My favourite combination of mango and raspberry in a smoothie matched up with some kale for an extra health boost.
I’ve long been a fan of smoothies. I try to cook healthy food and make sure that I get lots of fruits and vegetables in me but I often fail. When I say fail, I mean I have cereal for two meals and maybe some toast or a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. I’m better at making sure Timothy gets some healthy food in him than I am myself. It is days like these that I turn to smoothies. I try to keep some sort of leafy green on hand and I will use either spinach or kale in a smoothie. I do keep it heavy on fruit though. I’m not a masochist so I feel no need to torment myself with pureed, cold vegetables. I tried beets in my juicer once; totally tastes like dirt. I will stick to roasting them into deliciousness with some sea salt and balsamic vinegar rather than having them in raw liquid form.
We are not dairy free in my house since we aren’t allergic to it, nor are we vegan. I have been given the opportunity to try out almond milk from Almond Breeze. I have been purchasing almond milk for a while now, simply because I like the variety in smoothies. If you have been a long time reader then you may remember my blog post for Applesauce, Prune & Milled Flaxseed Muffins, where I discuss an issue Timothy had with constipation. We took him off of dairy for a while and substituted in almond milk for him to see if that would help. His issue was unrelated to diet but we have been buying almond milk here and there since then. The chocolate almond milk is my favourite for drinking straight up. I really don’t like any other non-dairy milks. They have a funny taste to me whereas almond milk, simply put, tastes like almonds. If you have no tree nut allergies, then I think almond milk is a great substitute for regular dairy. Next time I will share a baking recipe that subs in almond milk where I would normally put regular milk. It turned out perfectly.
I’m not really a fan of using protein powder since it is so processed that it weirds me out, but I do like to add other supplements to smoothies. I sometimes add matcha green tea powder and I almost always add Omega 3 fish oil that is citrus flavoured. I know it sounds pretty grody to add fish oil to pretty much anything, but it is so damn good for you. The citrus flavoured kind that I buy doesn’t give you the fish burps like cod liver oil would. The citrus flavour also goes really well with the mango. If you want to add in a supplement like fish oil to your diet and think that it is just too icky to take fish oil by the spoonful like my husband does, then adding it to smoothies is the way to go. The liquid kind is much more potent than the capsules which is why I buy it. Plus, I hate taking pills.
You will likely notice that I put Greek yogurt in my smoothie recipe, below. As I said, we are not a dairy free household. If you are and want a natural way to up the protein in your smoothie, then I suggest adding some almond butter and upping the amount of almond milk so it doesn’t end up as thick as pudding.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Almond Breeze almond milk. All opinions are my own.
Mango Raspberry and Kale Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond milk plain or vanilla
- 1 cup frozen mango chunks slightly thawed
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries slightly thawed
- 1 cup vanilla flavoured Greek Yogurt
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh kale a large handful
- juice of half a lime
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a blender, starting with the almond milk.
- Pulse until the frozen fruit starts to blend in. If it is too thick because the fruit is still frozen solid, add some warm water. If the fruit gets stuck, make sure the machine is off and use a spoon to stir things around a bit so it can get going again.
- To make sure that the kale is pureed nicely with the rest of the smoothie, run the blender for about a minute once the smoothie is liquified without big chunks of mango getting stuck.
- Makes two large smoothies. Keep in the fridge for an hour or two or serve immediately.
I actually like the taste a little better with the added fish oil. I add in the lemon flavoured stuff, and I find it gives it a fuller flavour.