A delicious (and family favourite!) smoothie made using oats, almonds, dates, bananas, rice milk, hemp powder, and cinnamon that is enriched with minerals, vitamins, healthy fats and proteins.

Ingredient Highlights:

• Highly nutritious and rich in fibre, almonds are high in protein, magnesium, vitamin E, manganese, copper, vitamin K, zinc and biotin. Almonds can help lower blood sugar levels, reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels.
• Medjool Dates are extremely nutritious, high in iron, fluorine, and rich in soluble fibre and essential fatty acids. Dates are a staple in our fridge and my go-to snack.
• High in fibre and low on fat, oats are rich in antioxidants and may help improve blood sugar control.
• Hemp powder is a rich source of minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper. Hemp is a plant-based source of concentrated omega-3 fatty acids and also contains lignanamides which have strong antioxidant properties
• Bananas contain several important nutrients including vitamin C, manganese, potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium and copper. Bananas are also rich in pectin, which is a type of fibre. Fun fact: unripe bananas (my favourite way to eat them!) contain resistant starch (fibre) which escapes digestion and ends up in your large intestine, where it becomes food for the beneficial bacteria in your gut.
• Rich in antioxidants, cinnamon contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamin A. It also has trace amounts of vitamins B and K. Cinnamon may also reduce inflammation, reduce the risk of heart disease and help fight certain infections.

To make this smoothie blend the following (makes two servings). Try to buy organic ingredients if you can!

• 1 large banana
• 2 Tbsp rolled oats
• 3 Medjool dates
• 2 cups rice milk
• Heaping scoop of almond butter
• 1 tbsp hemp protein powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Enjoy!

Recipe shared with us by Roots of Health

Photo credit: Selina Whittaker Photography