This new smoothie is deliciously creamy because of the banana, and the spices remind me of India and of cozy Christmas times at home.
Cozy and cold Christmas
Where i was born, Christmas is often cold. If we’re lucky, it even gets snowy! And so i cherish many memories of being inside a warm home while outside the wind is blowing and the streets are icy white. We would share heartwarming moments and food with family, while listening to Radio 2 playing the Top 2000 songs of all time… Hmmm. Beautiful.
Missing loved ones
Drinking this smoothie brings those memories right back to me. Maybe it’s my way to join you guys in cold and wintery Europe (and the rest of the northern hemisphere) in your holiday season. Of course i’ll especially miss my mum and sisters and their lovers and my little niece who will celebrate her first Christmas ever.
Tea in Thailand: hot or cold?
Nice to know: when ordering a tea here on the island, it’s custom to say in your order whether you like your tea hot or cold.
At home, tea is always hot unless you specifically call it ice tea. Here, it’s different. Hot ginger tea has now become my standard order.
Why it reminds me of autumn and winter? Probably because of the dried orange and cloves, a classic combination and a scent that i really love. And because in the typical autumn tea blends, there’s cloves and cinnamon like in this recipe.
…for all types of weather
Still, i should say… of course you can really drink this year round. Heck, in parts of India it’s always summer and it’s not like they ever stop drinking chai tea, which is made of ‘winter’ spices ;).
Try it cold or even frozen
If a cold and spicy banana drink is what you fancy, try refrigerating some coconut cream overnight and blend the coconut ice cubes through the banana shake the next day. I’m sure this would also make for an awesome icecream!
Recipe for Chai Banana Smoothie
Buy or make your favorite chai spice mixture, but leave out the tea and add dried orange. A delicious ‘herbal’ blend that i found here in Thailand contains dried orange, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom and ginger.
Make a strong herbal tea from this blend.´The end result will be about 50-50 banana and tea. Adjust to your preference, of course.
Slice about one very ripe banana per two servings and put in the blender. Slowly add the tea so that the banana will be smooth, with no chunks.
That’s it?
That’s it! Just banana and herbal tea, couldn’t be easier right?
Add honey/dates or lime, some coconut cream and maybe even a tiny grain of salt if you like to play around some more.
Leave A Comment