polka dot sunshine smoothie

my mum asked me where i managed to get passion fruit (it was out of season), when she took a whiff of this beautiful, sunshiny smoothie. i took a sniff and a sip, and true enough, it did smell and taste uncannily like passion fruit puree, the slippery, gel coated chia seeds, adding further to the illusion!

i was inspired by the goji, mango and turmeric smoothie from green kitchen smoothies by luise vindahl and david frenkiel, a gorgeous book guaranteed to make you play with your blender.

of course, i had to fiddle with the recipe, to make it low fodmap but i'm very happy with the outcome. the chia seeds dot this sunny looking smoothie, so prettily, hence the name. this is now one of my favourite smoothies. a few drops of stevia or a couple teaspoons maple syrup and the illusion of passion fruit is complete!

makes 1.1 L (2 tall or 3 regular smoothies)

2 tablespoons chia seeds
600 ml (3 cups) cold brewed green tea, divided
2 navel oranges, peel, cut into chunks and freeze
1/4 of a pineapple, peel, cut into chunks and freeze
2 small carrots, peel, thinly slice or grate
4 cm (1 1/2 in) length fresh turmeric, peel and slice
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
4 or 5 ice cubes if you like it really cold

• soak chia seeds in 200 ml (1 cup) of the green tea for 20 minutes, stirring a few times, to prevent clumping
• put all the remaining ingredients in blender, including the remaining tea
• process to a smooth puree
• add the cup of tea and soaked chia seeds and pulse a few times to mix in seeds without pureeing - seeds should still remain whole
• pour into glasses and serve immediately

notes

•  fresh turmeric adds an intriguing aroma and flavour, but also has a discernible bite which can take getting used to
• reduce the pepper and turmeric for a gentler flavour, but bear in mind these ingredients have powerful anti-inflammatory properties
• do not omit the black pepper as it vastly increases your body's ability to absorb curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric)
• if you really don't like black pepper, replace with 2 teaspoons olive oil to improve the bioavailability of the curcumin