Woah. The deliciousness of this recipe was an accident, but that makes it even better. I made pecan milk yesterday morning and decided to add a little to my smoothie because nut milk in smoothies takes them to the next level. Every time. What I didn't realize was that the tap water I used to make the milk was hot, so I ended up with warm pecan milk. To this I added frozen bananas. What happened? The warm liquid made the bananas taste baked - like banana bread! By chance I had also thrown in some nutmeg so the spicing was perfect. I couldn't believe it! Seriously it tastes like banana bread batter (the main reason I woke up every morning as a child: to eat banana bread batter when my mom so happened to be making BB loaves). I decorated it with some carob syrup and pecans to make it look pretty. Then I inhaled it.
You might be asking: what is carob syrup? Well lemme tell ya. I have just been to Israel - yes, I know, huge news and trust me I will be sharing ALL my adventures there with you soon - where delicious healthy food is eaten by all as part of tradition. The middle east has a long history of holistic medicine and a diet based around locally grown plants. So without giving too much of my Israeli stories away in this post, I will say that something they grow easily there is the carob fruit! In fact they have so much of it that often you will see carob pods lying around in the dirt, unused. But carob is super good for you! It's cleansing, healing and full of important nutrients. Besides, it tastes great and is often used as a chocolate alternative. So a popular treat in this part of the world is carob "honey". It actually has nothing to do with bees, so I'm calling it syrup. That way my fellow vegans won't get confused and flip out. I say that with love.
How does one MAKE carob syrup? Take a giant pot filled with carob pods, add water, ferment for a few days, remove the pods. Then reduce the liquid with a bit of heat until all you are left with is a sweet, creamy syrup infused with carob goodness! It's like magic to me. I can't get over it. I personally LOVE carob so I was thrilled when I was given a little jar of this bronze-golden liquid to take home. I will be using it very sparingly (in other words I will be putting it on everything because it's so damn delicious I can't help myself).
BANANA BREAD SMOOTHIE with PECANS, NUTMEG + CAROB SYRUP
Pecan milk:
Handful of pecans (preferably soaked for 6 hours)
2 cups warm water
Smoothie:
3 frozen bananas
1 persimmon
1 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 teaspoon carob syrup
A few pecans
To make the pecan milk: blend the pecans with the warm water until smooth, strain through cheese cloth or a nut milk bag if you want. I did.
To make the smoothie: blend the pecan milk with the bananas, persimmon and nutmeg until smooth. Decorate with carob syrup and pecans. YUM.
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