Confession: I'm kind of a baby when it comes to smoothies. Put something in front of me that's loaded with chocolate and tastes like a milkshake, and I'm down. Give me something with even the slightest amount of veggies, or worse, a smoothie that's actually the color green -- get ready for some kicking and screaming.
I would rather eat my veggies, thank you very much.
I have one exception to this rule -- beets! I discovered a few years ago that I didn't mind throwing a beet into my smoothie at all. In fact, the pretty red color actually makes it more appealing. Told you I was a baby about this.
Aside from a pretty rouge hue, beets add a nice dose of nutrition and a wee bit of sweetness to a smoothie. Can you actually taste the beet once it's been blended up with everything else? Yes, but really just as an earthy undertone. Trust me. This is coming from a lady who can barely stomach even a single spinach leaf in blended form.
When I created this particular beet smoothie I was going for something reminiscent of an orange Creamsicle, only much lighter and cleaner. A frozen banana blended up with some orange juice did the trick. To give this smoothie some extra flavor (and nutrition), I went and fancied things up with ginger and cardamom, both of which go deliciously with the creamy texture and citrusy flavor of this drink.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 small 5 ounce beet, peeled
- 1 large frozen banana
- 1 ½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 cup orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the pitcher as needed.
Kathryn says
This sounds so delicious! I'm the same with veggies, I would rather eat them and then have a smoothie that seems more like a dessert hahaha.
Kathryn - Kathryn | nimblenote.blogspot.com