Lѐ Spa: Healthy Spa Drinks

This week in Contemporary Cuisine the focus was on spa drinks and how they can be healthier. The idea was to create a menu of three drinks for morning, noon, and night. Here are the ideas that I came up with and made for the class:

Morning:

Yogurt “Parfait” Smoothie

A three layered smoothie composed of strawberry banana, almond and vanilla

This one turned out pretty well for me actually. The flavors all melded together very well and I was able to match the consistency so that it could be layered. However the Almond layer in the middle didn’t turn out with the color I was hopping it would so it was a little bit lost with the vanilla on top of it. I also didn’t have any extra strawberries to use so it was missing this part of the garnish.

Noon:

Cucumber Mint Seltzer

A refreshing bubbly mint and cucumber concoction, perfect for a summer day

This one ended up being my favorite of them all, you get a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of bitterness from the mint and the cucumber. I also thought that it looked the most like I wanted it to.

Night:

Coconut Milk Cappuccino

A lovely vegan nightcap, soothingly delicious

This one was really an idea that I have had kicking around in my head since we started talking about different additions we could make or take away from already popular items that could make them fit a dietary restriction. I found out that unlike normal milk or cream that you would normally use in a cappuccino coconut milk doesn’t get nearly as frothy. However it does get thick enough that you can layer the espresso and the foam to create a traditional cappuccino. This one was surprisingly good but it was still missing something, and no-one that I had try it could put a finger on what it still needed. Everyone liked it but they all thought that it did need something to make it complete.

***EDIT***

Because of the feedback that I received on this post I am going to first say that I am sorry for not posting the recipes in the first place. so for your pleasure please find below the ingredient list that I used for each drink and what type of glass that I served them in.

Morning:

Served in a Hurricane Glass

½ frozen banana

3-4 frozen strawberries

1 cup Unflavored Greek yogurt

¼ cup peeled almonds (toasted)

2oz Almond Milk

¼ cup Vanilla Yogurt

1 fresh strawberry for garnish

• mix half the unflavored Greek yogurt with the strawberries and bananas, with a little bit of ice and blend
• Mix the other half of the unflavored Greek yogurt with the almond milk, toasted almonds, and blend
• Starting with the bottom layer first the strawberry banana, then the almond, and finish with the vanilla. It helps if you use a spoon to start out the second and third layers because just pouring it strait in will cause the layers to mix.

Noon:

Served in a Highball

8oz Seltzer Water

4-5 Mint leaves

1/4 Cucumber (quartered)

1 Lime

1/8 cup sugar

• Combine Mint, Cucumber sugar and lime and muddle.
• Add Ice and Seltzer

Night:

Served in a Cappuccino Mug

5oz Coconut Milk

Nutmeg

Espresso

• Make a Cappuccino like normal but use coconut milk in place of cream or milk