Tropical Delight Mango, Passionfruit & Lime (Raw Egg) Smoothie

By Amy Crawford

Oh how I looooove a smoothie. In fact I think that as one of a series of recipe books I intend on writing I might dedicate one to the "need a spoon consistency" smoothie. The beauty of a smoothie for me is that it's a terribly quick meal in a glass. You can throw all sorts of (mainly raw) goodness into a blender and create a beautiful meal in a couple of minutes. Easy as. Significantly (for my body) however is that the majority of my meals contain a good quality protein - be that meat, chicken, eggs and the very occasional piece of fish. I seem to function well if 2 of my meals each day contain said protein but I teeter on flakiness if only one gets a look in. Believe me there has been a lot of trial and error here - I wish I could rely more heavily on a predominantly vegetarian diet (mainly out of my love for raw, fresh food) but alas it can not be. I should mention too that although my food philosophy rests around a whole foods, 'as nature intended it' diet, I do incorporate a little 100% whey protein to give me variation. I don't however eat protein powders with highly processed ingredients.

So that takes me to my thoughts around raw eggs. As many of you would know by now, I love my eggs and they get a very regular look in. Eggs have been a saviour for me - I love their versatility in both savoury or sweet dishes. Raw eggs mean I can have a whole meal in a smoothie and be satiated until lunch time. That being said I would probably only eat a raw egg once or possible twice a week. The majority of my eggs are poached or turned into a omelette.

I must point out that I ONLY eat organic, free range eggs - they are more nutrient dense and less contaminated than battery caged hens. Note that by simply refrigerating your eggs you can minimise the risk of salmonella or other bacteria causing infections. I have been reading a great article from Mark's Daily Apple on this subject and do acknowledge that there is always a minor risk of salmonella poisoning - but as Mark says of eating raw eggs: "As for drawbacks, there's the well-circulated salmonella risk, which isn't the dire prospect it's often made out to be. The risk has been estimated as 1 in 10,000 (CDC) or 1 in 30,000 (Risk Analysis journal). And though washing eggshells can reduce much of the risk, it doesn't eliminate it entirely." The risk as far as I am concerned is most certainly a small one. Having said that I would not recommend pregnant women eat raw eggs. I have been eating raw eggs my entire life (from early childhood) and thus far am infection-free. I do feel there has been a lot of hype around salmonella (and rightly so given the outcome in some respects) however irrespective I would not touch an egg that is not from an organic farm and a free range hen. My raw egg consumption is absolutely a personal choice - it's not for everyone I am sure.

So moving along. The addition of an egg in a smoothie certainly has it's benefits in that you can barely taste it. So you can go nuts with all sorts of flavours without the egg taking over. The following recipe is a case in point.

You'll need:
1.5 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
1/4 cup milk
1-2 mango cheeks
1 passionfruit
1 raw egg (optional)
1 heaped tablespoon chia seeds
1 heaped tablespoon full fat yoghurt
1 heaped teaspoon maca powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground flaxseed
1 good pinch vanilla powder (or essence)
Juice of 1 lime
Sweetener to taste

Throw all of the above into a blender and blend until smooth. Ideally let it sit for 20 minutes or so before you drink it to allow the chia seeds to soften. Top with whatever ingredients you wish to add, or none at all. Bon appetite!