Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

This smoothie is one of my favorite breakfasts. It is quick and easy, tastes sinfully delicious yet is healthy and keeps me full for hours. I make it with the banana and oatmeal for Brian while I prefer it without the banana and and with protein powder in place of the oatmeal for myself.

I change up my smoothies depending on the mood I’m in, and what I have in the refrigerator, freezer and garden. I like smoothies that are low in carbohydrates (no banana) while Brian likes the texture of added banana. If the smoothie is a complete meal then I add protein powder.

Here is a master recipe for smoothies, adapted from The Quick and Easy Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook by Dr. Keesha Ewers:

Protein: 1 scoop protein powder (I prefer Designs for Health VegeMeal pea based vegan protein powder), 1 Tbs. chia seeds or your favorite clean protein source.

Greens: 1/2 – 1 cup mixed organic greens or your favorite chopped vegetable such as carrots, beets or cucumber.

Fat: 1 Tbs. MCT oil, coconut oil, ground flax or oil, nut butter, sunflower seed butter (my favorite) or 1/4 avocado.

Liquid: 1 cup coconut, almond, oatmilk, herbal or green tea or filtered water.

Spice: Cacao, 1/2 inch fresh ginger root, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, edible essential oils, cocoa nibs, lemon or lime juice or stevia.

Fruit: (optional): 1/2 – 1 cup frozen berries, cherries or pumpkin puree.

If you are trying to lose weight do not add fruit and use water or unsweetened coconut milk (that is under 45 calories per cup). If you need to sweeten your smoothie try stevia drops. Also limit fat to 1/2 Tbs. The addition of Turmeric and ginger root help to reduce inflammation. Ground flax, chia seeds, raw cocoa and green tea increases antioxidants but also help boost metabolism.

You need to have a powerful blender for making smoothies. We used to have a Vitamix blender, which worked well for smoothies and so much more. However we lost our Vitamix blender and everything else we owned including our home in the 2017 wildfire that tore through Santa Rosa, California. Instead of replacing the Vitamix (which we had purchased at a much reduced price at Costco and was no longer available at that price) we bought an Oster Smoothie Blender. We have been extremely impressed with this powerful blender and so far (3 years later) have been able to do everything that we were able to do with the Vitamix for a fraction of the cost.

Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

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Recipe by Jackie’s Veggie Kitchen Course: Breakfast, lunch, snack

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

0

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Cup frozen cherries

• 1 scoop Vegan, stevia sweetened vanilla protein powder

• 1 Tbs. Heaping spoon of raw cocoa powder

• 1/2 Tbs. salted sunflower seed butter

• 1/2 Cup baby spinach leaves

• 1 Cup unsweetened coconut milk (refrigerated carton)

• 2 cubes ice

Directions

• Add all ingredient to blender in the order listed above.
  
• Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender such as a Vitamix or a Oster Smoothie Blender for at least 1 minute. Use spatula to clean sides of blender 1/2 way through blending. If smoothie is too thick to blend add additional liquid 1 Tbs. at a time until desired consistency.

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