Yum.
This morning I had one of the creamiest, most delicious green smoothies I’ve had in a very long time.
I’m still reliving each swallow.
Here’s the ingredient list:
Almond Joy
2/3 cup creamy home-made almond milk (see recipe below)
1/2 cup water
1 knob fresh ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flax seed
2 cups baby spinach
4-5 large kale leaves
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup frozen cranberries
1 cup frozen mango chunks
Optional – natural sweetener to taste
Oooh. La. La.
There’s no doubt that this was a winning combination of vegetables and fruit. However, I think what really shaped the dreamy, creamy consistency of this smoothie was the home-made almond milk. It’s so easy to make if you have a high-powered blender (think Vitamix or Blendtec, for example).
And home-made nut or seed milk means no preservatives, especially the inflammation-promoting food additive carrageenan, which many of us who are health-conscious make every effort to avoid.
Here are the simple steps to make fresh almond milk:
- Soak 1 cup of non-irradiated* almonds in filtered water for about 24 hours – ensure almonds are covered by about an inch of water. *Non-irradiated almonds can be found at some health food stores. Look online for where to find in your neighbourhood.
- Rinse almonds.
- Put almonds and 3 cups of filtered water in blender.
- Add sweetener or fresh vanilla, if desired. (e.g. raw honey, stevia, fresh dates)
- Blend until smooth and thick.
- Pour blender contents into nut bag or cheesecloth, and squeeze liquid into big bowl.
Now, find a good old-fashioned glass container to hold this luscious milk.
This was the base of my smoothie this morning. It was all I could do to not swig down the almond milk before making the smoothie.
There’s nothing like a decadent-tasting, yet totally healthy smoothie.
So good.
I used my fingers to get every last drop.
I just had to.