We're still knee-deep in smoothie-ville here in the Blondie household. I'm still sticking to my 1-green-smoothie-a-day plan (almost 2 years strong!) and it has been a HUGE jump start to my day (or even a late-afternoon boost!) I love my green smoothies, and probably always will find a way to have one each day forever. However, sometimes I feel like I need something else (instead of that heaping pile of ice cream at night) to satisfy my craving for a creamy milkshake or something sweet and cold. That's when this recipe came to life in my kitchen! This coconut raspberry smoothie is perfect to satisfy that craving, and guess what? It's a healthy guilt-free smoothie, so drink up darlings!
The base of the smoothie is something I always have in my fridge anyways: unsweetened coconut almond milk. It makes such a difference in smoothies (that extra lovely hint of coconut goes a long way), and is super-guilt free for me. I'm not a dairy-hater or anything, I've just noticed that my face doesn't break out as much when I drink almond milk instead of skim or any other cow's milk.
Next, I used a banana. I LOVE smoothies with bananas. They add the creaminess and extra sweetness that I crave in a smoothie. Another plus - if you freeze them first (without the peel, of course), they add a really frosty cold texture, too. I've noticed that using a freshly yellow banana doesn't taste nearly as sweet as a banana with a few brown spots on it. It's not always possible to time the smoothie to when our bananas are at the perfect sweetness, so what we do sometimes is we peel, slice up, and freeze the bananas when they're at the perfect texture and sweetness. That way they're always ready to go!
To echo and enhance the coconut flavor, I added a bit of coconut flakes and coconut extract. The coconut flakes do wonders to this smoothie, but you need to make sure you have a blender strong enough to chop up those little beauties into a powder. I like my smoothies thick, but my husband didn't like the thick texture on this one (my solution: blend more until the coconut is broken down, and add a little more coconut almond milk).
Next, the star ingredient, and what gives this gorgeous smoothie its lovely ruby color: raspberries. Whenever I buy raspberries at the store, I check the produce & the freezer section and see where the prices are less. When they're in season, they'll be much better priced in the fresh produce section, but for the most part of the year, the freezer section is better priced. Besides, I LOVE the frosted look and taste/texture of the frozen ones in a smoothie. The tartness is dreamy, and melds so beautifully with the soft coconut banana base we've created.
That's it! Hope you enjoy this lovely smoothie, and have an awesome weekend! I have a wedding cake and some cupcakes to make, and can't wait to dive right in. MMmmmmmM! Maybe I'll have to snack on one of these smoothies while I bake. :)
The base of the smoothie is something I always have in my fridge anyways: unsweetened coconut almond milk. It makes such a difference in smoothies (that extra lovely hint of coconut goes a long way), and is super-guilt free for me. I'm not a dairy-hater or anything, I've just noticed that my face doesn't break out as much when I drink almond milk instead of skim or any other cow's milk.
Next, I used a banana. I LOVE smoothies with bananas. They add the creaminess and extra sweetness that I crave in a smoothie. Another plus - if you freeze them first (without the peel, of course), they add a really frosty cold texture, too. I've noticed that using a freshly yellow banana doesn't taste nearly as sweet as a banana with a few brown spots on it. It's not always possible to time the smoothie to when our bananas are at the perfect sweetness, so what we do sometimes is we peel, slice up, and freeze the bananas when they're at the perfect texture and sweetness. That way they're always ready to go!
To echo and enhance the coconut flavor, I added a bit of coconut flakes and coconut extract. The coconut flakes do wonders to this smoothie, but you need to make sure you have a blender strong enough to chop up those little beauties into a powder. I like my smoothies thick, but my husband didn't like the thick texture on this one (my solution: blend more until the coconut is broken down, and add a little more coconut almond milk).
Next, the star ingredient, and what gives this gorgeous smoothie its lovely ruby color: raspberries. Whenever I buy raspberries at the store, I check the produce & the freezer section and see where the prices are less. When they're in season, they'll be much better priced in the fresh produce section, but for the most part of the year, the freezer section is better priced. Besides, I LOVE the frosted look and taste/texture of the frozen ones in a smoothie. The tartness is dreamy, and melds so beautifully with the soft coconut banana base we've created.
That's it! Hope you enjoy this lovely smoothie, and have an awesome weekend! I have a wedding cake and some cupcakes to make, and can't wait to dive right in. MMmmmmmM! Maybe I'll have to snack on one of these smoothies while I bake. :)
Coconut Raspberry Smoothie
makes 2 servings
ingredients:
1 C coconut almond milk, unsweetened
1 medium almost-ripe banana
1 t coconut extract
1/8 C shredded coconut (optional)
1 C frozen raspberries
3 ice cubes
method:
1. In the base of your blender (a good quality and high-power blender is best for this recipe, it will chop up the coconut bits down the best), add the banana, coconut extract, shredded coconut, raspberries, ice cubes, and then the coconut almond milk.
2. Blend until everything is pureed, add more coconut almond milk to thicken if desired. Enjoy immediately!
Recipe adapted from: Creme de a Crumb
you have the best baking blog ever.. gosh this is so lovely... melodyjacob1.blogspot.com . thanks
ReplyDeleteAfter my first glass of Green drink, I immediately felt it going to work at balancing my system and flushing out toxins. I could feel a cool rush going down my stomach.
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