Author Notes
With all the pumpkin spice and icing sugar dusting the city, I've been craving sweets. In the interest of staying relatively healthy this early in the holiday season, I came up with this nutritious, vegan, gluten-free concoction that is somewhat reminiscent of a cherry dessert. Frozen cherries, hemp, apples, pears, and flax are combined in a ridiculously sweet, completely satisfying smoothie -- the perfect breakfast drink or afternoon snack. —Maja Lukic - Veggies & Gin
Ingredients
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1
large organic apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
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1
large organic pear, peeled, cored, and chopped
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2
organic celery stalks, chopped
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1 pound
frozen organic cherries
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1
frozen banana, chopped
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3 tablespoons
raw organic shelled hemp seeds, plus more for topping
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1 tablespoon
ground flax
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1/4 teaspoon
ground cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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juice of 1 lemon
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water or coconut water, as needed
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a handful of dried unsweetened cherries, for topping
Directions
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In a large blender, blend apple, pear, celery, and lemon juice with enough water to roughly combine the ingredients. Add the hemp seeds, cinnamon, vanilla, frozen cherries, and frozen banana. Blend until fully incorporated, adding water as needed.
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Evenly distribute the smoothie between two 16 oz. jars or glasses (you may have some leftover) and top each smoothie with a teaspoon of hemp seeds and a small handful of dried cherries. Serve.
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Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a day.
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Note: Take the cherries out of the freezer about 20-30 minutes before you prepare the smoothie and allow them to slightly defrost on the counter. Peeling the apples and pears is optional -- I usually don't.
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