinned figs with a nutty, sweet flavor.

I enjoy figs in all recipes, but what I love the most is eating them fresh. I’ve been making this smoothie for a couple of days now and still have not gotten tired of it. I love figs!

Fig & Banana Smoothie Recipe

Serves: 1

Cook Time: 5-10 min

• 3 Fresh Figs
• ½ Banana*
• ½ tbp Shredded Coconut
• 1 cup of Soymilk or Coconut milk
• ½ cup of Ice
• ½ cup of Water
• Agave or Honey to taste**

*I used frozen banana chunks. My bananas were softening so I cut them up and put them in the freezer.

**It was sweet enough for me without adding anything extra.

To Make: Add all ingredients in blender and blend

Enjoy!

Soy Milk at Home

In Taiwan, I can find fresh soy milk almost at every corner. It’s an essential part of traditional Taiwanese breakfast along with the duo shao bing (literally means baked bread) and you tiao (literally oil stick), which is major carb overload. Shao bing you tiao= donut sandwich. It’s not as weird as it sounds. It’s actually delicious! Occasionally, it’s a necessary evil, but I keep my love affair at a distance. I opt out of the you tiao and go for the shao bing with egg along with a refreshing cup of ice cold soy milk.

shao bing you tiao taken from blogger my inner fatty

Buying fresh soy milk in Taiwan is easy, but once you make your own, store-bought will never be as good. Homemade soy milk is delicious, cheap and easy to make. There are two things that take time: (1) soaking the beans over night and (2) steaming the beans. Most recipes don’t steam the beans, but I found that steaming them before blending brings out more flavor.

*Nutrients in 8 ounces (250 ml) of plain soymilk:

	Regular Soymilk	Lite Soymilk (reduced fat)	Whole cow milk	Fat-free cow milk
Calories (kcal)	90	70	149	83
Protein (g)	10.0	4.0	7.7	8.3
Fat (g)	4.0	2.0	8.0	0.2
Carbohydrate (g)	14.0	16.0	11.7	12.2
Lactose (g)	0.0	0.0	11.0	12.5
Sodium (mg)	120	100	105	103
Iron (mg)	1.8	0.6	0.07	0.07
Riboflavin (mg)	0.1	11.0	0.412	0.446
Calcium (mg)	80.0	80.0	276	299

*Soymilk on soyfoods.com; cow milk figures from USDA Nutrient Database. USDA soymilk data differs; apparently soy figures are sweetened.

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 cup of dried yellow soy beans
• Water for soaking, steaming and blending
• Sugar (optional)

Kitchen Tools:

• Vitamix or Blender
• Steamer or pot
• Long spatula or spoon for stirring
• Metal strainer spoon for removing foam

To Make:

Step 1: rinse soy beans

Step 2: soak overnight or 8 hours minimum make sure beans are submerged

it’s natural to see bubbles

Step 3: steam for 30min-1 hour

make sure they’re soft and steamed thoroughly

Step 4: remove shells

It will be difficult to remove all the shells. It’s okay if some are left.

**Step 5: in VitaMix blend 1:3 measure of beans to water (~45 sec)

Step 6: dilute to desired consistency

Step 7: use strainer spoon to remove excess foam

Step 8: add sweetener if desired

**Note: I used a VitaMix, but if you use a regular blender the consistency will vary. If you want a smoother liquid, strain with cheesecloth after Step 5 and move directly to Step 8.

Enjoy!

in a glass

in a bowl

Helpful links for making soy milk

• For soy blueberry smoothie
• Step by step 2 minute video