I'm in love with the coco
I grew up in California and my family always had an overflowing fruit bowl in the house. We ate so many berries, peaches, and cherries in the bay area. I considered tropical fruits to be a special summer treat. It was difficult to find a sweet pineapple or mango after they had traveled half around the world to us. The tropical fruit at home tastes nothing like the real thing in Ghana – freshly picked.
Accra is a mosaic of vivid colors, especially in local fruits. One of my favorite places to buy snacks is from the local fruit ladies selling on the street corner. It’s the best relief from a blazing hot day to have freshly cut mango or papaya chilled. I love the vibrant rainbow of beets, papaya, pineapple, avocado, banana, mango, and coconut sold virtually everywhere. Many fruit street vendors carry a crown of produce on their head and are eager to negotiate a sale.
The fruit in Accra is as sweet as it is rich in color and perfect for blending. I have gotten into the habit of trying new smoothie combinations with all the great ingredients around me. In Ghana, it’s so easy to incorporate coconut water into smoothie making, because it’s so accessible. Now I typically use coconut water instead of juice or milk to add extra electrolytes and trim down on excessive sugars or calories. I’m always experimenting with new recipes and love the bright colors of my smoothies. I’m realizing ginger gives smoothies a nice kick and natural sugars are the best wake up in the morning. With all the heat in Ghana, it’s nice to refuel on sugars and rehydrate with the local products around me.
Here are some of my best smoothie combinations:
Mango – Papaya – Banana
Beets – Pineapple – Orange – Ginger (Pictured)
Avocado – Ginger – Honey – Banana
Pineapple – Mango – Orange – Ginger
Yo crecí en California y mi familia siempre tenía un bol de fruta lleno en la casa. Comíamos tantas frutas regionales como las fresas y los duraznos. En California era muy difícil de encontrar una piña dulce o un mango dulce después de que las frutas habían viajado medio mundo para llegar a nosotros. Yo consideraba esas frutas tropicales como un lujo especial del verano. La fruta tropical en California no se parece en nada a la fruta originaria de Ghana.
Accra es un mosaico de colores vibrantes, especialmente las frutas locales. Uno de mis lugares favoritos para comprar la merienda es de las vendedoras ambulantes. Me encantan el arco iris de remolacha, papaya, piña, aguacate, banano, mango y coco que se vende en cada esquina. Muchas de esas vendedoras llevan sus frutas como una corona encima de su cabeza y están entusiastas en realizar una venta. (Mi promoción favorita es la ’50 centavos por el agua de coco fresca’) La fruta acá es tan dulce como su color vibrante y perfecto para los batidos. Ahora en Accra, me gusta mucho probar combinaciones nuevas de frutas para mis batidos. Siempre hace calor en Accra y me gusta hidarme con los azucares naturales.
Aquí es unos de mis combinaciones de batidos mejores:
Mango – Papaya – Banano
Remolacha – Jengibre – Piña – Naranja
Aguacate – Jengibre – Miel – Banano
Piña – Mango – Naranja – Jenjibre