Saturday, June 20, 2015

Blueberry Chia Smoothie - A Refreshing Antioxidant Boost

Happy Saturday! This morning hubby and I got up early to walk before it got hot. It was only 75 degrees, but the humidity was 89% so it was still quite sweltering. When we got done, I just wasn't in the mood for a hot breakfast, so I thought I'd just have some Greek yogurt along with some fresh blueberries. Now, I am normally not a big smoothie type of person because I'd much rather "eat" my food...but as I reached for the big container of Fage Greek yogurt and blueberries, my eye caught the carton of unsweetened Silk cashew milk beside it. I decided that in addition to the enormous amounts of water I had already consumed to rehydrate myself, that maybe this morning, drinking my breakfast might be a good idea. All I can say is....it was JUST what I needed and very satisfying, too. My smoothie consisted of unsweetened cashew milk, Greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, chia seeds, a bit of stevia and ice. I loved it. I snapped a quick photo as well as my easy peasy recipe. I used my Vitamix which has a pre-timed smoothie setting to blend everything, so if you don't have as powerful of a blender, you may want to use crushed ice instead of ice cubes so you don't damage your machine. Enjoy!



Blueberry Chia Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cashew milk
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (you can use frozen or other berries)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
Stevia, to taste
1 cup ice cubes (or crushed ice)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to blender container and blend at high speed until thickened, combined and frothy.

        

8 comments:

Sami said...

Love smoothies, and I've been adding a lot of chia seeds to my breakfast yogurt lately, so this is great!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Sami,

Hope you enjoy it. I've actually been adding about 1 teaspoon of chia seeds to my weekday breakfast yogurt, too. I eat the individual cups of Fage 2% Greek yogurt and add a teaspoon of chia and sweeten with stevia. I figured it was an easy way to add nutrition and fiber along with a little crunch. I really have enjoyed it, too. :-)

Sylvia said...

Happy first day of Summer!!!
I make similar smoothies using the unsweetened cashew milk (which I prefer to the almond milk) and Fage yougurt, chia seeds, and sweeten with stevia (sometimes leaves from my stevia plant). I use frozen berries and I also use a frozen, peeled, green banana for the resistant starch (which feeds the gut).
I also make my own milk kefir and use that to make my smoothies!! A friend had extra grains in the refrigerato and shared with me. Now I have plenty of live grains to share!!
This morning's smoothie: 1 1/2 cups milk kefir, 1 frozen green banana, a handfull of carrot greens (I belong to a farm coop and had fresh carrots), half of an avocado, liquid stevia, and some frozen berry mix!! Absolutely delicious!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Sylvia,

Happy first day of Summer to you! I agree with you about the cashew milk. I've never been a big fan of almond milk (and I love almonds...go figure). But I find the unsweetened cashew milk the best dairy free substitute for milk or cream. Sometimes when I'm adding cream to a recipe, I will substitute half unsweetened cashew milk. I know about the green bananas and resistant starch but have not yet used them. I assume you peel them before you freeze them?

Your smoothie sounds delicious! I plan to experiment more with smoothies because while I normally prefer to eat/chew my meals, oftentimes in this oppressive heat and humidity I actually prefer a cool and refreshing smoothie...this way I can drink my yogurt, fresh berries, chia seeds, etc. with the cashew milk as the base. Cashew milk is definitely a game changer for me! :-)

CyberSis said...

I'm with you, GGC,

Cashew milk is the best thing to come along since sliced almond flour bread! ;-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis,

It really is...it's my favorite dairy milk substitute. :-)

Michele said...

Hi GCC,

Just made this and really liked it. I added a little Torani vanilla sugar free syrup for the sweetner and it was great. Probably not as healthy as the stevia but easy & good. Now, I am thinking strawberry, blackberry and raspberry are in my future.
Thanks for the recipe!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Michele,

Glad you enjoyed it. You can add just about anything you like. I'd like to give blackberries a try, too. With the heat we've had, I need to make this again soon! You are very welcome! :-)