Persimmon Smoothie: They’re In Season

Fuyu persimmons are ripe when firm like an apple but Hachiyas aren’t ready to eat until super soft and squishy.

Fall is full of beautiful colors; made even more beautiful when I can eat them.

I am in New Jersey while figuring my “post European adventure” life out and the old man down the street has a Hachiya (aka Japanese) persimmon tree. He does absolutely nothing with them. Sacrebleu! But more for me.

Be careful with the Hachiya variety or you’re in for an unpleasant, chalky mouth sensation. They have to be very ripe and squishy to the touch, almost like a bag of jelly. The skin is tough and should be peeled away, or slice the fruit in half and use a spoon to scoop out the good stuff. The meat of the fruit is sweet and rich, but be careful because there are seeds. The seeds are edible and won’t hurt you, but they bring nothing to the table. Toss ’em.

So I tinkered around with this smoothie my first morning back and eventually created a blend that tastes like GINGERBREAD. I am not kidding. Just do it.

I sprinkle a little something on top because the prettier it is, the better it tastes.

Persimmon (Gingerbreaddy) Protein Smoothie

Total time: 5 minutes | Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 persimmon (if Hachiya make sure it is very ripe and peel the skin away)

1 ripe pear (cut the core out)

1 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 tablespoon ground flax (optional)

1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 stevia packet

Some of the goodies.

Steps

1. Blend everything together.

2. Drink.

The nutrition data may scare away some of you, but the sugar is natural sugar from fruit, which is so much better than cane sugar or (gasp!) corn syrup. And look at all that fiber. I load most of my carbs and sugar into my morning meals so this smoothie is perfect!