The Breakfast Challenge – Custard Apple and Orange Juice Smoothie

On Mondays I travel an hour and a half to work, and I car pool which means I can’t be late.  So Monday mornings are somewhat rushed (to put it mildly!)  To make matters worse, it’s a full on day when I really don’t want to be fuzzy brained, and I often end up with a rushed and less than perfect lunch. I also work in a room full of people so I’m exposed to every  germ going round.

Fruit smoothies are a perfect breakfast solution.  There’s one for every season.  This is my current winter version. I have a tree full of navel oranges to get through. Custard apples are in season, and though they’re hard to go past just eating as is, to my taste the acidity of orange juice and yoghurt actually improves them. Custard apples are a good source of vitamin C (actually just as rich as oranges), and the magnesium and calcium in them are good for staying centred under stress. Add in some yoghurt for the protein and its a good balanced breakfast for on the run days.

(The Breakfast Cereal Challenge is my 2011 challenge – to the overpackaged, overpriced, mostly empty packets of junk food marketed as “cereal”. I’m going for a year’s worth of breakfast recipes, based on in-season ingredients, quick and easy enough to be a real option for weekdays, and  preferable, in nutrition, ethics, and taste.  The Muesli Bar Challenge was my 2010 Challenge.)

The Recipe:

Blend together

• 1 small peeled and seeded custard apple
• Juice of a large orange
• two or three heaped dessertspoons of plain low fat yoghurt

That’s it. Pour into a glass and drink it, in the car on the way if you have to!