Summer finally came to Denmark and I am one happy, happy person. Life just seems easier when the sun is shining and I don’t need to wear a snowsuit. In August.
I am also in the groove of cooking less, eating more simple, raw foods and whizzing stuff up in a blender. Tess Masters’s book, The Blender Girl Smoothies could not have come out at a better time considering I’m making smoothies ‘round the clock and looking for some new inspiration. With over 100 gluten-free, vegan recipes her book is kind of like the bible of blended drinks. What I appreciate is that you can look up recipes according to what effects you are after (to detoxify, alkalize, boost immunity, reduce inflammation etc.) and the chapters are divided into types of recipes (clean and green, light and fruity, dessert…). There are tips and tricks, a thorough pantry section and a good resource list for those of us who are new to this blending world.
Because I’m such a wild cat, I chose to make two recipes from the book and combine them. Oh yea. The Blueberry Breakfast Tart and Mystical Mango both sounded like heaven-in-a-glass to me and the combo, I must say, is over the top. I know it may seem a tad excessive to make two smoothies, but if you’re serving these at a brunch or something, it’s really fun (and beautiful!) to see them swirled together in a glass.
The blueberry one is really what it claims to be: liquid breakfast. With cashews, oats and maple syrup (which I didn’t use actually) it will wake you up and fuel you through a long morning of summer-ness. The mango smoothie is bright and tropical tasting – I loved the lime, orange and cardamom flavours in there! Whooo-hooo!
All I can say is, way to go, Tess! Whether or not you’re a smoothie pro or just getting started, this is the book to get your fruit-sticky hands on.
Blueberry Breakfast Tart
This tastes like a Pop-Tart, and is great for digestive health. Oats are a wonderful source of fiber, to combat carcinogens in the gastrointestinal tract. And both oats and blueberries become gelatinous in the colon, helping to expel toxins and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
2 1/4 cups (540ml) unsweetened almond milk, hemp milk, or rice milk (strained if homemade)
1/3 cup (45g) raw unsalted cashews, soaked
1/3 cup (30g) rolled oats, soaked
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups (320g) frozen blueberries
Throw the milk, cashews, and oats into your blender and blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and blast again on high for about 20 seconds, until smooth. Tweak the maple syrup to taste.
Boosters
1 tablespoon maqui powder
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Mystical Mango
With a creamy texture and exquisite flavour, this immunity blend is fabulous for collagen formation and glowing skin, hair, and nails. Mango’s enzymes and vitamins A, C, and E cleanse the liver and aid digestion, and its potassium and fiber help regulate blood pressure and cholesterol. This one will make your heart happy.
1 1/2 cups (360ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup (120ml) water, plus more as needed
1/2 medium avocado, pitted and peeled
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups (320g) frozen mango
1/2 cup (62g) ice cubes
Throw all of the ingredients into your blender and blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and creamy. Add more water as needed to blend.
Boosters
1/2 teaspoon wheatgrass powder
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon flaxseed oil
I hope you guys are having a rad summer. Much love to all!
xo, Sarah B
That is amazing! “helping to expel toxins and lower blood pressure and cholesterol” awesome sarah b
Beautiful, tasty, and healthy as well. This is a wonderful way to start my day. Thanks so much for the recipes!
just looking for updates from your blog. Thank you so much!
Ho my… I hope it is as much tasty for the mouth that it is for the eyes!! 😀
I have everything in the fridge… will try this tomorrow morning!
I just posted a link to your sweet potato and black bean soup in a post about black beans on my blog: life as cindy
I just posted a link to your sweet potato and black bean soup recipe in a post about black beans on my blog: http://www.lifeascindy.com
Doesnt matter how it tastes. But looks amazing! o.O 😀
Oh, the colour of these is amazing! I’m making smoothies every Saturday and I know that this recipe will help us appreciate the last days of summer.
Cheers!
Delicious and nutritious !
Wonderful colors.
Thanks.
These look great! Love the color and brightness! Definitely appetizing! – Regine
Mouth Watering,Delicious Recipe,thanks for sharing us….
Love that, blueberry is one my fafourite food and really nice to breakfast
Such a great idea! Looks like a must-try for when summer comes to Australia 😉
thankssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Beautiful pictures and colors. Thank you for sharing this recipe. If i remember correctly, blueberries is helping to break down of sugars and fats.
Wow, this looks amazing, I can tell that it’s delicious too. I love smoothies instead of a breakfast – they are light and full of vitamins. the perfect energy booster. Who needs coffee?!
I am so obsessed with your blog!!! Everything is so beautiful and delicious!! WOW!!!!
I have to try this smoothie recipe. I love that you can see the different layers. Thanks for sharing the recipe Sarah! You ROCK! Do you use a special camera for your photos?
http://www.thesweetlifediaryofahealthnut.blogspot.com
great juice..i think this is the great and healthy for my diet.. 🙂
Sarah! I made an amazing discovery. Since it’s summer, I haven’t been in the mood for anything that requires my oven/stove, so instead of oats, I subbed in your Seriously Super Cereal; I soaked it overnight with the cashews. The results were A+. Great way to get the health benefits of all those powerhouse grains and seeds during the dog days. 🙂
Hi Sarah,
I have been reading your blog for quite sometime now and really love how healthy recipes your write, above than the pictures love so tempting too 🙂
Do these not look like the most delicious thing? I have been looking for some great breakfast ideas and these are on the top of my list now! Been reading books on getting some more energy, that comes from eating and boosting metabolism, Outstanding Health by Michael Galitzer is an amazing book on gaining more energy, great foods like these smoothies are a perfect option!
One smoothie is great, but two smoothies in one is awesome!! Brilliant idea to combine them and the look is so fun! Can’t wait to try.
This is a great pre work out breakfast. Thanks for the post looking forward to trying this in the morning!
Wow this is so beautiful! Posts like these remind me why I was so obsessed to start a blog! I finally did and am working hard everyday to take pictures like this. These smoothies taste amazing together!
Loved the Blueberry smoothie recipe, kept me full for hours and was a great way to start a summer morning. I soaked the oats for a few minutes, until the oats had plumped up and the nuts I did for maybe 30 minutes max. Everything turned out lovely. Thinking of duplicating this recipe but substituting with peaches later in the summer and apples in the fall too
The colour of the juice is so good. I like fruits very much. So I like it….
Your writing skill is good, keep it up…
Thanks….
Woah, those colors! Smoothies are my best friends these days and I could definitely use some inspiration to switch things up. These two sound delicious!
Great idea, this combo! Thank you!
Nothing like a smoothie for the summer! I love how gorgeous these two look blended together.
Lovely! Thanks for posting and can’t wait to try it out. Like other readers, I can’t figure out what the “soak” means. For cashews, I assume soak 5-7 hours/overnight, but for the oats? A 2-to-1 water-to-oats ratio for an hour? Less water? More water? More time? Thanks!!
Yes, cashews should be soaked at least 7 hours, so overnight is usually easier; this is to deal with the presence of phytic acid which makes nuts difficult to digest. Simply cover them with filtered water. The oats probably need 1 to 1 ratio, but wouldn’t have to be soaked as long, but they could be if more convenient. I’m assuming these recipes each are 2 servings? Don’t see the serving size anywhere.
What a beautiful color and flavor combination. You are always inspiring me. Thank you, thank you!
This will surely make my list of favorite breakfast recipes. As to why so? Well, really, who would say no to a breakfast this nutritious and this colourful, right? 🙂
Those colors are absolutely amazing! Summer came not a day too soon in Scandanavia so let the smoothie season begin! I have a question about chia seeds which I was hoping you could help me with – since they pass through our digestive system pretty much in tact, how can our body absorb all of their good fats, fibers, antioxidants, protein, minerals and vitamins?
The breakfast tart and mango smoothie is a perfect combination. Just what I need in the morning. Something refreshing and gives me a boost. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
The colors of these smoothies are so beautiful…I love it and your photos! I can’t wait to make the blueberry one this weekend! 🙂
Can’t get enough of the festive colors of these smoothies!
Any tips for preventing blue teeth from frozen blueberries?? I’m in a pickle with this problem because I love them and I look like my teeth are rotting now : ( haha
Yummy! I LOVE your spin on blending these up! 🙂
Sarah,
I was wondering should you soak nuts and oats overnight or just quickly in the morning?
Sarah, I was wondering, do you need to soak oats and nuts overnight? Or just several minutes?
I have mango everyday in my green smoothie but this could be a great afternoon treat. AND Sarah I’m glad you finally got summer, it’s been crazy hot in Toronto most of the time with unbelievable storms (my electrical wiring got ripped out of the front of my house at one point) but it’s still nice to be in shorts and sipping’ smoothies with my little babe! xoxo
Your photos are incredible. I love how you combined both smoothies – they look amazing! I made a blueberry chia smoothie this morning for a photo shoot. It was great!
Swirling 2 smoothies is a great way to make your meal feel extra special and fancy. The colors are amazing! Great combo Sarah!
Wow those colours look so incredible together! I’m loving using ground cardamon in smoothies & porridge at the moment for a bit of a twist…. mixed with mango sounds so delicious!
Gabriella x
Hello Sarah
Beautiful smoothies.
Love mango and blueberries, never tried with oats in.
Snowsuit was needed this morning, it was under 3 degrees
In central jylland, I am not kidding!.
Sarah these look and sound a dream. So wanna get Tess’s book. Thanks for the recommendation 🙂
OMG, I am going to have to order this book!
The only thing I am skeptical about is the raw soaked oats–what kind of taste/texture do they have? How digestible are they compared to soaked then cooked oats?
Mmmm that smoothie combo sounds magical – I always forget how much I love cardamom and how good it is with fruit!
We love breakfast! These look amazing, big fan of oats in smoothies
What a great idea to layer complimentary flavored smoothies! This is absolutely gorgeous and inspiring. I’ll have to read Tess’s book, I’ve heard nothing but great things.
I’m so glad you’re finally getting summer in your parts. How exciting!
To summer and smoothies!
Cheers,
xx Sydney | Modern Granola
Hello I was wondering if you have a VItamix and have you tried it with a ‘regular’ blender?
I hope it works as well ….
The colors look so beautiful swirled together in the same glass! This is definitely a crowd-pleasing blend 🙂
Both treats sound fantastic! Such a colour way to start the day 🙂
How many servings does this make?
My guess is 2 per smoothie recipe.
Thanks Marieke.
I’ve been seeing a lot of this book online and I think I’ll have to get it. These two look SO GOOD.
love a swirled smoothie! beautiful Sarah! xo
Wow cardamom with mango is genius! Mango + avocado had got to be ultra creamy and I’ve yet to try oats in a smoothie, but that’s basically a combo of my two go-to breakfasts in one.
I use whole oat groats, soaked overnight in at least one smoothie a week and it’s fantastic! Keeps me full for hours without bogging me down.
Another bonus is that raw, soaked oat groats help kill candida. If that’s the goal then cut out the maple syrup, add a small dash of blackstrap molasses, use coconut water as your liquid and add a tablespoon of coconut oil (and keep the blueberries to a minimum).
Dear Sarah, do the Chia seeds need to soak to be sticky before adding them in the blender? Thank you!
Hi Lucie, no you can just add them to the blender with everything else. They will gel a little once blended 🙂 Enjoy!
xo, Sarah B
Amazing!! I now what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow! 😉
They look great! :3