aureate & aromatic

The fifth drink of my thirty day book as a beverage series is a green smoothie topped with a mango purée and ground flax seeds. This drink is based on my edition of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This book has remained burned in my memory since first having read it in my freshmen English literature class.

There were a lot of shades of the same primary colors for this cover. So I drew on four distinct ones. This is the first fully vegan drink I’ve made so far, and it was also the easiest to create!

This beverage’s name is:

‘savages’ smoothie’

Name Explained: If you haven’t read this novel, without giving the plot away too much, this title is a direct reference to the evolution of the schoolboys’ characters in the story.

Mango: When making the purée, I’d suggest waiting a bit for the frozen mangoes to thaw before blending them just so it comes together more smoothly.

Green Smoothie: The bright green hue comes about naturally from all the spinach used in the drink base. It blends with the frozen mango chunks to turn into a semi-sweet green drink that works well with the bit of lemon and green grapes.

Flax & Coconut Whipped Cream: The ground flax, despite being small in quantity, brought a much needed earthiness in flavor to the drink, as well as a bit of brown to symbolize the earth/dirt/sand of the island. The coconut whipped cream brought some additional sweetness and is a brilliant white color that matches the hue that takes up nearly 50% of the cover.

RATING: Overall I’d give the final drink a 5.0.

Flavor Combination: You can taste every element of this drink and they actually contribute to its flavor profile. The flax at the top adds a burst of nuttiness, the coconut and mango some sweetness, and the green smoothie is a delicious base that works in harmony with all three. Neither overwhelms or overpowers the other, and the ratios for each ingredient was perfect in my opinion.

Ease: This drink was the easiest by far to make when compared to the previous ones, you just need a blender and you’re done. The only effort needed on my part was grinding the flax seeds, but if you’ve purchased pre-ground flax, then that tidbit of effort is eliminated and you can have this ready within a few minutes.

Appearance: I love how this came out. The colors are all so naturally vibrant and are a close match to the colors on the book’s cover.

Ways to Improve: I couldn’t give this drink anything other than full marks because of just how good it was. There was nothing I would change about it. I ended up making a jug of it in the fridge to drink throughout the week, haha! And I don’t feel guilty since most of its sweetness comes about from natural fruits.

Here’s the spreadsheet for all of the tools and ingredients used:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r98ituvMhsrjiXfidDUlMtrU0u_YwIdNyY_rlxD-8YA/edit?gid=891834841#gid=891834841

I’ve also provided the information below for added ease~

Glass Cups (very close alternative): https://amzn.to/4ntEdhT

Glass Cups (close alternative): https://amzn.to/3LagZ34

Glass Cups (close alternative): https://amzn.to/4hCO83x

Green Seedless Grapes (exact): https://www.publix.com/pd/white-seedless-grapes/RIO-PCI-108515?origin=search1

Green Seedless Grapes (close alternative): https://amzn.to/4okEViQ

Spinach (exact): https://www.publix.com/pd/fresh-attitude-baby-spinach-prewashed/RIO-PCI-168139?origin=search4

Spinach (alternative): https://amzn.to/43KN8Ew

Frozen Mango (exact): Organic Mango Chunks (Frozen) – Trader Joe’s – 16 oz (no link, sorry!)

Frozen Mango (alternative): https://amzn.to/4oRQz4K

Flax Seeds (exact): https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Organic-Ground-Flax-Seed-32-oz-907g-USDA-Certified-Allergen-Free-High-Fiber/175121428

Flax Seeds (alternative): https://amzn.to/3LhTx3V

Flax Seed Powder (close alternative): https://amzn.to/4nvYuU4

Coconut Whipped Cream (exact): https://www.reddiwip.com/non-dairy/non-dairy-coconut

Coconut Whipped Cream (alternative): https://amzn.to/3WB9rbZ

Food Processor (exact): https://amzn.to/3LfTp4W

Blender (exact): https://amzn.to/4qDRSWt

Here’s a quick video showing how I made the drinks:

@aureateandaromatic

Shortest instructional video yet, just needed to toss everything in a blender, haha. An easy, but delicious, vibrant green smoothie made with spinach, grapes, mango, and lemon. Mixed and topped with some coconut whipped cream and ground flax seeds. I made the mango purée separately because I plan on using it for tomorrow’s recipe, but it’s easy to just use the same blender, blend them first, and scoop some out for the topping. The first 5 ⭐ recipe 🎊 The ratios and ingredients have already been posted before this should anyone be interested~ #greensmoothie #recipe #lordoftheflies #booktok #bookasabev

♬ Lord Of The Flies – Elton John

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!
~ C.C.