Peanut Butter Banana Milk Drink Recipe

This recipe is for the ones who love the good old combination of peanut butter and banana, but with fewer calories. As I've said in the past, I always try to find ways to ensure that my husband Lulu, who is a vegetarian, has enough nutrition in his diet. He's also been exercising regularly lately, so I figured a healthy treat was in order.

I made banana milk that is vegan (Lulu's lactose intolerant too!). The drink is a blend of bananas, soy milk, peanut butter, cinnamon, whey protein and vanilla extract. It's a delicious way to start the day with healthy servings of potassium and protein, which is great for a vegetarian diet. Best of all, Lulu loves it! And if you like this drink, I'll post more whey protein-enhanced beverages soon.

Mango Lemonade Recipe

I love Kesar mangoes. The fruit is so soft and juicy that we usually just cut them in halves and scoop the flesh out. Unfortunately, I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach at the Asian market this week, when I bought two cases of mangoes. To put a dent in my stockpile, I made mango purée, cooked it in sugar to enhance the flavor, then mixed it with regular lemonade.

I added cardamom to give a more exotic twist to this already tropical drink. If you're looking for something special to serve for your Memorial Day weekend barbeque, mango lemonade could be it. And to satisfy the adult palate, you could always spike it with rum!

Prickly Pear Juice Recipe (Cactus Fruit)

Prickly pears are the fruit of the nopales cactus plant. They're named for their pear-like shape and size. The texture and aroma of the fruit is very similar to grainy watermelon, with a mild sweetness. The seeds from the prickly pears look the same as the ones from kiwis.

This weekend, my father-in-law (I call him Daddy), my husband Lulu and I were sitting on the swing in the garden. Daddy noticed the fruit on the cactus plants in the corner of our garden. When we got closer we realized that the prickly pears were fully ripe. Daddy got so excited that I didn't have time to run and get leather gardening gloves; he just picked the fruit with his bare hands. Poor Daddy! I had to spend quite a bit of time to remove all of the almost invisible hair-thin spines.

We were able to gather a fair amount of ripe fruit. Even though the fruit is quite bland, the flesh has a very rich color. I used some for making vinaigrette and with the rest I made little cocktails with raspberries. I placed fresh raspberries in the freezer and used them as ice cubes to chill the drink. If you can get your hands on some prickly pears at your local market, give them a try. They're a wonderful treat.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe

A strawberry banana smoothie is perfect when you need breakfast on the go. I whip up the drink with frozen strawberries and a banana whenever Lulu is running late. Strawberries aren't quite in season yet, so frozen is your best bet. When you can get them fresh, this drink is even more delicious.

Besides being a vegetarian, Lulu is also lactose-intolerant, so it's a challenge to make him calcium-rich food. I used almond milk and yogurt to deliver calcium without adding too much lactose. I also added a scoop of whey protein to fortify the drink with a little protein. I placed the smoothie in a cup that I sealed with a lid and added a straw.

Lulu left for work with a strawberry banana smoothie in his hand and a kiss on his cheek. I think that's a pretty good way to start the day!

Sweet Lassi (Indian Yogurt Drink)

Lassi is an Indian yogurt drink. I often make it at home, but I've never quite been able to recreate the subtle tanginess of the drink. That is, until now. On our last trip to the local Indian restaurant, I asked the waitress about their preparation techniques, and she told me that they always add Bulgarian cultured buttermilk when making plain lassi. After that lunch, I stopped at the local Middle Eastern store, picked up a carton of buttermilk, and adjusted my recipe to her specifications. I've been making it this way ever since.

I use traditional Indian flavorings in my lassi, specifically elaichi ("cardamom" in Urdu) and rose water. My mother-in-law isn't a huge fan of rose flavoring, so I only added ¼ teaspoon of rose extract. You can add as much or as little as you'd like.