Apple Pie Smoothie
How good is this warmer weather? So beautiful – I love spring. All the feels of a fresh start, a new beginning, a chance to grow and reshoot, from whatever funk winter might have been.
If you’re craving something refreshing to go with your renaissance, may I present this Apple Pie Smoothie. 6 ingredients, 2 minutes – it tastes like apple pie taking a skinny dip on a warm spring day. Perfect for a quick and easy mid-week brekky, or I like mine as a sweet treat after lunch. Here’s what she’s gonna feel like…
- Crisp and refreshing
- Gorgeously sweet
- With a touch of creaminess
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a new goal with the blog. All recipes under 10 ingredients. I can’t promise I’m going to stick with this every week, but the intention is there. I figure you have limited time to squeeze new recipes into your life, so I want to sidle in sideways with so much ease that you barely notice it. So come take the next 2 minutes with now, and let’s get reinvigorated.
PS – can I just say, I love writing this blog to you? Feels like a really personal outlet (whilst also stroking my nutrition-nerd brain). So thanks for being with me each week – I’m so glad we’re friends.
How to make an Apple Pie Smoothie
Is it healthy to have a smoothie every day?
Firstly, let’s clear up a couple of misconceptions around smoothies. There are a lotttt of smoothie recipes out there these days, and virtually every café now has its own offering too. So, are they something you should be having every day?
Yes, and no.
A lot of smoothies I see are super heavy on energy-dense ingredients. I’m talking coconut cream, cashews, almonds, nut butters, tahini, avocado. These are all great foods, and you’ll see me using them regularly (in fact they’re all on my pantry staples shopping list in cooking school here). However, they are all what I call energy dense.
What does this mean? They pack a lot of calories in a small volume of food. It’s the difference between eating ½ a cup of almonds vs ½ cup of lettuce.
For optimal weight management, we want to be including these energy dense whole foods in the appropriate quantities. I.e. not too much. This is where most of our smoothies see their down fall. Have a quick browse of the nutritional information from your local smoothie store, and you’ll soon see that a medium sized smoothie can quickly add up to the same number of calories as a whole meal. And you’re probably not having the smoothie as a whole meal, most people are having them as a snack or as a drink to accompany their meal. You can see how quickly our “healthy smoothies” can blow up in our well-intentioned face.
In contrast, if you make your smoothies with lots of water, ice, fruit, and vegetables, and just a dash of those energy-dense fellas up top, they can be a perfect filling refreshing energy-light and nutrient-dense snack. In other words, light on the energy (calories), but dense on the nutrients. The perfect sweet spot where almost all of us want to be sitting most of the time. Without overthinking it too much, just let me hold your hand in making this apple pie smoothie, as it’s the perfect example of this optimal balance.
Are smoothies a healthy breakfast?
Flowing on from the above, yes, if they’re the right kind. All of my smoothie recipes are appropriate for either a breakfast, a morning tea, or an afternoon tea snack. Many are lush enough to count as a dessert too.
Ingredients for this healthy apple pie smoothie
I promised under 10 ingredients, right? Here you go!
- Apple
- Banana
- Cashews
- Dates
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla extract
- Ice, water and salt
I totally don’t count those last three, so I’m giving this one a solid 6-ingredient star. Goal = achieved.
Substitution ideas for this vegan apple pie smoothie
Subby time. If you want to keep the apple pie flavours, you are going to have to stick with the apple and cinnamon combo. But, if you don’t mind mixing this up slightly, here are some ideas (so you can make it right now, without a trip to the store).
- Apple – pear! An apple’s best man. The fresh crispness of both of these works brilliantly in this smoothie.
- Banana – frozen bananas really get this smoothie creamy and add sweetness, but if you really can’t do bananas, then ½ an avo cubed and frozen will work here. You’ll want to go for 2-3 dates if so.
- Cashews – hemp seeds are a great swap here as they’re both super creamy and create the milk for this smoothie, otherwise brazils, walnuts, or almonds will also work well.
- Dates – go for ¼ c raisins or sultanas instead.
Tips for making the best plant-based smoothies
You might already be a smoothie maestro. But, if your home-made smoothies are still lacking the boujee of a café version, here are some tips to get you going.
- Blender – blenders are maaaade for smoothies. Specifically, the blades flick the ingredients up which is perfect for liquids. You can also use a bullet. A stick blender or food processor will not get the creamy texture out of these cashews that really makes it lush.
- 1-minute rule – blend for a full minute, every time. I know she’s looking pretty good after 30 seconds, but trust me those extra 30 seconds are what are going to turn your banana, apple, and cashews into a creamy delight.
- Soft to hard – if your blender isn’t a beast like mine, layer your ingredients liquids on the bottom, hard things like ice on the top. This way the blender will start going on the liquids at the bottom, then slowly draw down the harder pieces of fruit and ice once it’s got some momentum.
How to store your healthy smoothies
This smoothie makes one large serve, or two small serves. For me the small serve is enough, but if you want a man size snack then go the full hog.
I normally drink my half straight away, and then give the other half to one of the kids or Tony. Otherwise, I pour the other half into the freezer, then on a day when Mila has gym or dancing after school, I’ll pull it out of the freezer in the morn and take it with me in the car. Makes the perfect slushy afternoon tea snack and she loves it. Without realising that it’s literally – pure 100% wholefoods. #winning.
Want more smoothie recipes? Try these next:
- Sunshine Smoothie
- Flu Busting Smoothie
- Salted Chocolate Thickshake
- Green Kiwi Smoothie Bowl
- Superfood Smoothie
- Jaffa Smoothie
- Rich Chocolate Smoothie
- Daily Green Smoothie
Give it a go this week. The sun’s coming out in the Southern Hemisphere so it’s the perfect opportunity to dust off your blender and try it out. And if you’d like to share your delicious Apple Pies in a glass, I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment and rating below (it helps others find these lovely brownies too), and if you want to go the extra mile, tag me in your version @begoodorganics on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. I can’t wait to hear from you.
Apple Pie Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 apple
- 1/2 banana sliced & frozen
- 1/2 c water
- 1/4 c cashews
- 1-2 dates
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp maca
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 1 c ice depending on desired consistency
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a blender for 1 minute or until super creamy. Top with extra cinnamon and serve immediately. Or you can place in the freezer for an hour for a more ice cream like texture.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- Nut free: Use hemp seeds or sunflower seeds instead of cashews, or replace the cashews and water with ½ cup of plant-based milk.
Did You Make This?
Tag @begoodorganics
I can’t wait to see your creations!
