Aduki Bean Smoothie with Spinach and Strawberries

I read about azuki beans, also spelled adzuki or aduki beans, a few months ago.  They are small red beans typically used in Japanese cooking.  Yesterday I found canned organic aduki beans at the market and decided to make an aduki bean smoothie thanks to this smoothie recipe.  I pinned a few other aduki bean recipes on Pinterest and will be making them soon.  Check back soon!

Aduki Bean Smoothie:
1 banana
1/2 cup canned aduki beans
handful of spinach
1/2 cup frozen mango
5 strawberries
1 cup strawberry kefir
1 cup milk 

Spinach Oatmeal Smoothie

M and I have been on a daily smoothie/juice kick for the last few weeks.  Our drinks are healthy and delicious - not sure why it has taken me so long to blog about them.  Therefore, you'll be seeing our favorite drink recipes in the upcoming posts. 

Today we had a spinach oatmeal smoothie, which was sweet, satisfying for breakfast, and such a pretty green. I never thought to add oatmeal to our smoothies until I saw some posts on Pinterest, like this one, or spinach for that matter.  Oh the power of Pinterest! 

For this recipe, you'll need:

1 cup cooked instant oatmeal with milk or water
1 banana
about 1/2 cup strawberry Kefir
about 1/2 cup orange juice 
a few tablespoons of chia seeds
handfuls of  fresh spinach

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to the blender and liquify.

Na zdrowie! (Polish for drink to your health.) 

Frozen Pumpkin Treat

Yesterday I made pumpkin bread, and I had leftover pumpkin puree and lowfat coconut milk. Of course I did not want to waste it, but thought I might have a pin or two on Pinterest that could help me out.  Sure enough this pumpkin frozen yogurt recipe was just what I needed. 

In a metal bowl, combine 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup plain Kefir, 1/4 teaspoon all-spice, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.  Blend together.  Cover and place in freezer, stirring every half hour until to you reach the desired consistency.  Enjoy!

This pumpkin dessert was icy like a Jello Pudding Pop (chocolate was always my favorite) and tasted like the pumpkin yogurt I made this fall.