Faux Apple Smoothie

I must confess, I love fruit. I am so happy to be past the first month of my detox, so I can have a bit of it back in my diet. It has so many nice antioxidants. But I'm still really limited on fruits to keep my sugar levels in check. During the last few months, I've been making a lot of green smoothies (I find it an easier way for me to get less palatable greens into my diet), but I confess that I've been longing for a sweet smoothie. And now I have it!


I know, it's still green. But that's one of the best parts. I can satisfy my sweet tooth, have a meal (or hearty snack), and still get a great dose of green. There's actually no apple in this (hence the faux), but there has been a general consensus in the test kitchen that it has an apple-y taste that is delightfully unexpected. Combined with cinnamon and it's got a great holiday/autumn flavor. I don't actually measure a lot when I make smoothies, so these are estimated. You're welcome to adjust them to fit your palette.

A couple of quick notes though, I use avocado instead of banana to create thicker texture in my smoothie. It's full of nutrients and healthy fat, without the high sugar of bananas (which I still can't have). I'm not a huge lover of avocado flavor on its own, but I really don't taste it blended into smoothies. You should try it out!

The other note is about sweet potatoes. There are many breeds of sweet potato. I'm most familiar with the orange-fleshed variety (think traditional Thanksgiving fare), but they only had its paler cousin the last time I was at the store. After trying both of these, I've found the orange sweet potatoes more friendly to this recipe, both in flavor and in softness for mashing. The apple taste is more pronounced with the orange variety (though it is still pleasant tasting otherwise).



Faux Apple Smoothie

Ingredients

1/4 - 1/3 c sweet potato, baked and mashed
1/2 avocado
A handful of blueberries (I use frozen)
1 heaping tbsp Greek/plain yogurt (no sugar or artificial sweeteners)
6 - 8 oz water
2 handfuls of baby spinach
Cinnamon to taste (I like a lot, so about 1/2 - 3/4 tsp for me)
6 - 8 drops liquid stevia
1 tbsp ground flax (optional)
1 - 2 tbsp chia seed (optional)

*I like to put flax and chia in my smoothie as it doesn't change the overall flavor and gets me great fiber and protein, especially if I'm having it as a meal.

Depending on the strength of your blender, you might do this in stages. I normally blend the sweet potato, avocado, yogurt, blueberries, and water first. Then add the spinach. Once that's smooth, I'll add the cinnamon, stevia, flax and chia and just pulse to incorporate. Pour into a glass and enjoy! I love drinking it through these milkshake straws I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond. And they're big enough that they're easy to clean and reuse. :)