Cherry Chocolate Smoothie
This Chocolate Cherry Smoothie is the perfect summer shake. You can enjoy it all year long by using frozen cherries or use the in-season fresh picks from your Farmer’s Market. We love it for breakfast - to start the morning with enough healthy fats to sustain you through lunch, plus get a big dose of nutrition from the cacao and the cherries.
WHY WE LOVE THIS:
Cherries are incredibly rich in antioxidants. You hear us talk a lot about antioxidant-rich foods here at Good Clean Food, and for a good reason. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of illness and chronic inflammation in the body. Cherries are also high in vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium, vitamin A, and folic acid.
Cherries can also help you sleep! Cherries are one of the few foods that contain melatonin, a hormone naturally produced by the body to help regulate our sleep cycle. Ideally, our bodies produce enough melatonin to help us sleep well. But because of the “busyness” of today’s world, blue light exposure from technology and lack of sunlight exposure - our melatonin production can get compromised. Consuming foods like cherries can assist our bodies in regulating these sleep cycles!
We also love that cherries are low on the glycemic index compared to other fruits, meaning they don’t have a negative impact on your blood sugar and insulin levels.
Plus, we always find that adding cacao to our smoothie makes us feel a bit happier and more energized. It’s the mood boosting "feel good" endorphins from the cacao kicking in!
CHERRY CHOCOLATE SMOOTHIE
Ingredients:
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6-8 frozen sweet dark cherries
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1 cup oat milk or nut milk of choice
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1/4 cup cauliflower
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1 Tbsp cacao powder
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1 date
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1 Tbsp almond butter
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2 tsp hemp hearts
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1 tsp cacao nibs
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1/4 cup spinach
Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend on high until creamy and smooth.
