Ruby Red Beetroot Smoothie

After what feels like almost two weeks at full speed, I decided, no actually my body told me loud and clear, that it is about time to take a day which include some selfcare. To me that includes, spending time outside, preferably some walking in the forest as well as filling my body up on some colourful foods.

And since we are enjoying some Spring-like weather for the past few days, with apparently more to come, smoothies are back on the menu again.

Other parts of my selfcare practice intention for this week includes getting serious about my sleep. To get to bed in plenty of time to ensure that I can get 8h and maybe, just maybe, I’ll try taking my mobile phone out of my bedroom too…

Do you prioritise your own sleep? And if so, what does your routine look like?

 

It took me some time to warm to the idea of adding raw beetroot to a smoothie, but once I had tried it with some berries, there was no way of going back!

Beetroot is such a powerful veg, with phytonutrients that support our liver and blood. As well as that, as a root veg it is also full of fiber to help keep the blood sugar stable, give the stomach a sense of fullness and the bowel moving.

In this recipe I use banana as a sweetener but to be honest, mostly for texture as without it I found that you end up with a more “gritty” texture, that is not to everyone’s palate. I also tend to use raw ones, but since the consistency tends to change when they are cooked, it would be interesting experiencing using a cooked one instead. If you do, let me know! And probably best to cook a few and then use a spare one for your morning smoothie, as they take an age to cook…!

The leaves I used here are a variety that I grew last year called “Bulls Eye”. They kind of look like beetroot tops. If you can’t get hold of some, use a few leaves of spinach, rainbow chard or if you can get organic beetroots that still have their leaves attached you can use a few of them.

The talk of home grown veg together with the current warmth from the sun makes me look forward to the weekend already when my plan is to clear my raised beds to get them prepared for planting in a few weeks time. Must order some seeds too!

 

Ruby Red Beetroot Smoothie

Serves 1

1 small beetroot, peeled & chopped

1 small banana

1/2 inch of fresh ginger, peeled

1/2 cup of raspberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup of strawberries, fresh or frozen

A handful of red or green leaves (if your leaves are green don’t over do it or you’ll end up with a brown smoothie)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp of hulled hemp seeds – optional

1 tbsp of pea protein

250ml of plant milk of choice – other nice options are cold hibiscus tea or cold raspberry leaf tea

 

Place all ingredients in your blender. Blend until smooth, Drink and enjoy!

 

I actually made a little video for this recipe too.

Expect to see some more of these types of videos happening this year, since I’ve just bought an extension arm for my tripod!