Orange Peach Raspberry Smoothie

When I'm sick, I crave smoothies. Just thinking about blending together a bunch of vitamin-packed produce makes me feel a tad better, and my outlook only improves once I'm actually drinking it. Smoothies, especially ones that look like sunshine in a glass, also help me momentarily forget about winter. For me, they're are an important aspect of self-care. 

I wanted this smoothie to have plenty of Vitamin C, so I used oranges, peaches, and raspberries. Also, like I almost always do, I added an avocado. It makes the smoothie really creamy, but you won't taste it. The healthy fat from the avocado also makes this nice and filling.

To make the smoothie pack even more of a punch, I added some turmeric and fresh ginger. In addition to providing more potential health benefits, these rhizomes add depth of flavor, and the turmeric deepens the golden color.

The cara cara oranges I used also contributed to the hue of this drink. I bet using blood oranges would make the color pop even more!

Why Avocado Belongs in Your Smoothies

photos via Instagram

I have a new morning routine.  It begins at 5:30, and goes like this.  First, I stumble to the sink, get a glass of water, and drink it on the couch, usually while staring blankly at my Instagram feed.  After a minute, I've built up the energy necessary to take steps to obtain coffee, which then fuels the rest of my activities.  If there is coffee in the machine from the day before, I drop in three ice cubes and congratulate myself on making iced coffee.  If the machine is empty, I grumble a lot, make a new pot, and settle for hot coffee.

When the coffee hits, it's time to make a smoothie.  The smoothie is the highlight of my morning, and it's all because of the humble avocado.

A friend gave me an incredulous look recently when I mentioned putting avocado in my smoothies. I only started adding them in April, but they've already become such a smoothie essential for me that I was totally flabbergasted by her response.  I am writing this blog post on the off chance that you, like my friend, have not tried putting avocado in your smoothies yet.

Here are five quick reasons you should do it:

Berry Coconut Smoothie

I like to start my day with a smoothie, since it’s easy to make and gives me lots of energy.  I’ve made a lot of smoothies in my day, but this is the best one!  It’s very creamy and the shredded coconut gives it great texture.  If you have some coconut milk left over from making chocolate mousse, this is the perfect way to use it up.  You can use whatever fruit you have on hand.  If you use fresh fruit, add a handful of ice cubes to your smoothie to get that frozen feel. This recipe makes one very generous serving—I usually drink a full glass at breakfast, then save the rest for an afternoon snack.  If you use soy protein instead of whey protein, this can be vegan.  Refrigerate leftovers, or freeze them and blend again before serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cold water, plus more as needed
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Jay Robb's Vanilla Whey Protein Powder, and one scoop has 20 grams of protein.  Use soy protein for a vegan smoothie.)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Dash of nutmeg

Blend first four ingredients.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary.

Nutritional Information (I only share this for recipes where seeing the nutritional info won't discourage you from making it):

Calories-333
Fat-17 grams
Protein-18 grams
Carbohydrates-28 grams

I use sparkrecipes.com to calculate nutritional information, and can't guarantee that it's totally accurate.

I hope you enjoy this smoothie!  If you have your own go-to smoothie recipe, leave me a comment and let me know so I can try it.