Apple Tahini Green Smoothie

I have wanted to make this apple-tahini recipe for a long time, but as a baked oatmeal. I have been hoarding a couple tablespoons of tahini for a month just to make this, but every time I have the opportunity, I think about summonsing the hellfires of my oven, and I quickly change my mind. I never used to understand when people posted no-bake recipes and referred to “not wanting to turn on your oven,” but I get it now.

Here’s the perfect breakfast for summer mornings if you, like me, don’t have air conditioning.

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed
• 1 apple, cored and quartered
• 1/2 cup milk, water, or apple juice
• 1/4 cup oats (quick or rolled) (I used BetterOats organic quick oats)
• 1-2 tbsp tahini
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• maple syrup or honey, to taste (optional)
• pinch of salt

How to make it:

1. If desired, place apple pieces in a plastic container in the freezer for at least two hours before making. This will give the final product a thicker, icier texture.
2. Puree all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until creamy. Add more spinach if desired.

Just an FYI:

I was lucky enough to grow up with air conditioning. It wasn’t quite “central air,” but it was a good enough system that my entire house was consistently too cold by my preferences (tragic, I know). Thus, I was more than happy to turn on the oven and bake cookies on a 90-degree day in July, or to stand over a sweat-inducing pot of oats on a humid August morning.

Now that I’m in New York in my beloved aging apartment, I get it. I understand how a window unit A/C is enough to help me sleep comfortably at night, but not enough to fight the demons of the oven in another room of my railroad-style apartment. Turning on the stove is bad enough, but the oven is strictly off-limits until at least September.

Seriously. I refuse to use my oven.

Which leads me to this recipe. Instead of procrastinating baking myself this oatmeal, I opted to change it to a smoothie recipe instead. I’ve actually never had apple in a smoothie, so I wasn’t quite sure what the result would be. Um, in short: fantastic.

Here’s a tip: I froze the apple beforehand, for I believe a smoothie should always contain a frozen fruit. I know people use fresh fruits all the time, but I like my smoothies to be cold and thick like a milkshake, not runny like juice. It worked! The frozen apple retained its flavor and didn’t become an icy mess, and the final product was thick and delightful. I guess I will be freezing more apples in the future!