A berry tasty sweetpotato smoothie
Guest post written by Veronica Shah of Healthsomeness
Smoothies have got to be one of the easiest and quickest types of recipes to prepare. All you need is some fruits, some vegetables and a liquid to mix everything up. Because of the different types of ingredients that you can add to them, smoothies are very nutritious and there are dozens of healthy & delicious smoothie recipes available.
Many people don’t think of adding sweetpotatoes to smoothies, but they don’t know what they are missing out on! Thanks to its natural sugars and unique taste, the sweet tater adds a delicious twist to any blender creation.
When using sweetpotato in a smoothie, you want to first make sure it is cooked, peeled and cooled before adding it in. You can cook the potato any way you like – bake, steam or microwave. The power of your blender’s blades will determine if you need to cut the potato into smaller pieces or whether you can add it in whole.
This Berry Tasty Sweetpotato Smoothie recipe has the following ingredients in it:
- 1 cup mixed frozen berries – blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries to be precise. Berries go well in just about any smoothie and using them frozen helps to make beverages thick and frothy, much like milkshakes. Antioxidants and berries go hand-in-hand and because of this they are considered to be some of the healthiest foods on the planet.
- 1/2 cup of sweetpotato, cooked – A half cup serving of sweetpotato will provide you with plenty of Vitamin A, which plays a vital role in vision, bone development and immune function. Sweetpotatoes also provide you with vitamin C, manganese, fiber and antioxidants!
- 1/2 frozen banana – Thanks to their sweetness, bananas are a very popular smoothie ingredient. When selecting them, go for the ones that have bright yellow skins with small black spots on them. These are the ones that are not too raw and not too ripe – they are just right.
- 1 cup of spinach – If someone handed you this smoothie without you knowing what was in it, you most likely wouldn’t be able to guess that there’s a whole cup of spinach in it! The pigments from the berries disguise it completely. A one cup serving of spinach has only 7 calories in it and is made up of more than 90% water. Despite this, it is very nutrient dense; one cup will provide you with lots of vitamin K which helps to promote bone density and strength.
- 1 cup of coconut water – Coconut water is a fantastic source of electrolytes, which is why it is sometimes drunk in place of sports drinks by athletes. Use coconut water straight out of the refrigerator to ensure that the smoothie is nice and cold when you sip it.
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon – Cinnamon and sweetpotatoes work so deliciously together. The oils found in this spice give it that lovely aroma we all know very well. Cinnamon contains substances that have medicinal properties and studies have shown that it acts as an anti-inflammatory and could protect against cancer.
- 1 tablespoon of chia seeds – Last, but not least, add some chia seeds to your smoothie for a little extra fiber and a small dose of protein. You can use any type of seed that you like, including flax, pumpkin and sunflower.
To prepare, add the coconut water into a blender followed by the rest of the ingredients. Blend for 20–30 seconds, until smooth. Enjoy!
Remember to tag @sweet_taters in your sweetpotato smoothie experimentations and we may feature your delicious image!