Just in time for the New Year, a bright pink smoothie full of fresh beets, spicy ginger, purple kale and a kiss of apple cider vinegar and honey. The flavor here is refreshing, mildly sweet and divinely good. Ideal for those mornings when your bod needs a little detox.
Happy New Everything! It was one of those 2017s that made me endlessly happy to welcome in 2018. So here we stand, fresh start on the horizon. New canvas waiting to be painted. Body begging to be nurtured.
If you've been following me on Instagram, you'll know I was scheduled for gall bladder surgery in November. We postponed until the New Year, but every part of my diet has been dialed back, hoping to minimize those nasty sideaches that happen when your gall bladda is achy and sad.
It's times like these when a girl turns to her favorite in-state nutritionist. The divine Ms. Lindsay Cotter (of CotterCrunch.com) has been here to help. Bringing over the digestive supplements I need to keep my system happy. Offering advice for foods I shouldn't (aka: gluten) and should (aka: beets) be eating.
Because of her, I've gladly boosted my beet intake. Naturally supportive of bile creation, I grabbed a bunch of raw beets and tossed them into this smoothie. And lawd almighty, the color that came rockin' out the Vitamix had me doing the happy dance. Just gorgeous. Ruby hued perfection.
The smoothie is actually two layers. The first that bright pink you see up top. A second layer in poured inside, darker maroon and tinted with kale and pear.
I've started making my smoothies thinner than usual. Juice-like, instead of custard creamy. It makes it easier to suck down a full serving. I so often find myself not making it to the bottom of a glass when the smoothie is too thick or too cold. So this thinner smoothie approach is working quite nicely.
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY GEEK-OUT MOMENT
These images were shot with a Canon 5D Mk III paired with a Canon 24-70 f/2.8 . Shutterspeed was set to 125+ so I could hand hold my camera, and still end up with a crisp-sharp shot. F/3.5-5.0 allowed most of the photo to be evenly clear. If the light is good, I'll always shoot f/5.0 on my overhead shots.
See my setup and discover even more tricks with my 90-Minute Food Photography Crash Course.
The backdrop was created by smearing quickdry cement onto a plywood sheet (which I'd first spraypainted grey). If you'd like to recreate the technique, wear gloves. Then just plop the cement on the board and start spreading. The layer should be very thin, and uneven.
Once dry, I always spray my backdrops with matte or semi-gloss polyurethane, to ensure a washable coat. If they're not covered with some sort of protection, they don't last long. Food in every nook and cranny, and stains that too quickly become too stainy to shoot around. So make sure you cover your backdrop with some sort of spray!
DID YOU KNOW I JUST LAUNCHED AN ALL NEW DocuVlog?
Discover what A Day in the Life of A Food Photographer is like. Go inside my studio, visit me behind-the-scenes and see what I've got cookin' up. WATCH SEASON 1 of LOVE, LARK NOW.
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GET A FREEBIE
Download a FREE Hi-Res Version from this shoot via Unsplash.
- 1/2 raw beet, peeled
- 1 tangerine, peeled
- 1 Meyer lemon, peeled
- 1" fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup pineapple, cored and peeled
- 1 very ripe pear, cored
- 3 large purple kale leaves, chopped
- 1 tsp chia