Veganism is taking the world by storm, with more than 79 million vegans taking over the diet industry. Being vegan is adventurous, fun, and full of amazing health and environmental benefits.

Going vegan is not as hard as people may think, there are plenty of food alternatives that can substitute all the delicious foods that you’d hate to give up. In addition, the environmental benefits of going vegan are astronomical and can vastly reduce one’s carbon footprint. Today I will share with you a recipe that I have been making for years now. It is delicious, incredibly healthy, and definitely worth trying.

Spinach Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

If you like the banana and peanut butter combo, you are sure to like this smoothie. It is thick, creamy, sweet, and vegan. It is high in protein and healthy fats to keep you satisfied all day. It is full of nutrients to promote good health and a clear mind. This is a must-try for those who are vegan or just want to find a delicious smoothie recipe.

Ingredients:

• Spinach

Spinach is one of the healthiest things you can put in your smoothie. The good thing about spinach in smoothies is that it does not taste like anything in smoothies, especially with bananas and peanut butter. There are tons of amazing health benefits in spinach, such as its anti-inflammatory, preventing cancer, reducing blood sugar, helping with weight management and so much more.

• Banana

Bananas are my favorite fruit to put in any smoothie because they provide a thick and creamy, sweet flavor and are full of nutrients like potassium. Make sure to use bananas that are ripe in order to get the best results.

• Peanut butter

Peanut butter is a must in this recipe. It is high in protein and provides a lot of flavor. Peanut butter is delicious and filling, and full of great health benefits. Just make sure you are using natural peanut butter and that its only ingredient is peanuts. You can also use other nut butters such as almond butter and sunflower seed butter.

• Oat milk

Oat milk is vegan, delicious, and works great in any smoothie recipe. You can also use other non-dairy milks like almond milk or soy milk, but I’d stay away from almond milk as it is not the best for the environment. Also, make sure you are using good oat milk as many oat milk companies fill their milk with bad ingredients, so I recommend you can make your own oat milk.

• Flaxseed

This ingredient is not as common in smoothies but it’s something I’ve been incorporating for a while now that people do not know how healthy it is. Flaxseed is full of fiber and a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

• Vegan protein powder of your choice

This is your choice in selecting a protein powder. There are so many protein powders on the market, but few that are both vegan and clean. There is also the option of choosing a flavored protein powder, like vanilla or chocolate. I suggest getting one that’s either vanilla or chocolate because it adds more flavor. Just make sure you read the ingredients carefully and know what is inside the protein powder so that it is good for you and vegan.

This recipe is quick and easy to make. One tip that I recommend is to freeze your bananas. This is my best tip for making a thick, creamy smoothie. No matter what fruit you put into your smoothie, you should use it when it’s frozen. This way you don’t have to use ice cubes to make it cold and it won’t water down your smoothie.

For the most part, you don’t need to use exact measurements when making a smoothie. I typically estimate what I think works best, but this is around how much I use in a single serving for this smoothie. There is also no specific order in making this smoothie and all ingredients can be thrown into a blender and you are sure to come out with a delicious smoothie.

• Handful of spinach
• 1 banana
• 1 cup oat milk
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed
• 2 scoops of protein powder

You are also welcome to add/take out any ingredients in the recipe. Other things you can add to your recipe include other fruits like mixed berries. There are tons of other nutrients you can add to your smoothie to make it a superfoods smoothie with tons of vitamins and minerals.

I love using superfoods powder, which is typically vegan but you should always double-check. In addition to flaxseed, you can also try hemp seeds and chia seeds. You can even add different greens to the smoothie like mixed greens, kale, or even avocado.

Smoothies are one of the best foods to incorporate into your diet for how healthy and customizable they are. It is so easy to add healthy and nutritious items to your smoothie in order to ensure you are getting in all your vitamins and minerals. It is easy to go vegan with this smoothie recipe.

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Of my most prized possessions is a new blender I recently purchased, the Vitamix.  Mine is a model called the TurboBlend VS.  The Vitamix is advertised as “more than a blender,” as its high performance quality enables the user to blend the toughest of ingredients to produce the widest variety of food creations.  It’s the choice blender for most vegans (especially raw vegans) and vegetarians, a necessity in their kitchens, as it encourages them to get creative and use the fruits and vegetables stored in their refrigerators and on their windowsills in new ways, in different combinations.

In the amazing cookbook that came with my blender, Live Fresh: Raw/Vegan/Vegetarian Recipes, one of the over 200 recipes that I tried almost immediately was for a beverage called “The Spicy Date.”  I loved it at once and had to share it here, as dates, the unique sugar-packed Middle Eastern fruits, form the heart of the recipe.

The preparation time for this drinkable treat is a mere five minutes.  You’ll feel like you cheated after you shut your blender off and pour yourself a glass, considering how fast the process is compared to how good the product tastes.

To fix yourself a Spicy Date, you’ll need:              

1 cup of light soy milk

3-4 medjool dates, pitted

1 banana, peeled and frozen at the time of ripeness

2 Tbsp of raw oats

1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon.

1 tsp of flaxseed

2 ice cubes (optional)

Those measurements will give you two cups of the beverage.  As for the heart of the recipe, my dates came from California, but I believe the real dates come from Middle Eastern countries like Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.

For a quick and easy cold drink that is sugar and spice and everything nice, The Spicy Date is a must-try.

Image of Vitamix TurboBlend VS from Vitamix website; Image of handful of dates from Shutterstock

The post Go On A Spicy “Date” With This Health Drink appeared first on Green Prophet.