Berry and Nut Butter Smoothie

This high protein smoothie makes the best use of seasonal blueberries for a beautiful jewel toned breakfast or snack. Just two minutes and a handful of ingredients are needed to make this vegan berry nut butter smoothie.

It’s berry season, folks. Graham and I have been picking wild blueberries for about a month now, and the blackberries are starting to hit their stride. He wants me to tell you that he found the wild blueberries in a nearby bog and that they’re much better than farmed blueberries (they are, and he did).

It was a really cold July, closer to 15C than 30C most days, so everything is a little later than it should be. It’s such a luxury to be able to cross the street and pick blackberries growing wild along the water, or walk a few hundred metres to gather enough to last days. They’re a little tricky to pick, so luckily for us, they’re left alone in large part and there are always lots.

What do you think of vegetable gardens in front yards? We have ours in front of our house because the back garden is all stones and carefully enclosed gardens with bushes, trees, and flowers. There isn’t much space for vegetables, so we ripped up half the lawn in the front and planted food.

We live in a fancy neighbourhood just a few minutes from the downtown core (we don’t fit in & it’s painfully obvious, hah) and strangers walking along the street come into our yard and just stand there gawking at the garden. It’s so weird. I can see you, jerks. It doesn’t seem so strange to grow vegetables in the front yard, but I’ve had people come into the house and tell me it’s a ‘poor person garden’ or ‘how yards looked during the war’ or that they simply don’t like it, so I guess rich people don’t grow their own food?

Anyway, the reason I really have trouble wrapping my head around it is because if you have space, why wouldn’t you use it to grow food?! Lawns are the fucking worst and not only pointless, but also a huge drain on resources. Even the tiniest spaces can grow food, and that’s about as local as you can get. It’s going to taste a lot better than anything you can buy, your footprint is a lot lower, and growing your own costs virtually nothing.

We planted about 30 kohlrabi plants, and each kohlrabi at the store costs €1,50. That’s 45 bucks right there. I know a lot of people live in apartments and can’t have gardens, but if you have a yard, you should grow something to eat! Maybe you hate gardens – but I can’t think of a real argument against having one. There’s significant and increasing evidence that gardening has a positive impact on mental and physical health. Here’s an excellent and very recent study on it.

I didn’t mean to talk so much about urban gardening, but it’s so important, and I regret nothing. This is a simple, straightforward recipe for a berry & nut butter smoothie using the best of the season with lots of berries. It’s a variation of a smoothie I’ve been making a lot because we haven’t been buying any frozen berries, but  it’s a million times better with than without.

Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are all great choices, so use what you have on hand. Nut butter adds protein and even though it’s a minimal number of ingredients, it’s a great combination. The smoothies in the pictures are made with blueberries and I think they make the prettiest colour.

Let’s connect! If you liked this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! Tag me on instagram @occasionallyeggs and #occasionallyeggs so I can see what you’re making, and stay in touch via facebook, pinterest, and bloglovin.

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Berry & Nut Butter Smoothie

This high protein smoothie makes the best use of seasonal blueberries for a beautiful jewel toned breakfast or snack. Just two minutes and a handful of ingredients are needed to make this vegan berry nut butter smoothie.

Course Breakfast, Drinks

Cuisine Vegan

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 cup non-dairy milk oat or nut
• 1 large overripe banana
• 3/4 cup blueberries
• 2 tablespoons nut or seed butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 soft dates or 1 teaspoon honey optional, see tip

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients into a blender and mix at high speed until smooth. Serve chilled and add a teaspoon of chia if you'd like.

Notes

• Using a frozen banana will result in a creamier, more milkshake-like smoothie. I recommend using either frozen banana or frozen berries to make sure it's cold enough, unless you want it to be room temperature.
• Try mixed berries, or raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries in place of the blueberries.
• I use peanut butter but any nut or seed butter would be great.
• Only use the sweetener if you have to use a less ripe banana. Otherwise it's sweet enough without.
• This makes a really great chia pudding. Just stir in 1/4 cup chia seeds, mix, and let it set in the fridge for at least two hours before serving.