By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.
The other night I stopped by a friend’s house and we got to lamenting the fruit selection at this time of year. The citrus is ok and sometimes you can find a good pineapple, but the apples are past their prime and berries are way out of season. In short, it is a bummer. So that is when I shared my secret to surviving the mid-winter fruit doldrums: frozen fruit! This is the time of year when I stock up on frozen berries each week and use them to mix into yogurt and oatmeal, bake them in desserts, and make smoothies. So when I was invited to participate in the Wild Your Smoothie Recipe Contest I was psyched because it meant I could share one of my absolute favorite smoothies made with my hands-down favorite frozen fruit: wild blueberries.
If you have never tried wild blueberries, you are missing out! They are what blueberries are supposed to taste like—a sweet and tart flavor explosion in your mouth! They have a much stronger blueberry flavor because the plants are wild and genetically-diverse with thousands of interlocking plants spreading naturally across fields called barrens. As I kid I loved picking wild blueberries, but they can be hard to find, so now I depend on the frozen version, which miraculously keep their flavor and nutrition since they are individual quick-frozen at harvest. The other perk of wild blueberries is that they have twice (!) the antioxidant capacity of the larger, cultivated blueberries and can help with gut health, diabetes, cancer, and brain health. Pretty amazing, right?! And here’s the best part: frozen wild blueberries are super easy to find since almost every grocery store has them!
Ok. So now let’s talk about this smoothie. It is, in a word, heavenly. I am not a big fan of those super, sweet one-note smoothies that make you feel virtuous but don’t really have much interest to them. I like smoothies to have a kick, something that makes them different and interesting. And this one fits the bill! Between the super blueberry-ness and the ginger and cardamom, you’ve got layers of flavor that make you feel like you are drinking a decadent, creamy, luscious treat, while still getting an amazing nutritional boost with greens, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories all in one. Ready to dive in? Here’s the recipe!
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
- 1 cup milk (or milk alternative of your choice)
- 1 banana
- 1 or 2 handfuls of baby spinach (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup pineapple (fresh, frozen, or canned)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- Combine all the ingredients in your blender and puree until smooth. Enjoy.
Sounds delish! I’ve been making the same smoothie every weekday for many months. Time to try this new recipe!
(Current recipe is 50g frozen chickpeas, 50g frozen blueberries, 80g frozen chopped kale, 1 banana, 100g soy milk, and water to make 24 oz., since the Bella Rocket Pro cup has a line at 24 oz.)
That sounds great, too! I like the chickpeas for protein. I’d love to hear what you think, if you give this one a shot!