Healthy Holiday Smoothie with Cauliflower

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Have you ever made a green smoothie with cauliflower?  I hadn’t even considered it until a few weeks ago when I was working out the best way to freeze cauliflower (you need to blanch it first).  There was a smoothie recipe that included frozen cauliflower and said that it made for a super smooth smoothie, so I had to do some investigating.

And turns out, they were right. The cauliflower is an awesome addition to my smoothies.  Today, I want to share with you a simple smoothie recipe that will be great for the holidays.  Not only is it full of the good stuff, it tastes great and will likely fit in with your favorite winter decor, no matter what holiday you celebrate this time of year.

Most of my smoothies have the same base of banana, greek yogurt, and some sort of milk (dairy, nut, soy, or oat), and this one is no different.  We’ll add in some pineapple, cauliflower, coconut, and almonds and you’ll be surprised at what a delicious healthy smoothie you’ll end up with.

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What’s so healthy about the ingredients in this smoothie?

One of the things that I love about this healthy smoothie is that there are no added sugars.  No maple syrup, honey, etc here. Rather, the sweetness of the banana and pineapple take care of that.  But what about the other ingredients?

• almonds:  almonds give a little bit of texture and a whole lot of nutrients to this smoothie.  They are a great source of Vitamin E and loaded with antioxidants (want to know more about antioxidants?  I talk about them in this post).
• cauliflower: buy frozen or buy a whole head and cut it up, blanch it and freeze it.  Cauliflower actually contains some of almost every vitamin and mineral you need.  It’s high in fiber and low in calories, making it a great addition to this smoothie.
• greek yogurt: high in protein, greek yogurt provides a nice base for the creaminess of this smoothie.  If you would like to make it non-dairy you can easily sub for coconut yogurt.
• milk: any type will work here, so it’s endlessly adaptable based on taste and dietary preferences.  You can use dairy, soy, nut, oat in a one to one substitution and you’ll still get a great tasting healthy holiday smoothie.

Do you need a Vitamix to make this holiday smoothie?

I would highly suggest using a Vitamix or another high speed blender (I can’t speak to how these work, because I haven’t tried them) for this smoothie.  I find that regular blenders just can’t handle the frozen fruit the same way the high speed blenders can.  You’ll find yourself adding more liquid than you really want to and end up with a liquidy, not so satisfying experience.

For me, a smoothie should be closer to the consistency of a really good milkshake, not the consistency of yogurt in a tube (bleh!).  To do this, you’ll want to ensure that your ingredients are frozen, and that the blender is doing the hard work for you.

So what’s the holiday twist?

This is a smoothie without much color to it, so you can garnish and dress up to match you holiday decor as you please.  The flavor profile will take you to your favorite beach vacation, but with a few simple twists, you’ll be celebrating your favorite winter holiday:

• celebrating Hanukkah: Garnish with frozen blueberries for a lovely blue and white holiday smoothie
• celebrating Christmas: Blend in some spinach leaves for a great green smoothie. Then garnish with any frozen red berry of your choice
• celebrating winter: add a sprinkle of cinnamon to the top
• pretending your on vacation: garnish with a slice of pineapple and a little paper umbrella

Tips and Tricks:

• Make sure that all of your ingredients are frozen.  I keep peeled bananas in my freezer at all times for this exact reason.  (also, great for the last minute banana bread craving).  
• Did you make too much?  Or want to make a double batch?  This smoothie freezes great. I like to freeze mine in mason jars, and then just either defrost in the fridge overnight or microwave for 60-90 seconds before enjoying.
• Really want to punch up the pina colada flavor? Use coconut milk as your milk choice in this recipe. You can also add a splash of pineapple juice if you feel like it!

Looking for other simple healthy breakfast ideas? Check these out!

• blueberry overnight oats
• apple pie overnight oats
• pumpkin ovenight oats

Want to make these now?  Are you missing some ingredients? Amazon Now can get them to you in a few hours,  Instacart can get them to you today.  Or add them to your Peapod grocery list and don’t be stuck without them again!