A super healthy sip with berries, vanilla, coconut butter & cacao powder. The berry beet velvet smoothie makes a hearty and vibrant breakfast.
Once it gets even moderately warm out, I move my working area outdoors. Our dog loves nothing more than sitting with us outside, just sniffing the air around her. So if I have to plug away on the computer or something, I get a nice cup of tea and plunk myself down on the porch next to her. She eventually gives way to some snoozing, and the fresh air is good for keeping my morale high through any work I have going on. Our porch wraps around the house and we just love it. It becomes the main meeting “room” once we get into consistent double digit temperatures.
Porch hangs or not, I’m in for a lot of outdoor time this weekend. I’m making a big dinner for my family, and my partner and I have some old deck demolition to get down to as well. We’ve also committed to finally framing in and raising our vegetable garden bed a bit. The thing about searching “raised vegetable beds” on Pinterest is that it gets overwhelming in about five seconds. I think we’re just going to take it slow and go by feel. I hope that everyone has a restful weekend, and that some of you get a chance to make this luscious and nourishing berry beet velvet smoothie! xo
On reducing anxiety from an ayurvedic perspective: “…aiming for more warmth, grounding, stability, stillness and nurturance in all facets of your life: relationships, career, routine, and food.”
Everything I’ve feared is true. My dog doesn’t like hugs?!
The popularity of The Biggest Loser is frustrating to me. This show has the power to influence people in such a positive way for better health, but it does exactly the opposite. The struggle for contestants to keep the weight off is indicative of a much bigger biological reality. Also this piece sums up a lot of my feelings about the show and fitness marketing in general.
“Saying yes is more fun than saying no..” and other important guidelines to keep you from fearing the arc of your future.
We’re supposed to get a rainy day on Sunday, so I’m planning a ritual bath night with tips from this piece in mind. I love the illustrations.
Hugging and praying to trees, and the fear that we may be growing more familiar with plastic than wood.
Sometimes I try to eat bowl-style food on a plate, but it just doesn’t feel the same. Apparently there are academic observations to confirm that a warm bowl of food equals a distinctly felt warm atmosphere, and a certain overall abundance.
This mung bean falafel (all dolled up in a bowl with some pickled rainbow chard) sounds incredible. These green enchiladas are also beaming me in.
Berry Beet Velvet Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 heaped cup mixed red berries (I did fresh strawberries + frozen cherries)
- 1 small beet, peeled and chopped
- ½ ripe banana, preferably frozen
- 1 pitted Medjool date
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons coconut butter
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
Optional Add-Ins
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon mesquite powder
- 1 teaspoon maca powder
Equipment
Notes
- I think a stronger blender is preferred here. I use a high-speed blender, and I still chop up the beet into relatively small pieces so that the motor doesn’t struggle too much.
Instructions
- In an upright blender, combine the berries, chopped beet, banana, date, cacao powder, coconut butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and plant milk. Throw in any add-ins you may be using as well. Blend the mixture on high until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass and garnish with shaved bits of coconut butter and a dusting of cacao powder if you like. Enjoy!
I love beetroot and berry it’s such a happy combination! A wrap-around porch that just sounds so good! Thanks for the wonderful links :)
looks delicious and beautiful!:)
Hi Laura,
I think I’m going to have to make that smoothie for breakfast tomorrow, it sounds so good! I love all the Ayurveda-related links you’ve been posting lately in the Happy Hours, such good reads.
Thank you for the link to the falafel and have a great weekend :)
I’ve had a beet and strawberry smoothie before but this looks extra fabulous :) Can’t wait to try! I’m assuming the beet is raw? If yes, have you tried this with cooked and chilled beets as well? Wondering which is better. Thanks!
Hey Steph,
The beet is raw in this one! I haven’t tried this with a cooked and cooled down beet yet, but I imagine it might make the drink just a little bit sweeter. Plus it’s less work for the blender. Let me know if you try it this way!
-L
Hi, Steph & Laura — just a quick note about raw vs. cooked beets: the cooked beet has a much stronger, earthier taste than the raw, we’ve found. We do a beet-berry smoothie in our house too (love your idea for adding coconut, Laura, thanks!!) and we really prefer raw for this kind of thing (though we love the cooked ones in salads/roasts/savory things). So we’d say to go with the cooked if you really love to drink a pronounced beet taste at breakfast … otherwise, raw might be preferred! Btw, tossing in a few goji berries is nice here, too!
Thanks for these great tips, Sherry! The pronounced earthiness makes so much sense, and I love your goji berry idea!
-L
I loved that piece on bowl food! Things really do taste better when they’re in a bowl. I think it also has something to do with the fact that when things are in a bowl, they all combine and get mixed together, increasing the flavor factor.
That article on ritual bathing was so inspiring, but also made me sad because I am just TOO tall to realistically fit into a normal bath tub and be comfortable. There is always a leg sticking out somewhere… haha ;) I feel like your beet smoothie would be such an enjoyable bath accompaniment drink too!
This is my kind of smoothie! I love the inclusion of the coconut butter and the other add-ins!
I think this smoothie is making me consider giving another chance to beets :)
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try !
I made this for breakfast this morning- my favorite beet smoothie recipe yet! Love the cocoa and beet combo.
Also, I used some leftover roasted beets I had instead of raw. I thought it wasn’t too earthy and quite delicious.
Its really looks yummie…. just cant wait to try it.
I’m not usually a fan of beet in smoothies, but this drink is so delicious!! I love the earthy flavours Will definitely be making it again xxx
Since it is getting warmer, I would really like to take my exercising outdoors too! It’s so beautiful especially when the sun is out! Anyways, LOVE this berry beet smoothie idea! The color is just so vibrant and stunning!
I love a beet smoothie but this was beyond! Literally tastes like a red velvet cupcake (but perfectly not too sweet). Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m really excited to try this but I don’t often use beets, especially raw. Do I need to peel them first? Thanks!
I usually peel it first!
-L
This was soooo good! I’ve been looking for smoothie recipes that used other veggies than spinach or kale, and I love beets! I grated my beet before putting it into my Ninja and it did fine.
This was absolutely delicious. I am a huge fan of beets and this will definitely become part of my regular smoothie rotation.
This is my absolute favorite one so far!