Summer Cashew-Coffee Smoothie – A Guilt Free Pick-Me-Up

By Tamika Woods on January 26, 2016 in Food

In the summer heat we often find ourselves searching for an afternoon pick-me-up that is cool and refreshing yet also keeps us on track with our beach body goals.

Enter the cashew-coffee smoothie. Perfectly thick and creamy, this smoothie is an ideal swap for that milk and sugar laden iced coffee that the ‘old you’ would’ve opted for without a second thought.

Sweetened naturally with banana and dates, this creamy drink packs a seven-gram plant protein punch to get you through the afternoon slump.

Note: This recipe only takes five minutes to throw together, however it does require some pre-planning. You’ll need to soak your cashews and freeze a banana in advance. I always keep a few frozen bananas in the freezer, just for these types of occasions. If you’ve ever got any bananas in the fruit bowl that are starting to blacken, peel them immediately, chop into chunks and place them in a container and pop them straight in the freezer for later.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 shots espresso coffee (if you don’t have a coffee machine, simply mix 2 tsp instant coffee with 2 tbsp hot water)
1 tray ice cubes
1/2 cup cashews (soaked overnight)
1 frozen banana (peel and chop into chunks before freezing)
2 Medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup water
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
Coconut flakes, to serve

1. Make the espresso shots and place in the freezer to cool slightly while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Add ice cubes to a high strength blender and process until they’re finely crushed.
3. Add all remaining ingredients including the drained cashews and process until smooth.
4. Serve in tall glasses with a sprinkling of coconut flakes. Enjoy!

Tamika Woods is a Nutritional Medicine student and founder of Sproutly Stories, a new health food blog designed to translate evidence-based information into digestible pieces of knowledge. Her wholesome recipe ideas inspire others to implement their health learnings in an easy and delicious way. For more guilt free recipes, check out sproutlystories.com.