Goodbye Gluten: berry smoothie

Berry picking was a regular event I looked forward to every year when I lived in New Hampshire. I still remember the cold mornings where my friends and I would get up early and rush out of the house to get to the fields. It’s a different kind of joy I get when I make dishes with hand-picked produce, and making something as simple as a smoothie feels like a big deal because I know exactly where my berries are from.

Now, smoothies are a staple in my family and why wouldn’t they be? They are a perfect source of nutrients, healthy, and only take seconds to make. While there are countless combinations of fruits and veggies in a smoothie form, you can’t beat the classic berry smoothie. Because they are so versatile, you can pretty much throw any kind of berries in with some yogurt and voila, you have yourself a drink that keeps you full for hours. 

I have recently started to add different types of seeds to my smoothies. Adding chia, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds to the smoothie while blending it is an easy way to incorporate some power foods into your diet because chia seeds, like others, are packed with omega 3 fatty acids and all sorts of other good stuff that your body will thank you for.

Ingredients

• ½ cup raspberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• ¼ cup blackberries
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbs chia seeds (or other seeds of choice)
• Nuts of choice

Directions

Simple enough, all you have to do is throw everything in a blender and serve with a topping of nuts to add an extra crunch to your breakfast smoothie. At home, we have a nut mix which is a bunch of different nuts that are coarsely ground it until we have a crumbly mixture. In a glass, if you layer the smoothie alternating it with the nut mixture, you have now transformed a simple breakfast food into a sophisticated and healthy dessert.