Creative Cooks

COCONUT CLEMENTINE GREEN SMOOTHIE
PREP TIME 5 mins TOTAL TIME 5 mins
Serves: 2 smoothies

INGREDIENTS
4-5 clementine’s, peeled, strings mostly removed
1 ripe banana, previously sliced and frozen
½ cup light coconut milk (sub other non-dairy milk with varied results)
1 big handful greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc)
3-4 ice cubes
OPTIONAL: A few fresh mint or cilantro leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Adjust flavor as needed, adding more banana for sweetness, ice for thickness, and herbs for a bit of earthiness.

NUTRITION INFORMATION
Serving size: ½ recipe Calories: 182 Fat: 3.3g Saturated fat: 2.9g Carbohydrates: 40g Sugar: 29g Sodium: 40mg Fiber: 3.6g Protein: 3.4g

Chocolate Covered Clementine Smoothie
SERVES 2 TOTAL TIME: 15 MINUTES

Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) can full fat coconut milk
4 ounces high-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
6 clementines, peeled
1 blood orange, peeled
1 banana, frozen
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 to 6 ice cubes

Directions:
Stir or shake the can of coconut milk well so the water and cream are combined. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl. Remove 4 tablespoons of the coconut milk from the can and set the can aside. Heat the 4 tablespoons of coconut milk until hot - I find it easiest to put it in a small bowl and microwave it since it’s a smaller amount, but you can also heat it on the stovetop. Once hot, pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir constantly until the chocolate melts completely. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes so it thickens a bit. This makes a good amount of ganache and you can store it in the fridge, so if you don’t want extra, cut the amount of ingredients in half.

Once the ganache has sat, spoon it inside the top half (or bottom… or both) of two glasses.

In a blender, combine the remaining coconut milk, clementines, orange, banana, vanilla extract and ice in a blender and puree until completely smooth. Pour into the chocolate covered glasses and DRINK!

Lean Green Power Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped
Juice from 1 lime
1 cup baby spinach leaves
10 mint leaves, chopped
1 tsp agave nectar
Crushed ice

Instructions:

Purée ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses, garnish with a cucumber spear and serve.

*serves 2

IMMUNE BOOSTER ORANGE SMOOTHIE
Serves: 2

INGREDIENTS
1 cup loosely packed sweet potato puree (~1 large potato), skin removed (or sub pumpkin puree + extra banana or maple syrup for sweetness)
1 medium ripe banana, previously sliced and frozen
1 Tbsp almond butter (optional)
1/4 tsp each ground turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger (if using fresh ginger, use 1 tsp chopped)
1/2 Tbsp flaxseed meal or chia seeds
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup orange juice (optional)
Large handful ice

INSTRUCTIONS
To bake your sweet potato, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and split in half lengthwise. Lightly oil and place face down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until soft - 25-30 minutes.
Or, to steam, place in a steamer basket over 2 inches of simmering water and cover to steam for roughly 5-10 minutes or until fork tender. Let cool slightly before adding to blender.
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down sides as needed.
Taste and adjust seasonings/sweetness as needed. Add more banana or orange for added sweetness, and more ice to thicken.
Split between two small glasses and serve. Garnish with extra cinnamon.

Cherry Cobbler Smoothies
TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 10 min. MAKES: 5 servings

Ingredients
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups ice cubes
2 cups frozen pitted dark sweet cherries
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
In a blender, combine all ingredients; cover and process for 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour into chilled glasses; serve immediately. Yield: 5 servings.

Nutritional Facts
1 cup equals 197 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 66 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein.

Banana-Oat Smoothie
SERVINGS: 1

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 banana, cut into thirds
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

In a blender, combine oats, yogurt, banana, fat-free milk, honey, and cinnamon; puree until smooth. Serve immediately.

Apple-Cinnamon & Almond Smoothie
Serves 1, easily doubled

Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for garnish
1 sweet apple, cored, skin left on if you’ve got a powerful blender
Half of a ripe banana
1 teaspoon honey, preferably raw
2/3 – 3/4 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze Almond Milk
1 tablespoon creamy roasted almond butter
1 ice cube
1/2 teaspoon chia seeds

Combine the cinnamon, apple, banana, honey, 2/3 cup almond milk, and almond butter in a high-powered blender. Blend, starting on low and moving to high, for 2 minutes, or until all the grit of the apple is smooth.

Add the ice cube and the chia and blend again. Add a little more of the almond milk if you like your smoothie on the milky side. Serve, sprinkled with cinnamon.