As the title suggests, we are about to prepare a green, taste-synchronized, health-oriented kiwi smoothie recipe abundant in Vitamin C. Our potent puree bears a variety of nutrients, nicely balanced, to announce a happy day! All the ingredients have been carefully chosen to complement each other in taste, color, and nutritional value.
Mixing Color and Flavor with Purpose
Mixing the colors is really fun, especially when contrasting shades complement each other well in taste. However, please check the ingredients carefully and feel free to use your own safe substitutes in case of allergies.
If you find pleasure in mixing all of the ingredients quickly and enjoy the color changes, as I sometimes do with proven blends, prepare the cashew puree, the sour cherries, the strawberries, and the decoration upfront.
Ingredient Prep: Get These Ready First
Before mushing the main kiwi smoothie recipe, have the cashew puree, the sour cherries, the strawberries, and the honey prepared.
Cashew-Almond Base
Start by mixing 1/2 cup of unsalted cashews with 1/2 cup of almond milk in a blender. Depending on your viscosity preference, balance the amount of almond milk in the mix.
It’s preferable to make your own almond milk as it will retain its nutrients, but buying one can also do fine for this recipe.
For aesthetic reasons mostly, we’ll add it at the very end to enjoy the final shading of the smoothie.
Sour Cherries
Pit 1/2 cup of fresh sour cherries by hand or with some handy tool (straw). I always believe in consuming fresh food, so the recommendations stay the same: use fresh fruits whenever possible.
Frozen ones are also OK, depending on the freezing method, transport, storage, and packing quality. As a matter of personal principle and bias, canned fruits are something I avoid, especially when making smoothies, as they distort the original taste I’m after.
Besides the nutrients and the added colors, sweeteners, and sugar, to me, canned fruits usually don’t have the right taste.
Strawberries
Remove the stems and chop one cup (3 1/2 oz) of fresh strawberries.
Honey Decoration
Before serving this recipe and pouring the mush into the glasses, try to decorate the inside.
Tilt the glass slightly and start pouring the honey on its sides. Rotate the glass (while still tilted) in order to apply honey as it streams inside the glass.
Try to practice this decorative method and try to achieve interesting lines which will give a unique appearance from the outside while still allowing the honey to sweeten the mush.
Place these ingredients separately aside and let them wait their turn. Now we can get to the preparation of the main mix.
Kiwi: The Immunity Booster
The basic ingredient for today, kiwi, brings not only the main vitamin C concentration in this cup but also its base coloring. This natural immune system booster (due to its abundance in vitamin B6) carries roughly 90% of the daily values of vitamin K.
The most important of all Vitamin K benefits is the contribution to proper blood coagulation. And as it combines B6 and copper, it supports the development of healthy fetuses, and it is highly beneficial for pregnant women and young children.
Mash two peeled kiwis in a blender before adding the next color-boosting ingredient.
Avocado: The Silky Neutralizer
Avocado. This piece of today’s flavored puzzle serves as the initial neutralizer, softening the kiwi’s vitamin C aftertaste. While this will boost the green shade of the smoothie, the avocado will also provide an astonishing amount of health benefits.
Ranging from regulating cholesterol levels, lowering the risks for heart-related diseases, high vitamin C and B6 contents, and the significant amount of folate, the reasons for including the avocado speak for themselves.
We will only need one-half of the avocado, nicely blended in with the kiwi mix.
Color & Power: Strawberries + Cherries
For the next step, we will need the stuff we prepared above. Pour the cherries and the strawberries into the blender and mush them until the colors unite into a darker shade. This will distort the nice green color of the smoothie but for a good purpose.
This powerful mix aids the body in many ways. The strawberries, which are abundant in vitamin C, help fight infections and are great antioxidants! The interesting combination of phytonutrients (or phytochemicals, plant compounds that fight diseases) boosts anti-inflammatory properties. Also, we use them in this recipe to soften the cherries’ sour taste and brighten the dark red color.
While not contributing too much to the vitamin C content, sour cherries are rich in fat-soluble vitamin A. Their anthocyanin content provides a variety of health benefits, such as helping with digestion and lowering the risk of heart-related problems and type 2 diabetes.
They are anti-cancerous fruits, among the richest in antioxidants, helpful against insomnia and reducing muscle pain, especially after physical exercise.
Creamy Cashew-Almond Mix
Add the almond milk & cashew mix next. Puree all of it together, finally brightening the overall color of this smoothie. Since we are consuming a solid amount of potassium, adding almond milk will balance it, providing a slight amount of sodium.
It also helps regulate blood pressure, is good for the kidneys and damaged skin, and is rich in calcium. This, combined with the cashews, gives today’s kiwi smoothie recipe the mood-friendly ingredient. Cashews contain tryptophan, one of the 21 essential amino acids.
Optional Sweet Boost: Raw Honey
This final part is optional, but I personally recommend it strongly. Since we used cashews, almond milk, and avocado to flatten the vitamin C effect, we did neutralize the sweetness.
Adding one bulky teaspoon (0.3 oz ~ 10 grams) of the best natural sweetener will compensate for this just nicely.
I use raw, unprocessed honey from local farmers as it preserves its natural nutrients. Besides adding a nice scent and a sweet aftertaste to this recipe, the honey is good for the throat and has anti-cough properties.
However, the most fascinating property to me is its energy-boosting effect.
The Kiwi Smoothie Recipe:
- 2 chopped kiwifruits
- 1/2 cup unsalted cashews
- One-half of the avocado fruit, nicely rinsed in water
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 cup of fresh chopped strawberries, nicely rinsed in water
- 1/2 cup of fresh sour cherries, nicely rinsed in water, pitted
- 1 teaspoon (~10 grams) of honey, preferably raw, unprocessed.
I hope you will like my Kiwi smoothie recipe for today! Please share your thoughts, experiences, and suggestions in the comment box, or let others learn about this happy mush!