coffee almond smoothie
Want to combine your morning coffee and smoothie? Then this is the recipe for you. Feel free to add in chia, flax and/or hemp seeds for extra fiber and protein. Or add in some cacao powder for a mocha twist. There are so many options. This recipe comes from the Love and Lemons blog. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1½ frozen bananas
½ to ¾ cup cold brew coffee concentrate, to taste
½ cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more as needed
2 soft Medjool dates, pitted*
1 tablespoon almond butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for garnish
2 handfuls of ice
Chocolate shavings, for garnish
Creating the Magic!
In a blender, place the bananas, cold brew concentrate (I just used regular coffee earlier in the day/day before and placed it in the fridge to cool it down), almond milk, dates, almond butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Blend until smooth, adding more almond milk as needed to blend. Add the ice and blend again.
Pour into glasses and serve with a dusting of cinnamon and chocolate shavings for garnish.
Notes
Dates. If your dates are not soft, soak them in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. Pat dry before using.
Use frozen bananas. Frozen fruits and veggies give smoothies a creamy, frosty texture, whereas fresh produce makes smoothies thinner and more watery. Buy frozen produce to use in smoothies, or freeze any fresh produce at least a day in advance.
Add more liquid as needed. If you’re using a less powerful blender, or if you prefer a thinner texture, you’ll likely need to use more liquid than I call for in the recipe. Don’t hesitate to add almond milk as needed to reach your desired consistency.
Start without ice. Thanks to the frozen fruit, you might not need it! Instead of adding ice to the blender right away, blend the other smoothie ingredients together first. Then, if necessary, add ice to make the smoothie frostier. Be sure to blend on high to crush the ice and create the right consistency.
Taste and adjust. Making a smoothie is like making any other recipe—always taste and adjust before serving! Add more of any of the ingredients in the recipe to tweak the balance of flavors to your liking, or, if you want a sweeter smoothie, pour in a little honey or maple syrup.
Add Ins…
Make a mocha twist. Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder for chocolatey flavor.
Give it a protein boost. Blend in a scoop of your favorite protein powder.
Add omega-3s. Blitz in a tablespoon of chia seeds or hemp seeds.
Sneak in a veggie. Frozen cauliflower or zucchini would be great here. You won’t be able to taste either, I swear!
Use another nut butter. Peanut butter and cashew butter are delicious!
Cut the caffeine. Sub decaf coffee for regular.