It seems, over the years, smoothies have become a meal replacement rather than a dessert like the beloved milk shake. I think when we started making smoothies with fruit and not ice cream, we thought we were making them healthier; however, the sugar in a fruit smoothie can sometimes have more sugar than the milk shake! But like a lot of things, the smoothie has evolved. We’ve gotten smart and added protein powder, that actually tastes good to enhance our “meal replacement”. We’ve also added foods like spinach, nut butters, almond milk, and ground flax seed to make them even healthier. If you leave out the high sugar fruit and add low glycemic fruits like berries, well you’re on your way to something even better.
Personally I love my daily smoothie. I like sprinkling a little homemade Gingerbread Granola (Pg. 17 from our Cookbook, “People Like Us, Make Food Like This”) on top with a teaspoon of peanut butter (Kraft Only Peanuts with Seasalt, All Natural Peanut Butter, of course)! I like it so much because it tastes like ice cream, but it’s got so many foods in it that are good for you and hardly any sugar. I’ve said this before…if you can create a dish that tastes amazing, but is low in calories, sugar and fat, well, you’re winning!
This smoothie that I’ve put together is good for you and it tastes good. Winning. First you put in the berries – blackberries and raspberries – an excellent choice. Blackberries and raspberries are some of the foods that actually help reduce inflammation. As we age, we tend to have more areas in our body that may get inflamed. Some inflammation is good, but when we start having chronic inflammation, that’s when things could start going sideways. Inflammation left unchecked can contribute to chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart disease and other conditions. Try adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet like blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, fermented foods such as kombucha, kimchi and kefir, fatty fish, avocados and green tea.
In addition to the berries, I’ve added vanilla protein powder, almond milk, non-fat 0% Greek yogurt, peanut butter (protein sources), and spinach for nutrients. Spinach is a nutrient-rich vegetable, so it has high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium. The bonus with spinach in a smoothie is you don’t even taste it really, but it’s packed with so many nutrients. Winning again.
Blackberry Raspberry Smoothie
a quick protein, fruit and nutrient dense smoothie
Ingredients
- 8 blackberries
- 10 raspberries
- 1/4 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 1 tsp natural peanut butter Kraft Only Peanuts with Sea Salt, All Natural Peanut Butter
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- handful spinach (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup ice
Instructions
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Using a magic bullet or a blender, place all the ingredients in and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
I use President's Choice Natural Source Whey Protein Isolate Vanilla flavored. It is sweetened with Stevia Extract and therefore doesn't need to have added sweetening. It is a protein powder that has 25 grams of protein per 30 gram serving.
You can also use frozen berries instead of fresh. If you do use frozen, you may want to eliminate the ice.
Try this smoothie. It’s a great meal replacement with all the goodies!
