Dark Cherry Green Smoothie
A celebration of summer's cherries
Posted August 21st, 2010 by noelle | View Comments
After a few different variations — and one satisfied tummy — I came up with a new way to add creaminess to a smoothie. Before I had a hard time getting a good “creamy” factor without using a banana or a few slices of avocado. While I still LOVE to use bananas and avocados in my smoothies, I also love the addition of homemade nut milks. They are super easy to make and boy do they add a wonderful creaminess. Indulge in this Dark Cherry Green Smoothie and also capitalize on the antioxidant packed cherry. Antioxidants, or “free radical fighters” may help prevent cancer and heart disease as well as slow the aging process.
You might also like this Cashew Peach Green Smoothie.
Dark Cherry Green Smoothie
Serving Size: 1 (makes 16 ounces), ~300 calories per serving
Ingredients
1/3 cup cashews, unroasted and unsalted if possible* (Why?)
2 tablespoons of good maple syrup or 1/4 TEAspoon Stevia*
1/4 cup dark cherries, frozen
1 1/3 cup filtered water
1 handful (or ~1 cup) fresh spinach
2-3 ice cubes, optional
Better-for-you ingredients
Learn more about the better-for-you ingredients in this recipe:
- Fruit, including cherries, is loaded with fiber, which is crucial in a cleansing diet.
- Cashews are a great way to get your protein as an alternative to meat, fish and eggs. Protein is a key part of a well-balanced diet.
- Stevia. A better-for-you sweetener. Artificial sweeteners like Splenda often linger around in your bod gunking up the works. These sweeteners ultimately slow down your bod’s healing and rejuvenation work.
Directions
Place cashews, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup (or your sweetener of choice), cherries, spinach and 1 cup of water with 4-5 ice cubes into a Blendtec (or good powerful blender) until smooth and creamy. Add an additional 1/3 cup of water and more ice if desired. I enjoyed the extra tablespoon of maple syrup (for a total of two tablespoons), but if you prefer stick with one. Pour into a glass and enjoy. YUM.
Notes *:
- Stevia is a plant native to Central and South America. It is 300 times as sweet as sugar, but has zero calories. I recommend the Nu Naturals brand of Stevia in powdered form.
- Soak cashews for 15-20 minutes in your blender to maximize the creaminess of the cashews if you do not have a high powered blender.
- Leftover unroasted/unsalted cashews? Use them in this Cashew Peach Green Smoothie.
