Raw Vegan Banana Raspberry Smoothie

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This raw vegan banana raspberry smoothie is a quick and delicious way to use up a summer bounty of fresh raspberries.

Over summer, I took the kids berry picking at an organic berry farm about 90 minutes south east of Melbourne.

I had two reasons for wanting to do this.

Firstly I really wanted our suburban kids to see first-hand where their food comes from and how it’s grown.

Being mostly vegan means there’s not much point in taking them to a dairy farm, or a chicken farm, because we don’t eat those things.

So a “u-pick” berry farm was the perfect answer.

And I wanted an organic one so that they could see a farm that worked more closely with nature to grow its food.

Secondly, I wanted to revisit my past.

My first job in high school was picking berries for a local farm over the summer holidays.

It was boring as boring gets, and I found many creative ways to stop myself going insane while I worked.

I also didn’t work fast enough to earn much, but it was work, and the money was worth every cent.

But I really liked the idea of doing it this time for fun instead.

In fact, I had so much fun doing it that we picked over 5 kilograms of berries, including more than 3 kilos of raspberries.

So of course I had to find ways to use them up.

I could have frozen them, I know, but they were SO delicious fresh that I couldn’t bring myself to freeze any.

Instead I spent the next week eating raspberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And, boy, was that fun!

An experience of pure abundance.

So many raspberries that I just HAD to eat before they spoiled, so there was no holding back.

And so this banana raspberry smoothie was born.

So if you are blessed with an abundance of fresh raspberries this summer, or you just LOVE your raspberries, this is one awesome way to enjoy them.

With just four ingredients, plus some water, this banana raspberry smoothie is super easy to make, and even easier to drink.

Sweet and creamy with just the right amount of tang from the raspberries.

Mmmmmmm.

Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

And now I just have to wait for summer so we can do it all over again.

Enjoy!

Raw Vegan Banana Raspberry Smoothie

With just four ingredients, this raw vegan banana raspberry smoothie is super easy to make, and even easier to drink. Sweet, creamy and tangy. Mmmmmm.

5 from 1 vote

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Category: Drink

Cuisine: Paleo, Raw, Vegan, Wholefoods

Tags: dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, oil-free, salt-free, soy-free, sugar-free

Cook time: 5 minutes minutes

Total time: 5 minutes minutes

Makes: 1200 ml (4 serves)

Calories per serve: 300kcal

Author: Nikki, Eating Vibrantly

Ingredients

• 2 med bananas (300g)
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries , fresh (200g)
• 2/3 cup cashews (100g)
• 6 med medjool dates (100g)
• 1 cup water (250ml)
• 1 cup ice (250ml)

Method

• Put everything into the blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour into glasses and serve.

Preparation

• Before: -
• During: 5 mins
• After: -
• Need: Blender

Nutrition Information

Serving: 300ml; Calories: 300kcal; Carbohydrates: 50.05g; Protein: 6.4g; Fat: 11.6g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.2g; Monounsaturated Fat: 6g; Sodium: 9.5mg; Potassium: 683mg; Fiber: 7.7g; Sugar: 29.5g; Vitamin A: 100IU; Vitamin C: 27.2mg; Calcium: 50mg; Iron: 2.5mg

Tips

• If you have frozen bananas on hand, they would be perfect for this recipe. If you do use frozen bananas, then you probably don’t need to add any ice.
• I didn’t try frozen raspberries in this recipe, but I am supremely confident that they would work equally well. Once again if you use frozen fruit, you probably won’t need to add any ice, just water.
• I added the cashews to up the creaminess of this smoothie, and they do that job very well. But if you’re sensitive to nuts, you could probably leave them out, or try a nut-free alternative, like sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or coconut milk, although each of these will add their own flavour to the smoothie, so just try it and see if you like it.
• If you want to reduce the fat content, you can try reducing the amount of cashews. You may find that it loses its creamy, satisfying flavour, so have a play with it and see if you can find a balance you like.
• Medjool dates are big, sweet, soft and sticky dates that you usually find in the fresh produce section, or at your local health food store.  They’re softer than regular dates, and have more of a caramelly taste and add a rich sweetness to recipes. If you’re using regular dates, you may need to soak them in water for a couple of hours beforehand to make sure that they blend properly.
• I love using medjool dates to sweeten my dishes, but if you don’t have any handy, you could use any other raw sweetener instead, like agave nectar, coconut nectar, coconut sugar or yacon syrup. Just adjust the water to make the smoothie the right consistency.
• I added enough water and ice to make a reasonably thick smoothie, so if you like your smoothies thinner (or thicker) just adjust the amount of water to suit.
• The mix of water and ice is to keep the smoothie cool enough while you blend it completely. Without the ice, it’s more likely to overheat. If you don’t want to use ice, just refrigerate all of your ingredients beforehand for several hours or use frozen fruit.

Inspiration

Who wouldn’t be inspired by 3 kilograms of fresh raspberries?

It kind of gave me permission to try things, because I wasn’t trying to make the most of a single punnet of expensive berries.

(Did I mention that our pick-your-own berries cost us $16 a kilo instead of the usual $80 per kilo at my organic greengrocer? Wow.)

And I’ve been aiming to use whole foods as much as possible with any recipes I create, hence the medjool dates for sweetening, plus cashews for extra creaminess and voila!

I think it turned out rather well, even if I do say so myself.

Have a breathtakingly awesome day.

Nikki H Stokes, Eating Vibrantly

I studied Biochemistry and Genetics at Monash University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science, with Honours. I've always had a passion for natural health, having grown up with asthma, eczema and numerous food allergies, and I wanted to help my kids avoid the same issues. I love blending science and alternative approaches to find the best of both worlds, and I'm always looking for ways to create more amazing health and happiness in my life.
Learn more about me