Recipe: My Perfect Smoothie

Milk - I usually use oat milk for this although I know oat milk is not very good for you/usually full of preservatives. Once in a while I use regular whole milk instead. Unfortunately I’m allergic to both almond and soy milk (ㅠㅠ)! Cashew or pistachio milk are my go-tos in NY but impossible to find in Korea.

Hemp hearts, ground flaxseed - any brand will do but organic if you can! And ground flaxseed, not whole (ground flax is nutritionally superior to whole flax since our bodies can’t digest whole flax seeds. Unless your blender is insanely strong (mine isn’t…) just buy ground.

Prebiotic Fiber - I like this one from Garden of Life

Wild blueberries (vs conventional) - Did you know there’s a big difference in terms of nutritional value? Wild blueberries have way more antioxidants and fiber plus a more intense flavor because they’re smaller.

Frozen banana - I always freeze my own by slicing ripe bananas and freezing in a ziplock bag. Try to lay flat in a single layer if possible for the first freeze (~1 hr), to avoid clumps!

Peanut (or any nut) butter - Maybe the only non-negotiable ingredient here! It makes the smoothie taste so good. Make sure it’s 100% pure nut (peanut, almond, cashew etc), with no added sugar/oils. No Skippy or Jiffy! Also I personally hate crunchy peanut butter and not sure most blenders will really break through small pieces.

Açai - This smoothie was originally always with açai, until I moved to Korea (I can’t find the acai I want here). It makes for a smoother smoothie. They sell these unsweetened individual packs at Whole Foods that are perfect. I usually let them rest on counter for 5-10 minutes prior to blending because they’re rock hard/one big block of purée. One more thing to note is that if you have açai, I don’t add any other fruit except banana and it’s great!

Protein - I’ve never made a protein shake in my life but let me know if you add protein powder to this and how it tastes! I’m intrigued …