Last updated on February 16th, 2019
Healthy Cranberry Apple Smoothie
Pink smoothies are easily the best way to win kids over (like this berry pink smoothie). Okay, I love green smoothies too. Actually, I love ALL smoothies because they’re just such an easy way to take in a bunch of healthy nutrients in a yummy way! And cranberry apple is an awesome combination.
In my opinion, there are really only two times that people consume cranberries:
- When they have kidney or uti issues
- Over the holidays in the form of sugar filled cranberry sauce 😛
But cranberries have so many benefits that consuming them all year long can be great for your health!
As most people know, cranberries can help prevent urinary tract infections. To reap this benefit you need to either consume pure cranberries juice (not ocean spray juice) or the actual cranberries.
Obviously cranberries are low in calories but they’ve been shown to reduce inflammation, help out your digestive system and prevent heart disease.
They really are a great food to be consuming on a regular basis! And yet we ignore them so much. But not anymore! This cranberry apple smoothie is not only a great way to boost your cranberry intake but also comes along with many other health promoting foods!
This easy, pink smoothie is vegan, gluten free and absolutely delicious. It’s protein powder free (though it does taste pretty yummy with a scoop of vegan powder).
While free from protein powder it does contain a lot of healthy fats to help stabilize your energy.
Between the almond butter, flax and hemp hearts this vegan smoothie is full of anti-inflammatory omega three fats! This is ideal because with our food habits today we tend to consume too many omega six fatty acids which promote inflammation. So this gluten free smoothie helps balance it out.
Flaxseed in particular is a favorite of mine (okay, almond butter is my favorite but really just because I like to lick it off the spoon :P) because of its high fiber content it’s been shown to reduce risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
On top of that, flaxseed is great for “staying regular” (check out this post on how to help kids poop!) and reducing inflammation!
For such a teeny little seed it has a lot of health benefits!
An even more awesome perk of this healthy smoothie is that all sugars are natural ones! This smoothie may not sound like it but thanks to the apple, date and coconut milk it is rather sweet.
I don’t personally allow baby bear to have processed sugars (I can still get away with this right now!) but this smoothie makes her think she’s having a “treat”. It’s super thick and creamy also so it definitely works for a smoothie bowl too for when you want to switch it up. Top it with your favorite “mixings” (hello homemade granola!) and it seems even more decadent.
And lastly, this cranberry apple smoothie rocks because it’s pink. And yes, that is a valid reason! While it is full of healthy, nutritious ingredients, the fact that it is brightly colored makes little kids want to devour it. And healthy meals are only good as long as they’re consumed!
Healthy Cranberry Apple Smoothie Ingredients
- 1/2 apple
- 1/2-2/3 cup frozen cranberries
- 1 Dates
- 1/8 cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Almond butter
- 1 tablespoon Flaxmeal
- 1 tablespoon Hemp Hearts
- 2/3 cups almond milk
- 3 ice cubes
Note: all of these health boosting ingredients can be purchased through my favorite retailer Well.ca– and the best part is that they offer free shipping!
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
How To Make This Pink Vegan Smoothie
Chop the apple and place it into a powerful blender.
Add the remaining ingredients except milk.
Pour the milk over top of the ingredients.
Blend on high until smooth.
Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Makes one large or two small
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Healthy Cranberry Apple Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/2 apple
- 1/2-2/3 cup frozen cranberries
- 1 Dates
- 1/8 cup coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Almond butter
- 1 tablespoon Flaxmeal
- 1 tablespoon Hemp Hearts
- 2/3 cups almond milk
- 3 ice cubes
Instructions
- Chop the apple and place it into a powerful blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients except milk.
- Pour the milk overtop of the ingredients.
- Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour into a glass and enjoy!
This vegan smoothie is full of health boosting ingredients. Cranberry apple is not only a tasty flavor but helps improve digestion also. It’s thick, creamy and pink so kids love it!
Yum! Great combination of flavors! And pretty color;)
Thank you! I love the color too
Wow, the dates and cranberry combination sounds amazing!
The dates take away the cranberry bitterness!
I’ve not used frozen cranberries before but this inspires me to do so! Yum!
Ohh do it! They’re great for you and we never eat them!
I LOVE cranberries! I tend to use them all year long and will make this smoothie.. bet it IS delicious!!
I love it! Most people shy away from cranberries but they’re so awesome!
Love the color of this smoothie! You’re right, pink smoothie’s seem to be more of a hit than green ones. I know that’s the case with my husband:). I look forward to giving this a try.
Haha yup! I’m a green fanatic but most people like pink better. Makes them think it’s not loaded with insane veggies lol
Never thought of adding cranberries to a smoothie!
Your opening comment about the colour helping to get kids on board really made me chuckle – when my daughter was little, we could get her to do anything if it was pink-related – she would choose the fibre bran cereal over chocolate cereal because it came in a pink box! Hehe.
And congratulations because someone loved this post so much, they added it to the BlogCrush linky! Feel free to collect your “I’ve been featured” blog badge 🙂 #blogcrush
Haha ah that’s amazing. Yup, kids are pretty particular about a color once they get it in their heads!