Indigo Blues Smoothie (Day 2 – Indigo)
This recipe is part of a series of colorful smoothie posts to celebrate Pride month.
When I named this smoothie yesterday, I could hear Jim Morrison singing Indigo blues, indigo blues, yeah!…..
Only to find out that the lyrics are in fact Into your blues, into your blues…
(*face-palm*)
I like my version better.
This smoothie is a nutritional bombshell. With black grapes, frozen blueberries, banana, apple, spinach, oats, spirulina and water, it goes down like a popsicle on a sweltering day. However, the quantity of greens (spinach and spirulina) was probably a tad excess for a true indigo smoothie; so if you’re going for color, omit the greens altogether. If you’re going for energy, then leave them in!
I garnished this one with more frozen blueberries and some dried coconut – but you could leave those out too.
Recipe super-powers:
Grapes, anyone? Grapes, which come from the berry family, have been studied extensively for their cardiovascular protective properties (1,2). They’re full of antioxidants, specifically polyphenols (flavonoids & resveratrol), that have shown to reverse atherosclerosis by reversing the build-up of plaque in arteries. Because most of the polyphenols are present in the skin, the darker you go, the more health benefits you’ll reap (2)!
Note: Grape skins are prone to heavy pesticide residues; so either go organic when you can, or wash them thoroughly before using.
Indigo Blues - Black Grape & Blueberry smoothie
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1-2 cups black grapes organic if possible
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 banana
- 1 small apple
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 tbsp spirulina optional
Instructions
- Wash and prep all ingredients.
- Toss into the blender along with the water.
- Blend slowly at first, then on high speed for 30 seconds. Add more water or ice-cubes if you'd like it thinner and blend again.
