Do you believe in veggies in a smoothie?
If you’re not convinced yet, this creamy antioxidant smoothie is pretty delicious, I dare you to try it today!
FIRSTLY: VEGGIES IN A SMOOTHIE ROCK.
Why?
Because they’re packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and *usually* low in sugars.
And why it matters?
Smoothies can be sneaky and because we’re blending ingredients it may not seem like much. The fruit is lovely, but also high in fructose sugar which in excess isn’t great for us. Protein and fibre in plants will make you feel full for longer, support the healthy gut and nourish you from inside out.
Plants are superfoods on their own in this smoothie:
- cauliflower (rich in antioxidants like vitamin C, supports liver detoxification, rich in fibre and some B vitamins)
- green peas (rich in plant protein, fibre, antioxidants like vitamin C & A, some B vitamins, iron and potassium)
- curcumin (a known ant-inflammatory spice that may not need an introduction! widely used from drinks to curries; for best absorption use it with black pepper and some fats) (ps/ to rip the benefits of curcumin you actually need to eat a lot of turmeric regularly. I use curcumin tablets here as they are stronger than standard cooking turmeric, but just use what you have!)
Ingredients
1 cup cauliflower (frozen or steamed and cooled)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen green peas (or steamed and cooled)
1 tsp tahini (or nut butter)
1 tbsp of seeds of choice (I used mix of ground pumpkin seeds and flaxseed)
3 tbsp organic kefir/yoghurt (for extra good to support the healthy gut, skip if you like)
1 curcumin tablet (or sub 1 tsp ground turmeric with pinch of black pepper)
1 portion of protein powder (I used açaí blueberry by Vivolife; chocolate flavour would also go well)*
1 – 1 1/2 cups water / plant-based milk
Method
Simply put all ingredients with 1 cup of liquid (I use 3:1 water/plant milk mixture) into a powerful blender and mix all well until smooth. If you are aiming for a thick smoothie bowl, you may want to leave it like that. Otherwise, adjust the liquid to your preferred consistency and enjoy!
*(if you want to skip the protein powder, you could replace it with half a frozen banana and 1 heaped tbsp of hemp seeds; haven’t tried it though)