Mango Banana Batido

Drinking cold juices or water with heaps of ice cubes has never been my thing. And I've never been a big fan of smoothies either because, even though I like the idea of drinking fruit (uh... yum!), I just can't deal with the ice factor... it just plain old hurts my head! The batido, which Josh and I discovered in Costa Rica, is the answer I've been looking for all these years: healthy, refreshing, just slightly sweet and only as cold as the temperature of the rice milk used to make it. The best ones I tried came from the mom and pop type sodas (restaurant) simply because, unlike the american or european versions we tried, they weren't packed with crushed ice. The recipe I give below uses agave syrup instead of sugar, which is what the waitress at La Amistad Soda in Monteverde told us she uses, and rice milk instead of cow's milk. You can also use water instead of milk for a lighter drink, and you should feel free to expirament with different fruit and fruit combinations.

For two generous, pint-sized servings, place the following in a blender:

• 2 ripe mangos, peeled, pitted and cut
• 1 banana, peeled

Next, pour in just enough rice milk (or milk or water) to cover the fruit and add in a few squirts of agave syrup (or a teaspoon or so of sugar, or to taste). Blend on high until smooth. Adjust more liquid if necessary as well as sweetener if you prefer sweeter drinks.

Try a blackberry batido as well:

• About 3/4 cup frozen blackberries
• 1 banana, peeled

Place the berries in the blender with enough water and blend. Strain and return to blender. Add the banana and sweetener and serve cold.