I think I've mentioned before that I am not very good at ball sports. Inevitably, they require hand-eye coordination and sporting prowess that I just don't have. In the words of my first grade teacher, "[Kari] is to be commended for real effort in work requiring fine motor skills".
Real effort, but, I think it is safe to say, not natural ability.
Sometimes, though, I do venture to play actual, ball-related sport. Tennis is undoubtedly my favourite option, in no small part due to a tennis racquet being much larger than a tennis ball, and a tennis court providing a much easier target than a goal hoop or net.
Last weekend, we played tennis with Mr Bite's brother. This ended up working quite well, as the advantage of playing 2 vs. 1 went some way to countering my lack of consistency. I'm always worried about ruining games by hitting the ball somewhere completely irrelevant, like directly sideways, or about 50m out of the tennis court, and having someone else to balance out my hitting was a good option.
It was a fun 2 hours, but it was also a hot 2 hours. Perth's weather has cooled down relative to a few weeks ago, but it has been far more humid than we are used to. Queenslander's would probably play 2 hours of tennis in a humid 30'C and be cool and composed at the end of it, but we, well, we were not.
After a shower, therefore, I felt that a smoothie was called for.
I make smoothies far less often than I would like, in part because if faced with the choice of a smoothie or something thicker and more ice cream-y, I tend to go for the latter. Also, I don't have quite the right appliance for smoothies. I use my food processor because it does a great job with frozen fruit, but when liquid is added to that fruit, there is inevitably some spillage out the top. My basic blender does well with liquids and soft fruit, but it's not up to anything frozen.
In spite of these obstacles, smoothies do sometimes come out of my kitchen, and last weekend was a case in point.
To say this post-tennis smoothie was perfect would be an understatement. It ended up being just what I wanted and a combination of cold, thick, creamy (but not milky!) and banana-pineapple-y that I have never quite managed in a smoothie before.
One of the nicest things about this is that it is incredibly, extremely simple. You probably already make smoothies like this and I'm just late to the party. There are 4 ingredients and they are ingredients that are always in my kitchen.
Having since made it for a second time, I can also attest that this is equally good when you haven't just played tennis.
Delicious. And cold. And thick.
Definitely worth the tennis!
How are you with sports? And are you a smoothie person? Any favourite combinations?
Real effort, but, I think it is safe to say, not natural ability.
Sometimes, though, I do venture to play actual, ball-related sport. Tennis is undoubtedly my favourite option, in no small part due to a tennis racquet being much larger than a tennis ball, and a tennis court providing a much easier target than a goal hoop or net.
Last weekend, we played tennis with Mr Bite's brother. This ended up working quite well, as the advantage of playing 2 vs. 1 went some way to countering my lack of consistency. I'm always worried about ruining games by hitting the ball somewhere completely irrelevant, like directly sideways, or about 50m out of the tennis court, and having someone else to balance out my hitting was a good option.
It was a fun 2 hours, but it was also a hot 2 hours. Perth's weather has cooled down relative to a few weeks ago, but it has been far more humid than we are used to. Queenslander's would probably play 2 hours of tennis in a humid 30'C and be cool and composed at the end of it, but we, well, we were not.
After a shower, therefore, I felt that a smoothie was called for.
I make smoothies far less often than I would like, in part because if faced with the choice of a smoothie or something thicker and more ice cream-y, I tend to go for the latter. Also, I don't have quite the right appliance for smoothies. I use my food processor because it does a great job with frozen fruit, but when liquid is added to that fruit, there is inevitably some spillage out the top. My basic blender does well with liquids and soft fruit, but it's not up to anything frozen.
In spite of these obstacles, smoothies do sometimes come out of my kitchen, and last weekend was a case in point.
To say this post-tennis smoothie was perfect would be an understatement. It ended up being just what I wanted and a combination of cold, thick, creamy (but not milky!) and banana-pineapple-y that I have never quite managed in a smoothie before.
One of the nicest things about this is that it is incredibly, extremely simple. You probably already make smoothies like this and I'm just late to the party. There are 4 ingredients and they are ingredients that are always in my kitchen.
Having since made it for a second time, I can also attest that this is equally good when you haven't just played tennis.
Super simple, super thick banana pineapple smoothie
Serves 1
In a mixer, blender or food processor, process:
1 large peeled and frozen banana
2 rings of tinned pineapple, from a can of pineapple rings in juice *
1/2 cup protein enriched rice milk (or milk of choice)
1 tsp chia seeds
* I didn't have any fresh pineapple. But 1/4 cup of that would obviously work well too - and if it was frozen fresh pineapple, this would be even thicker.
Delicious. And cold. And thick.
Definitely worth the tennis!
How are you with sports? And are you a smoothie person? Any favourite combinations?
No sports, at all. My idea of the perfect exercise is mowing meditation. Sports seem deadly boring to me, but that may be because a ball and I usually miss each other by a ridiculous margin. But I do like smoothies, specially for breakfast on the run. They vary by the season. Mango Lhassi is good in summer. My winter favourite is Custard Apple and Orange Juice. Pawpaw and strawberry is another good combination.
ReplyDeleteYep, mowing meditation is more my kind of thing too :) And I love the idea of pawpaw and strawberry in a smoothie - what a great idea.
DeleteI'm not very sporty but I had my FIRST smoothie last week and I'm hooked! I've been juicing for a long long time but never added anything to it. They're delicious!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! I'm glad you enjoyed it - what a fun discovery :) I'm the opposite in that I don't have a juicer and rarely drink juice, so perhaps I need to give the other side of the equation a try too. I find juices don't fill me up though, whereas smoothies can work as a snack.
Deletesports is not my forte - I played tennis as a child but was always very bad at it! smoothies however are made enough in my kitchen to feel au fait with them even if no expert - I don't tend to use frozen fruit - apart from berries which seems to work with my hand held blender - I have tinned pineapple in the cupboard but it is too long since I have had a fresh one
ReplyDeleteI rarely buy fresh pineapple either, although it's quite easy (and not too expensive) to find in summer. I think the cutting up puts me off, which is quite lazy really!
DeleteI'm glad I'm not alone in the poor tennis performance stakes :)
I've tried fresh pineapple in smoothies before and they just didn't blend! Maybe bc they weren't exactly in season. Your smoothie sounds delicious though!
ReplyDeleteMaybe tinned pineapple is actually the way to go then? I do find fresh pineapple varies a lot in how hard (and sweet) it is, so perhaps it depends on the time of year. And thanks!
DeleteLOL, your comment about effort but not natural ability cracked me up. Great smoothie, though!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteI can relate to your lack of natural coordination and also to your lack of proper smoothie blending device. I have always been terrible at any sport that involved working with another person. I was forced into a basketball and weightlifting class in high school, and managed to spend every day sitting on the sidelines. Who needs it? (I'm also pretty sure I got a C.. hah!)
ReplyDeleteI am so glad my compulsory team sports days are behind me. I had to play netball and it was torture! Weightlifting also sounds pretty horrendous...glad you at least managed to sit it out ;)
DeleteI am such an uncoordinated person that I rarely even put in the effort when I was in school! People are genuinely shocked when they see how bad I am at table tennis - when I try to reject their invitation they say stuff about how you don't have to be good, it's just for fun... and then they regret their invitations, I think.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do dispute your assertion that QLDers would be cool & collected. I'm not sure I've ever seen a QLDer who is cool and collected, regardless of the weather. :)
Teehee, duly noted on the Queenslanders! :)
DeleteI am exactly like that with invitations to sports. Other people always insist it's just for fun, but I think they don't grasp that it isn't fun when you can't play!
I've been using frozen pineapple in 'most all of my smoothies for aaages now, ever since bananas went through that horrifically-expensive phase. So I support this smoothie :P
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I can absolutely see our perfectionism troubles coming through again here! I, too, don't like team sports because I hate the fear of letting other people down. We're so silly! Glad you had a go and enjoyed it :D
Your frozen pineapple shenanigans were what prompted me to put the note :) I keep admiring your creations and then forgetting to freeze pineapple!
DeleteAnd I had to laugh, because you are so spot on, it's the perfectionism coming through again. If I can't do it well, I may as well not do it at all :D I should keep that in mind next time I consider not playing something :P
Smoothies yes, ball sports...sadly no. I'm there in spirit, just me and the old hand eye coordination don't agree. If I had to play tennis though I would surely win, the otherside wouldn't be able to get up with killing themselves laughing. Tragic.
ReplyDeleteUnless we played each other, and then we'd be equally tragic and locked in a stale mate that would never end :) We're definitely better off with smoothies I think!
DeleteI usually only like smoothies in the summer but this looks so nice and refreshing!
ReplyDeleteI loathe tennis, but I put that down to a hideous tennis instructor I had as a kid and to the fact that I was trying to learn to play before anyone had worked out that I actually couldn't see. Possibly glasses and a nicer teacher would make me feel better, but in the meantime I will just stick to enjoying smoothies!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a terrible experience :( As someone who is completely blind without contacts / glasses, the idea of trying to hit a ball without clear sight is quite horrifying. I'm bad enough as it is! Smoothies are safer all around, that is for sure :)
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