Vegan Papaya Chia Smoothie

When we lived in China, we used to frequent a mall that was close to home. On the 6th floor, there was a multiplex. They used to view one English movie a month.A few of our Indian friends used to wait for that occasion and watch that movie no matter what it was! So much were we starved for English movies!!

What attracted us[me and Lil Angel] was not the English movie but the smoothies and milkshake bars on that floor. We used to go there just to drink some luscious milkshakes.I can still remember Lil Angel holding on tight to her strawberry milkshake and drink it like there was no tomorrow. Mine was mostly blueberry.

So once we decided to make use of the English movie day and booked tickets for King Fu Panda -2. Lil Angel was around 3 years old and she was excited at the prospect of watching one of her favorite cartoon character on the big screen.I had prepared her for the loud noise, telling her about the speakers and stuff and she was keen to watch the movie no matter what!

So armed with 2 huge tubs of caramel popcorn, strawberry milkshake and blueberry milkshake[yes, nothing for hubby, he is not a fan of milkshakes/popcorn], we sat down to watch the movie. Only then did I notice that there were hardly 20 people in that theatre! Guess people were not into animated movies or did not prefer it in English!

Whatever the reason the theater was empty, we were happy to be watching a movie.A first one after we got married and the first one for Lil Angel as well!

Soon Lil Angel finished off her drink and her share of popcorn and seemed content to watch the movie.But after a few minutes she happily dozed off while hubby and me watched the movie. She woke up just when the credits were running!

We joked about this incident a lot and even today when Lil Angel sees Kung Fu Panda, she will gush out – ‘Amma, isn’t this the movie where I slept the whole time and woke up just in time to go home!!’ So many fond memories!

Keeping in mind those memories, I made this smoothie which is choke-full of goodness and something that Lil Angel enjoyed drinking!She is getting a bit bold these days in trying out new flavors and textures. Lucky for me, I can try out a lot more dishes and my dear ‘taster’ is happy to try them all!

This health packed drink is for the  Blogging Marathon #54, Week 3, where my theme is Snacks for a movie date…

The ingredients can be adjusted to suit your taste

I used:

Papaya cubes- from half a papaya
Chilled Coconut milk,thick-2 cups
Chia soaked in coconut milk-1 tablespoon
Blanched and peeled almonds – 10

A pinch of chia seeds,mint leaves to garnish

Blend all the ingredients[except the garnish] till smooth. Serve immediately garnished with chia seeds and mint leaves.

Note:

• Soak 1/4 teaspoon chia seeds in coconut milk for at least 4-5 hours so that swell up.
• You can also use regular milk / soy milk instead of coconut milk.
• The papaya was sweet enough so I did not add sugar. You can add any sweetener of your choice if needed.