HOW THE HECK DID IT GET TO BE OCTOBER???
Seriously. This summer FLEW by. It feels weird to post a smoothie on the second day of October, but I’m doing it anyway. Smoothies are a year-round thing, in my ever-so-humble opinion. And everyone else is posting pumpkin and apple stuff, so I’m doing an opposites thing today, apparently. But despite its lack of traditional fall ingredients, it is still worthy of the attention of your tastebuds.
So, I know that cherry season is over, but we’re going to use frozen cherries for this recipe anyway, so it’s all good. Frozen fruit is ideal for smoothies because it adds thickness without ice and keeps the smoothie cold even after being heated up during its time in the blender. In fact, I have a sheet tray of frozen bananas in the freezer as I type this. But we’ll get to that.
So much has changed in my life in these last few months – all good changes, but change all the same. The biggest adjustment for me has been that I left my full-time job in the corporate world after 7 years this July. Now, instead of meetings and conference calls, I build forts, attend impromptu concerts, change diapers, and just generally love on my two sweet kiddos. Somewhere in the middle of all the happy chaos, I also have two jobs. Wait, WHAT?
Yep. It’s true. I quit one job and replaced it with two. Three, if you count being a stay-at-home-mom a job (best job I ever had when using that definition).
Job #1: Community Happiness Specialist at Food Blogger Pro. Is that not the COOLEST TITLE EVER? I love it so much. After a year of being a member at FBP, I had the incredible opportunity to join the team helping other bloggers learn how to take their blog from a hobby to a business. I pinch myself every day when I remember that I get to earn an income by learning more about something I love to do and sharing that experience with other likeminded people. If you are interested in all in what goes into this crazy food blogging thing, I’d encourage you to check it out.
Job #2: This here blog. After a year and a half of bumbling effort, I’m finally in a place where I can commit the time and energy required to make this site live up to its name. It’s my joy to share my kitchen adventures with you and hopefully help you enjoy your cooking experiences a little bit more along the way. There’s so much more I want to share about this, but my poor little smoothie is feeling left out, so let’s talk about how to make it. 🙂
Alrighty, here we go! All you need is a few simple ingredients to make this smoothie, and the title pretty much gives it away. For this Cherry Chocolate Almond Smoothie you’ll use the following:
Cocoa powder (chocolate)
Cherries (uh, for the cherry)
Almonds (yup)
Dates (sweetness and fiber)
Salt (to bring out the flavor, don’t skip it!)
Frozen bananas (sweetness and thickness)
Do you HAVE to freeze the bananas? Nope, but it sure does help the consistency. It makes the smoothie cold and thick without adding ice. And this is a great opportunity to use bananas that are too ripe to eat out of hand, because that’s when they’re at the peak of sweetness for things like smoothies. My tip for this is to look for bananas in the store that are on that “too old to sell” shelf because they got a little brown. Brown bananas are good bananas! You’ll never be able convince my sister of this, but it’s true.
TIP! If you peel and and freeze bananas on a sheet tray and store them in the gallon freezer bag, you’ll always have frozen bananas at the ready for your smoothie needs! I have a tray of them in the freezer right now and need to bag em’ up. By the time you read this, they may have already fulfilled their smoothie destiny. 🙂
The actual smoothie making part goes like this. Dump all of the ingredients in a blender with 3 cups of cold water, and…blend. The End.
Oh, and this is pretty darn cool. If you’re in more of a pudding mood than a smoothie mood, add 1/3 cup of chia seeds to the blender and then let the mixture chill in the fridge for a bit. Instant pudding! Just FYI, it won’t be super creamy because the smoothie has the fiber of the almonds and the dates, but it will be super tasty!
Give this one a try! I hope you like it. And if you do, take a pic and post it to Instagram with the tag #eatwithinyourmeans. I get all giddy when this happens and it makes me so happy to know you’re enjoying the recipes. Thank you for being a part of this adventure with me! It would not be if not for you. And that’s why I wish I could reach through the screen and give you a big hug and a giant smoothie.
So, for now, consider yourself virtually hugged and go make this smoothie. That’ll have to do. 🙂
Cherry Chocolate Almond Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 frozen bananas
- 2 Medjool dates
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup cherries (frozen or fresh)
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups cold water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
- Makes 4 12oz. smoothies.
Yummy! I have all these ingredients on hand. I’ve never had enough room in my freezer for a tray of bananas so I tend to cut them in half and throw them all in a container and freeze them that way. Works great if you don’t mind using a butter knife as a chisel, haha. Warning, do not attempt this technique with expensive flatware.
Community happiness specialist is definitely the best job title ever, other than “mom” of course.
Looking forward to making this. 🙂
Oh, my, Beth, how perfect!!! This is really funny, because it was at your house that I first experimented with making a chocolate cherry almond drink (not as thick as a smoothie) adapted from a recipe I’d found on Minimalist Baker. Afterwards, I promptly forgot about it, but Abbie fell in love with it, and still has her version of that drink every now and then. It always makes us think of good times spent at your house. <3
This looks beyond delicious!! I'm pretty sure Abbie will make it, so count on me begging for a sip! 😉 My version will have to be adapted to use cashews, sunflower seeds or pistachios…not bad, but also not quite the same. 😐 🙁
Oh yum. Hannah’s right, I’m sure I’ll be making this. I love banana almond smoothies, I love cherry almond smoothies, but I wasn’t sure if I would like all three together. With your stamp of approval, I know I have to try it. 😀 Oh, and I agree, smoothies are a year round thing. I love them too much to not have them! I just bundle up. 🙂