Name: Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie
Yield: serves 1
Ingredients: 1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk); 1 cup sliced strawberries (about 8 strawberries,) fresh or frozen; 1/2 banana, fresh or frozen; 2 heaping Tablespoons raw cashews; 1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest; 1/2 cup ice

Please tell me you’ve seen the “My Kid Can’t Eat This” Instagram account?! Ben sympathetically showed it to me the other night after coming home from work to find me battling with Lincoln to eat his peas at dinner.

The Instagram account features images from parents of food their kids refuse to touch for one bizarre reason or another, such as a picture of a half peeled banana with the caption, #MyKidCantEatThis because mommy peeled it and he wanted it peeled by daddy. (been there!) and My kid can’t eat this because it has ugly bumps and isn’t a doughnut. accompanied by a picture of a Nutrigrain bar.

BAHAHAHAwahhh!!

I will say, Lincoln eats a decent variety of foods but we go through the whole, you literally couldn’t stuff peas into your mouth fast enough last night but tonight you won’t even look at them, routine like everyone else. Stinkers!

That said, one type of food I can always rely on to get my main man a blast of nutrients is smoothies. I like to stuff the blender full of spinach and chia seeds then sweeten it up with fresh fruit like in my Best Ever Green Smoothie or pack it with fresh, vitamin-rich berries and nuts that are high in healthy fats, protein, and iron like in my Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie!

Health reasons aside, we simply love this smoothie because it tastes freaking FANTASTIC!! It’s a spinoff of my Blueberry Muffin Smoothie which is a big hit with you guys. I gave it a desserty spin (without adding any sugar, I might add,) and came up with this version that highlights juicy, sweet strawberries, and tastes exactly like Strawberry Shortcake.

The strawberries are blended with almond milk (or whatever you have in the fridge,) half a banana, a splash of good vanilla extract, a teensy bit of fresh lemon extract (if you’ve had the Blueberry Muffin Smoothie than you know how key this is to making the smoothie taste like a baked good,) and a secret ingredient – cashews!

Guess it’s not so secret anymore. ;)

Why cashews? Well, raw cashews are a creamy and sweeter tasting nut that takes the place of yogurt in this smoothie, plus it mimics the flavor of shortcake. Lincoln is allergic to dairy so the cashews help give each sip a creamy, thick consistency, plus they’re loaded with iron which I’m a big fan of.

When all is said and done, this smoothie tastes like a big bowl of strawberry shortcake that neither of us can’t get enough of. We like to share a cup in the morning after breakfast, but this would be so perfect as a nighttime treat if you’re watching your refined sugar intake. Plus the cashews not only up the creaminess factor, but make the smoothie really satisfying too. In my experience, when I’m not satisfied I’m automatically back on the hunt for more food.

Sheesh, could I sell this thing any harder?! I just seriously love it!

Ok! Just one direction to this simple recipe – throw stuff in a blender and push on! ;) Said “stuff” includes 1/2 cup almond milk (or again, whatever you have in the fridge,) 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1/2 banana, 2 heaping Tablespoons raw cashews, a splash of good vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest. You can skip the zest but it totally makes this smoothie!

Here are the cashews I use. Make sure you’re not using roasted cashews, rather we want the creamy, sweet raw ones.

Add 1/2 cup ice on top of the other ingredients then blend, blend, blend until ultra smooth.

Pour into a glass then enjoy!

free email bonus

Dinner Made EASY

5 days of simple yet flavorful recipes that take the stress out of dinnertime!