Strawberry smoothie for a wonderful morning... or afternoon
Smoothies are a delicious start to the morning, a yummy pick-me-up snack, or a healthy dessert after a satisfying meal. They can be customized and loaded with all sorts of goodness! This strawberry smoothie has not only strawberries and chia seeds but also a secret ingredient..... cauliflower! That's right, there's cauliflower in this beautiful, yummy, easy recipe. I feed these to my kids regularly and they love them, even though my kids know that I've used cauliflower. It's not the same as eating a salad, but any time I can eat extra veggies (or get my kids to eat them), I consider that a win!
Why the Cauliflower?
Two reasons: cauliflower is super good for us and you can't taste or see it in this smoothie (so why not?!) Reasons cauliflower is healthy:
A great source of fiber, for keeping our digestion happy
Full of antioxidants that can protect against cancer
A powerhouse of choline, which is great for learning and memory
As written, this strawberry smoothie recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian. Feel free to use rice milk or hemp milk if you are nut-free. Smoothies are insanely forgiving. You can try this recipe with fruit other than strawberry, especially other berries, with different kinds of milk, more or fewer chia seeds, more or fewer ice cubes. You can use this recipe exactly as written or you can use it as a blueprint for smoothie creation. Let your imagination run wild, and find some awesome combinations that your family loves.
A note about blenders
We have a high powered blender, which is an awesome investment. It means that you can just dump everything in and blend away! If you have a lower-powered blender, you will want to blend the cauliflower and almond milk first, then add in the strawberries and blend, and then everything else with one last blend. This is to ensure that all the frozen lumps get really well incorporated.
Smoothies are a delicious start to the morning, a yummy pick-me-up snack, or a healthy dessert after a satisfying meal. They can be customized and loaded with all sorts of goodness! This strawberry smoothie has not only strawberries and chia seeds but also a secret ingredient..... cauliflower! That's right, there's cauliflower in this beautiful, yummy, easy recipe. I feed these to my kids regularly and they love them, even though my kids know that I've used cauliflower. It's not the same as eating a salad, but any time I can eat extra veggies (or get my kids to eat them), I consider that a win!
Author: Ashley Keating
Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 small banana (frozen, for a smoother consistency)
1 TBS chia seeds
1/4 cup frozen cauliflower rice
1/2 cup unsweet almond milk (for blending)
Optional: 2 or 3 ice cubes for frostiness
Optional: homemade whipped cream (or dairy-free whipped cream) for serving
Directions
Add everything to a high powered blender.
Blend, blend, blend until smooth and creamy. (Add extra milk if necessary for blending).
Top with home-made coconut whipped cream, or enjoy it as is!