Chocolate Protein Zuchinni Blueberry Smoothie!
Happy What The Fork Wednesday!
Zuchinni, zuchinni, oh the magical zuchinni! I love this versatile veggie raw, steamed, as zoodles, casserole, in stirfrys, roasted, fried or baked as "chips", used in desserts, seriously everything. And now...in ya smoothies!
I was scrolling through my Instagram feed the other day and saw a smoothie with blueberries and zuchinni. Genius. The perfect way to sneak in veg.
So then I went to Google.
So. Many. Recipes!!!! After browsing for just about 5 minutes, I could tell this was gonna be easy. From what I gathered, zuchinni makes smoothies creamier, thicker, has little to zero flavor when blended, and packs a crap ton of vitamins & minerals (most found in the skin), and only like 20 calories per CUP!
It took a few tries and I learned you really do need the banana. This one tastes bomb.
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup frozen or raw blue berries
• 1/2 frozen or raw banana
• 2 cups Steamed, then frozen zuchinni squash (peel on for nutrients!!), cut into bite size pieces
• 2 baby bok Choy (They taste similar to spinach! Which you could also use here or even kale)
• 1/2 cucumber • 1 scoop protein powder, I used Chocolate flavored
• 1 TBSP nut butter, I used almond
• 1 TBSP chia seeds -- optional
• 1 tsp maca powder -- optional
• 1/2 tsp honey, I used Manuka
• 1/2-1 tsp of cinnamon, I used 1 because I love cinnamon to stand out, and it is an amazing anti inflammatory agent! Plus so many other benefits.
• 1/2 - 1 cup of liquid depending on creminess level, I used water
Notes:
* how to steam then freeze zuchinni? I cut my zuch longways down the middle, then vertically for bite size pieces. Steam on the stove until fork tender, about 8-10 minutes. Lay out onto a baking sheet with parchment paper, place in freezer for about 30 minutes. Wrap up the now frozen zuch into freezer paper, and then into a plastic freezer baggie.
* next time, when zuchs are on sale, grab em and freeze!! * Dice the veggies up small if you don't have a high speed blender. Blend everything together until consistency desired. Then, ya know, drizzle more nut butter for fun.
