Q&A with Tess Masters, author of The Blender Girl Smoothies
Tess, firstly congratulations on taking the very humble smoothie to a whole new level. How did you find out that you had a passion for the drink to end all drinks?
Oh, thank you. It has been so much fun changing the way people think about smoothies with this book. I get messages from people all over the world who are making their way through every single recipe in the book. I love titles that read: I’m on #62 and haven’t hit a dud yet!
I always loved smoothies as a child. I would blend up different flavours and feel very proud of myself for my ‘delicious creations’… When I got older and began experimenting more with flavours, I realised that smoothies could be incredible culinary experiences. The more I played around with various combinations the more fascinated I became as to just how far I could take this blended art form. Simple smoothies containing liquid and fruit are tasty, but are often flat and bland. I think of smoothies as meals and so I use herbs, spices, oils, greens, frozen vegetables and superfoods to create nutritionally dense drinks that have dimension and take you on a flavour journey – much like a textured dish. I love smoothies that tingle your taste buds on the front, expand across the palate and have a fantastic back-end kick or surprise. Those are my favourite kinds of smoothies.
There are also some very simple smoothies in my book, but the three optional boosters with each recipe allow you to bump things up to ‘wow’ if you want to. There’s a smoothie for everybody in this book.
You have built up an extraordinary online presence. What do people following you respond to best? New recipes or new locations?
I really love interacting with everybody online. People come to me for healthy delicious recipes, as well as advice about blenders, interesting ingredients and flavours, and health tips. I really enjoy seeing photos and reading about what people are making from The Blender Girl website, and cookbook..
Right now, ‘Chocolate Orange Torte’, ‘Creamy and Crunchy Potato Salad’, ‘Creamy Cauliflower Soup’, and ‘Raw Mayo’ are the top favorites. But, nothing tops the ‘Tastes-Like-Ice-Cream Kale Shake’ that went viral online. It’s epic. I’m known for my smoothies, so I get a thousands of emails about smoothies every month. It’s fun and I never get tired of talking about smoothies.
Your smoothie list sounds like a wonderful dessert tray. I feel like saying I’ll have a slice of that Pecan Pie to go with my Cran-Orange Crave. Is that intentional? To make your drinks sound and taste so delicious that cake time is replaced?
Ha! I love that. Yes, I hear that a lot. I really love coming up with creative recipe titles that will excite people to give something healthy a ‘go’. I do believe that a smoothie made with whole food ingredients (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, superfoods, natural sweeteners – or no sweeteners!) is a wonderful replacement to conventional sugar-laden desserts. I especially love the ‘Apple Pie in a Glass’ smoothies that taste like melted cakes and pies. Oh, show me the way to heaven with a smile on my face!
And what’s your go-to smoothie for cold winter mornings?
I get a lot of emails from people who say they struggle to enjoy their smoothies and juices in the winter because they feel damp and cold. You can balance the naturally cooling effects of fruit by adding warming ingredients such as cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, chillies, turmeric, curry powder, fennel etc which heat the body and encourage detoxification. For this reason, I love the ‘Grapefruit-Fennel Fix’, ‘Pomegranate Slam It!’, ‘Chai Tai’, ‘Apple Alkalaid’ and ‘Bloody Mary Might Be’ for winter mornings. I drink savoury smoothies more than sweet smoothies, so my go-to blend is the ‘Spicy Gazpacho Grab’. It’s warming, alkalising – a great morning meal.
