If the chill in the air makes you yearn for warmth in your glass, try these cold weather green smoothie tips:

Non-Frozen Fruits: During the summer, frozen berries in your green smoothies keep you cool and accent summer fruit nicely. But during the winter, use fresh ingredients and drink your smoothie at room temperature. It’s healthier that way and you won’t chill your body unnecessarily.

Cinnamon & Spice: Since apples, pears and pumpkin are in season, accent these flavors with ground cinnamon, all spice, clove and nutmeg. You can make some delicious vanilla-custard smoothies using durian, or try our apple pie or pumpkin pie smoothie recipes. If you use spices, be sure to use subtly flavored fall fruits (avoid tropical flavors and berries) and stick with non-bitter greens like baby spinach and leaf lettuce.

Add a Kick of Ginger: Fresh ginger root will give your smoothie a warming sensation. Grate fresh ginger into your smoothie prior to blending it. Ginger blends well with just about anything, but it is especially good with apples, pears, carrots, mangoes, citrus, pineapple and bananas. Don’t go overboard with bitter greens like dandelion or kale if you are using ginger.

Hot Cayenne Pepper: Wait, did I just tell you to put cayenne pepper in your green smoothies? Yes! A dash of cayenne in a raw chocolate (cacao) smoothie gives a warm, Mexican flair to your chocolaty shake. Cayenne can also be used with raw vegetable blender soups. Check out this spicy red pepper soup.

Raw Veggie Blender Soups: If you have a high-speed blender like the Blendtec or Vitamix, you can make warm soup in about 90 seconds (use the “Soup” button on your Blendtec). I love to make mine with carrots, tomatoes, a little onion, some fresh dill, a clove of garlic and a few stalks of celery. Blender soups provide the nutrition of fresh, whole vegetables in a steaming hot (from your high-speed blender) bowl of savory deliciousness. I can’t think of anything better to sip on a chilly fall or winter day.

These are just a few suggestions for making cold weather smoothies. What’s your favorite cold weather blend? Share it below by posting a comment.

To make this a low fat-recipe, you can use soaked sun dried tomatoes to make the soup thicker. Keep in mind that you do need a little good fat in your diet, so as long as you have little or no overt fats the rest of the day, this soup should fit perfectly within your low fat, raw food lifestyle as is.

This recipe makes enough for one person.

Recipe

• 4 large ripe, organic vine tomatoes
• 1/2 large organic cucumber (with skin)
• 1 large organic orange bell pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
• dash of cayenne (or more to taste)
• 1 clove of garlic
• a few springs of fresh cilantro
• 1/4 avocado

Directions:

Blend three of the tomatoes and the pineapple together until smooth. Next, blend the rest of the ingredients saving the last tomato, 1/4 of the bell pepper and the cilantro for about 50 seconds or until completely smooth. Finally, finely chop the remaining tomato, 1/4 bell pepper and cilantro and mix into the soup. Give it a stir and enjoy.

This soup is best served immediately, but you can refrigerate it overnight. Keep in mind that the cayenne pepper will get stronger the longer you let it sit.

Find more raw vegan soup recipes that you can make in your blender!

How To Use Durian In A Smoothie

Durian is an excellent base for a smoothie and it’s texture is similar to custard or yogurt. It is a perfect vegan alternative for non-dairy milkshakes and ultra-creamy smoothies. You can also freeze it to make durian ice cream or other sweet dishes.

It is a calorie-dense fruit with 357 calories and 13 grams of healthy fat in just one cup. A durian usually yields about 3 cups of edible fruit. It is a great source of calories on a raw food diet and can be used for concentrated meal-replacement smoothies when you don’t want to drink an entire pitcher full. I typically use one cup of durian when I am making smoothie recipe for just myself.

Because of it’s vanilla-almond flavor, durian blends well with banana which helps thicken it up. Durian is excellent when blended with spices like ginger, cinnamon, clove or nutmeg. Spices mingle with the vanilla flavor tones while masking the infamous funkiness of durian. Cacao is a wonderful companion to durian but will also make for a high-fat smoothie, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all. Add a dash of cayenne pepper to a cacao-durian smoothie for a chocolate smoothie with a kick!

I don’t like to blend durian with sweet fruit like pineapple, mango or oranges. You might be tempted to blend it with other tropical flavors, but I don’t think the durian flavor mixes well with citrus or most sweet fruits. My preference is to maintain the vanilla-like dominance and off-set the overall flavor with one to two spices, and sweeten the blend with a ripe banana. You can’t go wrong with that blend!

You can blend young, Thai coconut with durian which is excellent! Use coconut water for smoothie recipes to add a hint of sweet coconut to the mix.

If you wish to use durian in a green smoothie, I recommend choosing mild-flavored greens like fresh baby spinach. Durian does have a delicate flavor and bitter greens might be unpleasant. I consider durian a dessert fruit best enjoyed by itself or with complementary flavors. Save the greens for smoothies with sweet, flavorful fruit.

Durian Smoothie Recipes

Lemon-Ginger Durian

• 1 cup durian
• 1 whole banana, peeled
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 4-6 ounces of water

Add all ingredients and then blend on high until creamy and thoroughly mixed. Add additional lemon and/or ginger to taste, if desired.

Calories: 471 | Fat: 13g (grams) | Protein: 5g | Carbs: 74g | Vitamin A: 6% | Folate: 28% | B1 (Thiamine): 79% | B2 (Riboflavin): 44% | B3 (Niacin): 22% | B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 19% | B6 (Pyridoxine): 93% | Vitamin C: 68% | Calcium: 5% | Copper: 68% | Iron: 20% | Magnesium: 27% | Manganese: 68% | Phosphorus: 18% | Potassium: 32% | Zinc: 8%

Chocolate-Durian

• 1 cup durian
• 1 ounce cacao powder (more to taste, if desired)
• 1 whole banana, peeled
• 4-6 ounces of water
• dash of nutmeg or cayenne pepper (optional)

Add all ingredients and then blend on high until creamy and thoroughly mixed. Add additional seasonings to taste.

Calories: 633 | Fat: 26g (grams) | Protein: 8g | Carbs: 100g | Vitamin A: 6% | Folate: 28% | B1 (Thiamine): 79% | B2 (Riboflavin): 44% | B3 (Niacin): 21% | B5 (Pantothenic Acid): 19% | B6 (Pyridoxine): 92% | Vitamin C: 86% | Calcium: 2% | Copper: 66% | Iron: 331% | Magnesium: 50% | Manganese: 48% | Phosphorus: 17% | Potassium: 32% | Zinc: 8%

More durian smoothie recipes coming soon!

Durian Nutrition and Health Benefits

Durian provides an excellent source of calories and fat for meal-replacement smoothies. Just one cup of the fruit contains approximately 357 calories and 13 grams of healthy fat. It is a rich source of fiber (9 grams) and provides plenty of carbohydrates (65.8 grams) for energy. It is also a good source of the amino acid, tryptophan, which is an important nutrient required for regulating mood and sleep. Durian contains B-vitamins and vitamin C as well as minerals such as copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

How To Select and Store Durian

While it grows in the tropics, durian is a seasonal fruit and is available fresh from June through August. Outside of southeast Asia, you will need to visit your local Asian market to find them. If you can’t find fresh durian, or they are not in season, you can still find it readily available in the frozen section either pre-packaged “pods” or whole, frozen durians.

I recently purchased a whole, frozen durian as it was out of season. It was a better deal than pre-packaged fruit that was selling for the same price. I got almost twice as much fruit by taking on the delicate and somewhat hazardous work of cutting the spiny fruit open myself. I thawed it in the refrigerator for about a day and a half before cutting it open with a large knife.

When selecting fresh durian, the recommended method for getting a good fruit is to carefully hold it up to your ear and give it a gentle shake. Use a cloth or wear gloves to protect your hands from the spikes. What you want to hear is a dull thump which indicates that the edible portions inside are soft and ripe. Of course, if you are buying a frozen durian, this method may not work and you’ll just have to trust that it’s good. For more tips on selecting, opening and storing durian, click here.

Durian can be kept in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to two days or stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. It probably wont last long anyway when you discover how delicious and nutritious it is in your smoothies!