Gentle Giraffe’s Blog Tips & Recipe

I am a huge fan of powerful purees! Purees are a great way to get more nutrition into your favorite recipes and help you and your family meet your daily needs for veggies, fruits and proteins. They go beyond the smoothie, but we’ll start here.

Smoothie and puree cubes are a great tip to make a quick smoothie ahead. While smoothies and protein shakes are an easy breakfast for both you and the kids, most require several ingredients in order to be well balances (and not a morning sugar-bomb). Just add a few cubes to your blender with liquid, and serve!

Smoothie cubes can easily be made ahead and stored in the freezer up to one month. I suggest using a combination of protein, healthy fat, fiber, greens and some fruit. 

• Protein - Use your favorite protein powder or yogurt as your base.
• Healthy Fats – Scoop of nut butter, coconut oil, MCT oil, tahini, avocado or hemp hearts (my fave!) TIP – buy frozen avocado chunks instead of fresh.
• Fiber – Ground flax, chia, psyllium husk powder, acacia fiber powder, pumpkin seeds
• Greens – A good quality greens powder or frozen greens. I prefer frozen over raw as they are easier to digest. Frozen greens are quickly blanched and frozen at the height of their season which make them a great option.
• Fruit & Veg Puree – For one smoothie serving I would stick to about 1/3 cup of berries and 1/3-1/2 of banana if needed (for a workout, extra satiety for the kids etc). Fruit is an excellent source of healthy carbohydrates but we want to keep it balanced. 
  A fun way to switch it up is to add a 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree, cooked sweet potato, frozen cauliflower, squash. Incorporating vegetable purees is a great way to get extra servings into your day and more nutrition into your smoothie!

There is no real science to it, make a blend with your favorite ingredients and make sure it’s tasty, then pour into ice cube trays and freeze. The silicone trays are great because you can easily pop them out. Here is an idea of what you can do.

Smoothie Cubes

2 cups berries (or a veggie here)

1 banana

 1 T maple syrup or 1-2 dates (optional for extra sweetness)

2 T favorite nut butter or ¼ cup frozen avocado

 2 T ground flax (I prefer ground as its easier to digest)

2 T cinnamon (Ceylon is anti-inflammatory)

Handful of frozen spinach OR 2 scoops green powder

A few drops vanilla extract for flavor (optional)

2-3 scoops of protein powder or 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

A small splash of water or milk of choice if needed to blend

Blend and pour or scoop into trays to freeze overnight until you are ready to use them.

When you are ready to make a smoothie, try 4 cubes + 1 cup of liquid and adjust from there to desired umber of servings and consistency.



Enjoy!