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Post-Holiday Recovery 101 with Smoothies

Weelicious founder Catherine McCord offers three smoothie recipes you will love

By Catherine McCord, founder of healthy-eating destination Weelicious and organic food delivery service One Potato January 3, 2020

The holidays are over which means so is the over-indulgence. Now it's time to reset! Check out these smoothie recipes from author Catherine McCord to get you started. Want more? Check out her new book "The Smoothie Project."



 

Bright Blue

Serves 1

My kids call this the Smurf smoothie on account of its intense blue color, which only enhances its drinkability in their eyes, but trust me when I say that you don’t need to be a kid to love it.

The kid (and parent) in me rejoiced the day I discovered Blue Majik, a magical blue algae powder that is an extract of spirulina and can naturally turn food a shade of blue I had thought impossible. While you may cringe at the thought of putting algae in your smoothie, the taste is completely masked. And it delivers 24 percent of your daily iron, containing even more than spinach, and is believed to support joints and increase energy.

Ingredients:

  • 2 fresh or frozen bananas, peeled
  • 1/3 cup (60 g) fresh or frozen mango chunks 
  • 1/4 cup (33 g) frozen cauliflower florets
  • 1 serving Blue Majik
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup (180 ml) milk of choice

Optional super boosts: 

  • Bee pollen
  • Chia seeds
  • Hemp seeds
  • Vanilla or plain protein powder 
  • Collagen peptides
  • Reishi
  • Ashwagandha
  • Probiotic powder 
  • Pink Himalayan salt 
  • Brazil nuts

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.




Peanut Butter Banana Date Shake

Serves 1

When it comes to the foods I almost always have on hand, peanut butter is at the top of the list. Not so surprising since I have three kids. I use it in sandwiches, as a heaping spoonful when one of us is starving and needs a protein pick-me-up, and for smoothies—especially in this shake. The dates lend a nice caramel note, while the chia seeds add a punch of omega-3 fatty acids and protein. It’s a smoothie you’ll suck down so fast all you’ll be left with is the craving to have it again as soon as possible.

Ingredients:

  • 1 frozen banana, peeled
  • 2 dried dates, pitted
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter*   
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 cup (240 ml) milk of choice

Optional super boosts: 

  • Bee pollen
  • Hemp seeds
  • Flax seeds
  • Maca powder
  • Vanilla or plain protein powder 
  • Collagen peptides
  • Reishi
  • Ashwagandha
  • Probiotic powder
  • Pink Himalayan salt
  • Brazil nuts

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

*I highly recommend using organic peanut butter, as peanuts are among the most heavily sprayed crops we eat and thus can be carcinogenic. In spite of their name, peanuts are not nuts, but rather legumes, which grow underground and lack the hard protective shells of nuts, causing them to easily become contaminated in the growing process. Organic foods are grown and made without the use of pesticides and other chemicals. If you have a peanut allergy, substitute any of your favorite nut or seed butters for peanut butter.




Cotton Candy

Serves 1

A few years ago I did a collaboration with Black Tap restaurant in New York City. They’re famous for their towering “crazy shakes,” topped with everything from crumbled cookies to gooey syrups, which taste as outrageously delicious as they look. When they asked me to make a healthy version of their strawberry-flavored cotton candy milkshake, which is topped with rock candy, cotton candy, whipped cream, and a lollipop, I really had my work cut out for me.

Replicating the strawberry flavor for this smoothie was easy. And to make it creamy, but still light in texture and calories, I added a big handful of frozen cauliflower and protein-rich yogurt. A touch of honey provided sweetness and brightened the flavors. When we introduced the smoothie alongside the Black Tap shake, people commented on the clean, fresh taste as they guzzled their smoothies down. Now even cotton candy can be guilt-free!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (150 g) frozen strawberries
  • 1/4 cup (33 g) frozen cauliflower florets 
  • 3/4 cup (180 ml) milk of choice
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) plain or vanilla yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Toppings (optional): fresh strawberries, frozen raspberries, frozen blackberries, frozen blueberries, honeycomb, honey, bee pollen, and/or granola

Optional super boosts: 

  • Bee pollen
  • Hemp seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Collagen peptides 
  • Vanilla protein powder

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the smoothie into a serving glass and add your toppings of choice.



Catherine McCord is the founder of the popular website Weelicious and the family food brand One Potato. McCord is the author of Weelicious and Weelicious Lunches. She has appeared on Today, Good Morning America, and The Chew, and she is a regular on the NBC Emmy–winning show Naturally, Danny Seo, as well as Food Network’s #1-rated Guy’s Grocery Games. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.


Macaroni Kid Family Wellness was provided a copy of the book "Smoothie Project" in exchange for this content.