Sometimes a blender can be a girl’s best friend.
Particularly during those phases we all occasionally encounter when time is tight, sleep is short and days are spent mostly running. Funny enough, it’s precisely during these hectic times that our nutrient needs are at their highest while our ability to tend to them is often at its lowest.
Blended bevvies are a practical and delicious way to help us stay hydrated and nourished while being adaptable to our dietary needs and preferences.
There’s no magic to a good smoothie – I generally focus on what’s accessible and affordable – which usually means seasonal or frozen (aka captured at the peak of freshness). Experimenting with new fruits & veg can be fun and a nice way to change the pace but you don’t need goji, acai or any other commercially hyped superfood to ensure your health. Variety and rotation are really the key. The wider the variety of color, the more protective the benefits. In other words, virtually everything in the produce aisle has the potential to be a superfood – we just need to eat it. Dietary diversity also helps populate our intestinal ecology with robust bacteria.
I like to incorporate the full range of macronutrients — fats (nuts/seeds/oils/avocado), protein (yogurt/nuts/seeds/nut&seed butters/tofu) and carbohydrates (fruits and/or veg which not only provide fuel but are also the primary source of antioxidants in our diet). Fruit delivers plenty of natural sweetness but a squeeze of maple syrup or honey can be nice when that extra touch is needed. Other flavor enhancers include spices (for example: vanilla/cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg/cardamom/anise), and the whole family of herbs (take advantage of all the beautiful herbs you’re growing in your garden or consider teas made from these herbs).
As for protein powders, there may be circumstances when it makes sense to supplement but most of us can amply meet our needs through food which is also the most bioavailable (absorbable) source. Too much protein powder can give rise to intestinal distress and something else to keep in mind are the synergistic properties of food – when we extract a particular component from it’s whole food source and put it into a pill or powder, it doesn’t always behave (or benefit us) the way we expect it to (it’s really hard to outsmart Mother Nature).
For today’s smoothie I’m taking advantage of some local gems. First off, if you’ve not yet discovered cara cara oranges, this is the ideal opportunity – the flavor absolutely sings here! Largely grown in California, this navel looks like any other variety of orange from the outside but when you slice it open, you will uncover a stunning coral hue (and chide yourself for thinking you bought a pink grapefruit instead!).
But the taste will have you believing… sweeter than traditional orange with a tangy counterbalance that is just delicious – this is a unique and remarkable fruit (a bit like the meyer lemon of the orange world ~ you’ve just got to try it!).
I’ve paired this seedless vitamin C packed beauty with some juicy seasonal strawberry, frozen mango, hemp seed (omega 3s + protein), Greek yogurt (protein + fat) and…because star jasmine is in full swing here – its beautiful distinctive fragrance wafting through the air everywhere we go – I decided to incorporate some water made from the essence of this flower into this smoothie (not to worry, green jasmine tea is a perfect sub!). If you do have access to star jasmine though, you might also like to try the jasmine water on its own where you can really identify its distinctive flavor – a new home spa water fave waiting to happen.
You will find more nutrition & health information in the Notes section of the recipe card.
Enjoy!
- For the Afternoon Boost Smoothie
- 8-12 fresh strawberries
- 8-12 chunks of frozen mango
- 1 cara cara orange peeled and cut into 4 segments with most of pith left on the fruit (cara cara is naturally seedless)
- 2 Tbsp hemp hearts (shelled hemp seed)
- ½ cup or so plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ - ½ cup jasmine water or jasmine green tea or plain old water, as preferred
- For the Jasmine Water
- 1 liter (about 4 cups) water
- 8-15 star jasmine flowers
- For the Jasmine Water: Bring 1 liter (approx 4 cups) of water to a boil. Allow the water to come to room temperature in a bowl or container that you will be able to close with a lid. Once the water has cooled to room temperature, add 8-15 star jasmine flowers to the water and then affix the lid on the container and place it in fridge overnight. The next day you will have a delicately fragranced jasmine water to enjoy on its own or in smoothies!
- For the Jasmine Green Tea: if jasmine flower is not available to you simply brew a cup of jasmine green tea of choice and allow it to cool before incorporating into the smoothie.
- For the Smoothie: Place strawberries, mango, orange segments, yogurt and hemp seeds in a blender or processor. Begin by adding ¼ cup jasmine water or cooled brewed jasmine green tea (or simply plain water) to the smoothie and blend adding more fluid as needed to achieve desired consistency.
Jasmine - in aromatherapy, jasmine is known for its calming properties. The fragrance from the flower is strong (and I would not tolerate it in any perfume form) but as an extract in tea, water and essential oil it has a muted, delicate essence that I love. There are different types of jasmine flower - the one that I have used in this particular recipe is star jasmine also known as confederate jasmine.
Hemp Seed - hemp outshines chia and flaxseed in the protein department offering upwards of 11 grams of easy-to-digest protein per 2 Tbsp depending on the brand - hemp is also a good source of fibre and magnesium and has a pleasing chewy texture and mildly nutty taste.
Greek Yogurt: I favor Greek yogurt for its exceptional protein content and texture. All yogurts, regardless of milk fat content, begin the same way - by adding bacterial cultures to milk. Greek yogurt begins this way but it soon departs from other yogurt brands in that the milk is strained to remove the liquid whey. According to manufacturers, this process of straining means that as many as four pounds of milk are required to produce one pound of Greek yogurt. The resulting product is a far more concentrated source of protein (from casein) and a thick and creamy texture characteristic of Greek yogurt (regardless of fat content - though I generally use 2%). You will pay more for Greek yogurt but I think you will find that you get what you pay for.
Green Smoothies - I have a number of smoothies that incorporate greens on the blog; simply key in smoothie in the search function to discover more.
This moment am just craving to have this smoothie…
What a gorgeous smoothie! I have never heard of or seen cara cara oranges and it sounds like I’m missing out.
“It’s really hard to outsmart Mother Nature.” Love it! This is a beautiful smoothie! I need to get my hands on some cara cara oranges, and try making a smoothie with tea – great idea!
Gorgeous and such an original smoothie, Kelly! I tend to add gelatin to every smoothie-like mixture and make a mousse out of it, so I’m already imagining your elegant ingredients in a refreshing bowl of mousse… I wish I could taste cara cara oranges one day. They look and sound so exceptional! And frankly fresh jasmin flowers make this whole mixture so magical, I cannot even imagine how fantastic it must taste. You make me dream again!
Oh, Sissi, this mixture would be so delicious in mousse form – you would love it too because the Cara Cara though sweet has such a nice tanginess to it – that touch of tart that we crave :) x thank you for the kind words.
This smoothie sounds like the perfect afternoon boost in a long day of food styling. I was called to an emergency job from Friday at 2pm to the following Sunday at noon, every day! It’s a gruelling day that I just come home and flop into bed!
The colour of the smoothie is beautiful and I just love the striped straws.
Hi Eva, so great to hear that work continues to be busy and fun – that’s a lot of running around for sure. Nothing like the convenience of the blender or crockpot on those days, right?
I’ve been seeing cara cara oranges around the web and I think it’s about time I try them. Thank you for reminding everyone that it’s not necessary to have acai or gojiberry to eat healthily. I love a good smoothie in the morning, it always gets me ready for a day of healthier eating!
hello Jessica – welcome and thank you for dropping by. Smoothies are a beautiful thing any time of day – enjoy!
What a beautiful smoothie! They really are the easiest (and most refreshing) way to get in a variety of nutrition every day. I love this combination with the oranges and jasmine. Sounds so unique and flavorful!
thank you Sarah – cara cara has brought our orange love to a whole new level! :O) have a beautiful day.
Oooh so much goodness here Kelly. No doubt, Mother Nature provides. I can attest two times now, people I know drinking ‘protein’ shakes only to have their hair start falling out because it’s too much protein. After stopping the shake, their hair slowly grew back. The cara cara is my favorite of all citrus. I put them in smoothies every day so long as their season will allow. I love your inclusion of Jasmine Flower water… oh I can smell it now. This is such a delicious, packed with goodness smoothie, Kelly! xo
Hey there lady, happy Tuesday. Sometimes protein powder makes sense but for many of us, it amounts to overuse. The Jasmine water has been such a fun and delicious discovery for us as has Cara Cara – love it in smoothies and on its own cut up into segments after our evening walk :)
I’ve been on a big smoothie kick lately, Kelly. I’ve been mostly doing the green vegan smoothie thing but always looking to mix thing up so will trying this lovely combo. I recently got a nutri-bullet and I love that thing! Love your nutrition notes – I didn’t know vitamin C was good for combating stress – I will definitely need to up my vitamin C because things have been a very hectic at work and hectic = stress!
your nutribullet sounds intriguing – I’m stuck with a bit of a Betty myself but it still works so I’m patiently waiting it out (I take the hammer to it on occasion :D) kidding! all good. I’ve been thinking of you Geraldine – we recently replaced all of our windows (they were all original) anyhow, in addition to looking a whole lot better, the insulation factor means that we don’t hear the early morning birds anymore… I haven’t decided whether that’s a good thing.
Jasmine water! That sounds like the most beautiful addition to a smoothie, and the cara cara oranges look so delicious! I really love the sound of this combination, can’t wait to give it a try :)
Hello Christine, if you have access to Jasmine flower I highly recommend trying the flavored water on its own too… you’ll get the full experience :) have a great day.
What a great post about smoothies! Interesting and thorough! We’ve now moved into smoothie season so I’m on the hunt for variety. Bobby will drink smoothies but I have to mix them up and give them some heft. I love the idea of the hemp seeds. I keep seeing them, but have never bought them because I didn’t know what to do with them. Now I know. :) And Cara Cara – it’s the only orange I can eat anymore. No other orange matches up to the flavor of Cara Cara. I buy them in big bags from Costco when I can find them. So good! Great smoothie recipe Kelly! Hope you and the family are having a fabulous Memorial Day weekend.
oh that’s so interesting about Cara Cara — we are relative newcomers but we have fallen hard so I can see how that happens :) and the color is just exquisite… I keep thinking about pigment intensity and polyphenol content – lol – it’s just got to be good for us on top of the amazing taste! :d Cheers MJ.
Star jasmine is all around us here in the San Francisco area but I never thought to make a flavored water from it, such a great idea! We are so lucky to have all of these varieties of oranges and I like your description of cara cara as the meyer lemon of the orange world; it really is distinctive and worth seeking out. Love how you’ve paired the flavors here in this beautiful smoothie.
the flavored water has a beautiful muted taste – you recognize the Jasmine notes but it’s much milder. My husband and I have really been enjoying it – it’s a fun change! Hope you enjoy it too if you get a chance to make a batch; great way to take advantage of our local star Jasmine.
Hi Kelly! So much fun to spend a few moments looking around here. We’re big fans of cara cara oranges too and these smoothies look like the cheeriest way to start a morning!
Cheers Emily ~ lovely to see you. I hope you’re having a beautiful day.
“We just need to eat it” so true :) I love your practical approach and common sense. Thank you for all the information, I have a son who consumes protein powder like it was food! I agree, that shouldn’t be the starting point. Your smoothie is gorgeous and so are your pictures.
thank you Meg – what a joy to read your note; appreciate you dropping by.
I love cara cara oranges! I feel like this smoothie is exactly what I need at the moment. Loved reading more about jasmine and its calming properties ( I could use it! Ha). Thanks for sharing, Kelly! xo.
calming vibes… da best :) x
Kelly,
Merci pour tes belles et bonnes recettes.
Je me fais souvent des Smoothies et j’ajoute
trois ingrédients moulus. Chia, chanvre ( hemp ) et lin.
Mon prof de Yoga me dit que je dois ABSOLUMENT congeler
le lin une fois moulu, sinon c’est toxique. Est-ce vrai ?
Salut Suz, heureuse d’avoir eu l’occasion d’en discuter dernièrement, x
I don’t think I’ve ever tried a cara cara but your description makes it sound amazing! This smoothie looks so refreshing and perfect for the warm days ahead! Beautiful Kelly!
it’s funny, one of our neighbors kept offering me oranges from her burgeoning tree but because we have a mandarin tree, I kept declining feeling we were already spoiled. Finally one day I accepted her generous offer and, well, the rest is history :) I will never forget the taste of my first cara cara orange!