Recipe: Immune-Boosting Poached Pear & Rosemary Smoothie
Living a plant-based lifestyle is no joke and finding the energy to come up with interesting plant-based meals day-in-and-day-out is near impossible for most people. Luckily, there are loads of wonderful souls out there making life for those trying to live a more plant-based lifestyle just a little bit easier. If you love smoothies but are fresh out of ideas on what to toss into your blender for tomorrow morning’s breakfast then we’ve got just the thing for you. The Honest Grazer’s, Linda Engelbrecht has teamed up with Country Road to bring you this delicious recipe for an immune-boosting Poached Pear & Rosemary Smoothie that is sure to help you start your winter morning in an exciting and delicious way.
This recipe is ideal for keeping your body healthy. The antioxidants in pears prevent several infections and boost the immunity of the body. There are also phenolic phytonutrients, anti-inflammatory flavonoids and phytonutrients present in pears which also protect the cells. The kale in the recipe is also a key ingredient in helping the body fight off ailments. Kale contains high levels of vitamin C, which not only packs a powerful antioxidant punch, but also helps fight off infection and regenerate other antioxidants in the body. Kale also contains folate, another immune booster. Another kickass ingredient, ginger, is a natural anti-inflammatory that helps support digestion while also being rich in immune-boosting antioxidants.
Poached Pear & Rosemary Smoothie
I find poached pears quintessential to cool weather,” says Engelbrecht, “but I wanted to bring it into a different context of a smoothie that is light and fresh. It’s comforting and warming in terms of flavour but still light enough to have in autumn.”
Ingredients
4 pears (3 cooked (skin removed and boiled in plant milk) and then frozen, 1 for grilling)
1/4 cup kale (one large stalk)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary 1 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)
2/3 cup any plant milk 1 tsp honey
1 tbsp hemp seeds
Method
Peel and core pears and chop in halves.
Bring the plant milk to a boil in a saucepan and poach the pear halves for 10-15min or until cooked through but not too soft.
Remove the pears from the milk and allow to cool completely.
Chop into rough chunks and place in the freezer overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 200 C grill.
Thinly slice one pear and places slices onto a roasting pan.
Sprinkle over half the rosemary and walnuts and drizzle honey over.
Grill for 10min until pear slices are sticky and nuts are toasted. Blend the frozen pears with remaining ingredients (kale, almond butter, hemp seeds, ginger and remaining rosemary) until completely smooth.
Top with roasted walnuts and pear slices before serving.
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