Monday, July 11, 2011

Newest Favorite Smoothie!





I've been on a smoothie-for-breakfast kick for the past couple of weeks and I LOVE experimenting with new combinations and flavors. This morning I came up with what is by far my favorite (so far). I discovered this lovely new product at Whole Foods

Turtle Hill is now making coconut milk kefir!


{via}



I've tried the Strawberry and Vanilla flavors - and they are both AH-MAZINGGG! This week I am going to try the original flavor, because it is devoid of the added sugars that the others contain. There's a huge carb count difference there...

If you're not familiar with kefir in general - it's a lot like the drinking style yogurts you can find in the grocery store. But kefir has the added benefit of a "friendly" probiotic bacteria. The naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in kefir combine symbiotically to give superior health benefits when consumed regularly. It is loaded with valuable vitamins and minerals and contains easily digestible complete proteins.

The folks at Turtle Mountain have made a fabulous gluten free, dairy free version in the So Delicious Coconut Milk Kefir. It is love....

So here's the fabulous smoothie creation I concocted with it this morning:

Vanilla Coconut Kefir Date Smoothie
(recipe makes one serving)

1/2 cup Vanilla Coconut Milk Kefir
1/2 cup coconut milk (or other dairy free milk - or dairy if you drink it. but you shouldn't... so stop it!)
4-6 pitted dates (I used Medjool dates - and only used 4. They are soooo sweet!) 
1/2 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
1/2 cup ice cubes

Optional Add-ins (these are the ones I added for an extra nutrition boost):
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Toss it all in the blender, mix well and enjoy! You may want to give the dates a quick chop in a food processor if you don't have a very powerful blender - they tend to be finicky in the blender. But they are soooo yummy! I'm definitely going to toss them into a few of my other smoothie concoctions to add some sweetness. 

I hope you're all enjoying your day!

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*Disclaimer* No one paid me to write this post. I'm not endorsing their brand, no one sent me any free samples. I just like sharing with you the things that make me happy! :)

5 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious. I wonder if they have it anywhere else. We don't have a Whole Foods near here.
    Ann

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  2. These look awesome! I will have to see if they have them at the store when I get back to the states :) Hope you are having a great Monday and thanks so much, as always, for linking up and being great in the Storytellers Blog Hop!! You rock, Heather!!

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  3. Heather, this smoothie sounds delish! I love Coconut Milk Kefir!! I use it all of the time in my smoothies. Going to have to try it with the dates next time now!
    PS Where in the Phoenix area do you live? I am in North Phoenix/Scottsdale part!

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  4. @Cozy in Texas - I'd definitely check out your local grocery store at least - perhaps they will be carrying it there soon!

    @Tex I love the Storytellers Blog Hop, thanks again for hosting it! xo

    @Kim I live over in the West Valley - wayyyy over in Buckeye (because I wanted to escape the smog. Didn't work so well...) But I'm over in the Scottsdale area quite frequently due to the fact that we have next to nothing in the way of allergy friendly stores, restaurants, etc over here.

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  5. Hi Heather! I love SO Delicious coconut milk kefir! I noticed they changed the name to Cultured Coconut Milk, but it still tastes as wonderful and has all those probiotics and healthy coconut fats. I started adding chia seeds to my smoothies lately. I may be imagining things, but I feel so much better all day long when I start out with a coconut milk kefir and chia smoothie for breakfast. I have so much energy!

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