Chai Pear Banana Coconut Smoothie

Chai gives pear, banana, and coconut milk an aromatic spice base. Ginger and cinnamon reinforce the tea, while spinach adds leaves. This adaptation is chilled, keeping preparation suitable for an ordinary blender instead of requiring a machine designed for hot liquids.

Healthy Smoothie Recipes

Chai Pear Banana Coconut Smoothie

Chai gives pear, banana, and coconut milk an aromatic spice base.

Prep: 5 minutesServings: 1

Base recipe: 1 serving; the full base batch

Vegan

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Ingredients

• 0.5 cup water for brewing chai tea (cool completely)
• 1 chai tea bag, used for brewing and removed before blending
• 0.5 cup spinach
• 1 pear, peeled and cored
• 0.25 inch ginger root
• 0.5 cup unsweetened coconut beverage chilled
• 0.5 banana, peeled
• 0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Brew the chai tea bag in the measured water as directed on its packet. Remove and discard the tea bag, then cool the tea completely. Use that prepared tea as the water portion in the following blending steps.
2. Put the measured liquid in the blender with the prepared leafy greens. Secure the lid and process until the leaves are finely dispersed, stopping the machine before scraping down the sides if needed.
3. Add the remaining edible ingredients, including the measured fruit, nuts, seeds, or spices listed for this recipe. Blend until evenly combined. Use the machine instructions to choose a suitable speed, and stop before checking texture or scraping the jug.
4. Taste a small spoonful after blending. If the mixture is too thick to pour, add cold water one tablespoon at a time and blend briefly again. Divide the base batch into 1 serving and enjoy promptly.

Notes

Prepared ingredients are required; additional cooking, cooling, freezing, brewing, or soaking time is excluded from the active prep estimate. Serving volume and nutrition totals are not measured.

Adapted from Jen Hansard at Simple Green Smoothies.

Tips and ingredient notes

Brew tea ahead and cool completely. Use chilled coconut beverage, and choose decaffeinated chai if desired. Longer steeping increases tannin as well as aroma, so a very strong brew is not always preferable.

Core the pear and use flesh that tastes pleasant before blending. Ripeness affects both sweetness and texture, with firm pears often producing a grainier drink. If keeping washed peel, cut the fruit small enough that the peel does not remain in large pieces.

A banana with a few brown speckles gives a different sweetness from a firm, barely ripe one. Slice it before freezing, keeping pieces separate. This makes measuring easier and avoids a large frozen mass that the blender cannot move.

Ingredient health benefits

• Spinach contributes iron, used in oxygen-carrying hemoglobin.
• Pear adds dietary fiber, which supports normal bowel function.

Nutrition references: NIH: Iron; NIDDK: Fiber and fluids. These are ingredient contributions; nutrition per serving has not been calculated.

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Recipe adapted from Jen Hansard at Simple Green Smoothies. Article text and directions written for Healthy Smoothie Recipes. Supplement omissions and preparation changes mean source nutrition totals do not apply.