Green Dream Summer Smoothie Collab

Focus One

Originally published: August 22, 2019

It’s here! Not once did I think my random recipe testing/food photos would ever lead to this type of collaboration. From July until September 2019 (yes, I’m very late on posting this) you can drink my latest smoothie collaboration with Total Foods and GRØN, available at any Total Food’s location (Japan only). When I heard about GRØN I was reminded of how far Japan/the world has truly come. I’ve spent my adolescence going back and forth from Tokyo to the states and I vividly remember being in Tokyo in 2009, and it was extremely difficult to find any organic products/grocery stores, let alone vegan/gluten free food options. It truly warms my heart to see our world changing and different food ideologies being represented. Sustainability is big for me, especially with our ever changing climate and natural disasters that keep occurring. GRØN emphasizes on sustainability and sourcing whole ingredients throughout Japan, which is pretty cool in my humble opinion.

“GRØN (groen) is a Japanese plant based protein food brand that focuses on using high-quality ingredients to promote an energetic lifestyle. Plant based materials are mainly used, with the addition of highly nutritious traditional ingredients such as vegetable, rice, and wild herbs harvested and selected throughout Japan. We strive to keep the manufacturing process simple so that the taste of the material can be enjoyed to its fullest.”- GRØN.

Focus Two

When creating this smoothie concept for Total Foods I based it closely to what I consume almost every morning; a smoothie that’s filled with protein, a good source of fat, fiber and some sort of greens. It was really important to me that I focused on readily accessible ingredients that you can find locally in Japan, instead of having to rely on shipping/imported products.

Normally I use an array of seeds (flax, hemp, chia), alternative nut/seed butters, and nut milks. Thankfully,Japan has been catching on and almond milk and chia seeds can now be easily found in grocery stores. Though some specialty stores carry hemp seeds and almond butters, they are extremely expensive and I knew that there was no way I’d be comfortable creating a recipe that called for these types of ingredients. I wanted this smoothie to be accessible and reasonably priced for everyone. So in order to do that, I made some swaps. Instead of sunflower seed butter or almond butter, I used a natural peanut butter, and instead of adding a variety of seeds I went heavier on the chia seeds (2tbsp worth to be exact). What I love about this smoothie is that it’s a true meal replacement and it’s well balanced. It will not spike your blood sugar, unlike traditional fruit smoothies, which typically leave you feeling hungrier and more depleted later.

Green Dream showcases GRØN’s Green Monster protein powder which is vegan, non GMO and gluten free. Another thing I want to mention is the consistency. For me, consistency is huge when making a smoothie. It’s really easy to make a watery or too icy one but this my friends, is definitely thick. I tested and tested the ratio’s multiple times and perfected the amount of almond milk to ice. You can definitely add some fun toppings to this (think granola, cereal, yogurt, etc).

Thank you to everyone who’s supported and tried Green Dream! This has been so fun and I’m hoping that this won’t be the last time I can make something for you all to try IRL.