Making smoothies is easy – just blend fruits and vegetables in your blender with some liquid and enjoy! But perhaps sometimes your smoothie experiments don’t go as planned, and the smoothie tastes bland, weird, too sweet, too tangy, too bitter. Here’s a delicious banana-free cashew raspberry smoothie with flavors in balance and a few tricks how to make a really good smoothie every time!
How to make a delicious smoothie
It is all about the basics: salt, fat, acid, sweet. These are the four flavor components you need balanced in your smoothie to make it delicious every time! I haven’t actually yet seen the Netflix show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, but I’m borrowing titles from the show 🙂
Salt
A smoothie on the sweeter side needs a little salt for balance. It’s the same when baking and making no bake treats: a little salt in the crust really enhances the sweetness and balances out the flavors. Salt makes all the flavors stand out more, too! I usually add a pinch of salt to my smoothies at the very end of blending after taste testing the smoothie.
Fat
There are two good reasons to add fat to your smoothies. 1. Good fats from wholefood ingredients are very healthy for you and some vitamins (such as vitamin A, D, E) are absorbed when combined with fat. 2. Fatty ingredients make smoothies creamier and thicker – and more delicious. Nuts and/or seeds – either soaked or as a butter – and avocado are my preferred choice of fats.
Acid
Fruity smoothies like this berry smoothie, or green smoothies require a little acid too to be in balance. In smoothies the best two sources are either lemon or lime. They’re not only healthy, but they add a good zing to your smoothie to balance sweetness. In green smoothies I usually use a whole piece of lemon with the peels. For berry smoothies just a squeeze of lemon or lime is fine to let the berry flavors taste through.
Sweet
If you like sweet smoothies, there are many wholesome options to use: bananas, sweet potatoes, dates, raisins, grapes, berries and other sweet fruits. I usually prefer banana-free smoothies because I’m a bit intolerant to bananas, but I do love the creamy consistency of frozen bananas and mild sweet banana flavor.
I’ve learned to love other sources of sweetness too, like frozen sweet potatoes (which are cooked first). They also add creaminess to smoothies.
Of course berries add flavor and sweetness too, especially sweet strawberries. Another good one I love to use in the summer are frozen grapes! We eat them like candy straight from the freezer on a warm day but in smoothies they taste especially delicious.
Dates and raisins are also amazing, and because they are so sweet usually only just one or two dates or a few raisins is needed. Unless you want to make a dessert smoothie – then you probably want to add more 🙂
I tested the recipe for this banana-free cashew raspberry smoothie several times before I was happy with the flavor and consistency. I really hope you will like this berrylicious smoothie, and I also hope this little smoothie guide will help you make delicious smoothies every time!
Lots of smoothie love from the forest!
♥ Tiina
Banana-free cashew raspberry smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup cashews
- 1 cup Fresh or frozen berries: raspberries, wild blueberries and strawberries I used about 1/2 cup raspberries, 1/4 cup blueberries and 1/4 cup strawberries
- 1/2 cup frozen zucchini or cauliflower
- 1/2 cup baby spinach
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 0,5 tbsp flaxseeds
- 1-2 dates I used 2 small ones
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup plant milk of choice
- 2 tbsp unsweetened coconut yogurt Optional, adds a lovely creaminess
- pinch of salt
- For serving: raspberries and strawberries or berries of choice
Instructions
- If you have time I recommend soaking cashews in a bowl filled with water overnight or at least 30 min in hot water. You can skip this step if your blender is very powerful or if you don't mind having some cashew pieces in your smoothie.
- Blend all ingredients except salt until smooth and creamy. Taste and add pinch of salt, blend again and taste. Notice the difference?
- Enjoy this healthy berry smoothie!ps Remember to chew your smoothie! This way you'll start the digestion process already in your mouth and you absorb the nutrients in your smoothie better 🙂
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