I decided to make this smoothie in honour of Thanksgiving since it’s the time of year when cranberries are enjoying some time in the spotlight. I don’t know about you, but cranberry sauce is a staple on my thanksgiving table and if you make from scratch, you know how dead easy it is. All it takes is just two ingredients (cranberries and orange juice), a little bit of time on the stove and you’re done!
It’s this simplicity, combined with the irresistible tangy, sweet taste of the cranberry/orange combo that led me to create this healthy fruit smoothie ingeniously called Cranberry Orange Smoothie 😉 Like how I did that?
You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries. I used frozen since they keep the smoothie nice and cool, but totally up to you. If you don’t use frozen fruits, you might want to add a few ice cubes in there to keep in cool and thick. Your call.
As you can see by the bright pink colour, this smoothie is loaded with antioxidants including lots of vitamin A and C. Cranberries are known to help combat UTIs, but they’re also praised for their anti-cancer benefits as well as being supportive of cardiovascular health and they’re loaded with fibre. And you know how I feel about fibre.
I added some protein and healthy fats via hemp seeds and almond milk and there’s a good dose of cinnamon in there, all of which will help stabilize blood sugar.
The smoothie is plenty sweet with the bananas and oranges, but if you want a little hit more, you can add a touch of raw honey which is chock full of antibacterial properties.
- 1 cup frozen cranberries
- ⅔ cup unsweetened or homemade almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
- 1 fresh or frozen banana
- 1 orange (peeled and quartered)
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1-2 tbsp. hemp seeds
- ½ tsp. raw honey (if desired)
- Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smoothie!
Happy Thanksgiving!
KD
