What is a feijoa Archives

Feijoa & Fennel Green Smoothie

I’m a big green smoothie fan and am always looking for new ways to keep my blends interesting. Lately, I’ve been loving the addition of fennel as it gives them a very mild anise flavour, not to mention a heap of extra fibre!

When feijoa’s came into season it made perfect sense to combine the two, and the resulting smoothie was so delicious it definitely needed it’s own blog post!

For those who haven’t come across a feijoa before (also known as pineapple guava or guavasteen), it has a smooth green skin and is about the size of a kiwi fruit. It has a creamy coloured inside with a similar in texture to a pear, but with jelly bits (sounds weird but it’s the best way to describe them!). Feijoa’s also have a very unique, fragrant flavour, which has been described as a cross between a pineapple and guava.

Fennel on the other hand is quite the opposite. It’s actually a herb, and a member of the carrot family. It has a mild but distinctive licorice flavour and fragrance.

Strangely enough, these two opposite ingredients create the most beautifully fragrant, green smoothie!

Feijoa & Fennel Green Smoothie

Now, if you’re unfortunate to be living in a country that doesn’t have feijoa’s, (and I know that’s most of them as they’re rather unique to New Zealand!), then don’t despair! This green smoothie still works if you leave the feijoa out, or swap it for a little fresh pineapple.

Feijoa’s are a great source of dietary fibre, packed with vitamin C, and are very low in calories. Fennel is also a great source of fibre, potassium and vitamin C, so together these two ingredients are amazing for your digestion, your skin, and reducing inflammation.

If you want to know more about why green smoothies are so good for you, check out this green smoothie post here or the 5 Day Green Smoothie Challenge here!

I hope you enjoy this fragrant green smoothie recipe, and you have any comments, additions or tweaks you’d like to share, or just to tell me whether you liked it or not, leave a comment down below! Enjoy.

Get More Swoon!

FIND OUR MORE

Feijoa & Fennel Green Smoothie

Makes: 1 extra large or 2 small smoothies
Prep time: 10 minutes

1 large handful of spinach leaves
1/4 bulb of fennel
1/4 green apple
1/2 lemon
1 large feijoa (or 1 slice of fresh pineapple)
1cm piece fresh ginger
2 Tbsp coconut yoghurt
1/4 cup filtered water
2 ice cubes

Wash the spinach leaves well and leave to drain. Wash the fennel well and chop in half if required. Peel the lemon and apple (if not organic) and place in the blender jug along with the spinach and fennel. Cut the feijoa in half, scoop out the flesh and add to the blender jug. Lastly, wash and peel the ginger (if not organic) and add to the blender along with the yoghurt, water and ice cubes.

Blend on high until all the ingredients are well blended and smooth.

Pour the smoothie into a glass and enjoy. This smoothie will keep in a sealed jar or bottle in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Feijoa & Fennel Green Smoothie

Join The 5 Day Green Smoothie Challenge!

FIND OUR MORE

← Chocolate Peanut Butter Swoonuts (Vegan) Sticky Date Chocolate Brownies →

ZESTY RAW LEMON AND COCONUT CHEESECAKE

COURGETTE STRIP SALAD WITH AVOCADO, KALE AND ALMOND DUKKAH

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SWOONUTS (VEGAN)

SUPER ANTIOXIDANT AÇAI BOWL (LOW SUGAR)

Feijoa and Pear Crumbles

We’re only one month into Autumn and the temperatures have already taken a serious dive this week with two cold snaps in the space of two days. The heat pumps have been turned on, woolly hats and puffer jackets pulled out for dog walks (…ok that’s just me), and I’m going through a box of herbal tea a day!

This kind of weather calls for warm nourishing food so with a fruit bowl full of pears and feijoa’s the obvious thing to do was turn them into a warm fruit crumble.

This crumble’s had a Swoon Food makeover, it’s entirely grain and dairy free, made with cashews, almonds and coconut flakes, and is sweetened with just a small amount of rice syrup. If you’re avoiding sweeteners altogether then by all means leave it out as there’s enough sweet spice in the mixture to make the crumble topping work.

For those who haven’t come across a feijoa (also known as pineapple guava or guavasteen), it has a smooth green skin and is about the size of a kiwi fruit. It’s insides are creamy coloured and similar in texture to a pear but with jelly bits. They have a unique fragrant flavour which has been described as a cross between a pineapple and guava.

Feijoa’s are also a great source of dietary fibre, packed with vitamin C, and very low in calories. If you can’t get your hands on any feijoas for this recipe, you can substitute for berries or simply add more pear.

Best of all this recipe only takes 15 minutes to put together (10 if you’re fast with a vegetable peeler), and another 30 to bake. So if after dinner you suddenly decide you want dessert, this is your recipe! Enjoy.

Get More Swoon

FIND OUR MORE

Feijoa and Pear Crumbles

Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes Bake time: 30 minutes

2 pears
4 feijoas
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup cashews
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
pinch pink Himalayan salt
1 Tbsp rice syrup
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

Preheat the oven to 160ºC fan bake and place four oven-proof ramekins on an oven tray.

To make the crumble topping put the almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, cinnamon, ginger and salt into a food processor and pulse until you have a chunky mixture. Add the rice syrup and coconut oil and pulse until just combined. You want it to remain quite chunky.

Peel the pears, cut in half to remove the cores then chop into bite sized pieces. Spread between the four ramekins. Next cut the feijoa’s in half, scoop out the flesh and divide between the ramekins.

Divide the nut crumble between the four ramekins then place them in the centre of the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

The crumbles are ready when the topping has turned a golden brown and you can hear the fruit beneath bubbling. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool a little before serving. These are perfect with a dollop of your favourite coconut yoghurt or nice cream.

Feijoa & Pear Crumbles