Tis’ the season…of gingerbread! I LOVE ginger therefore, it’s natural for me to gravitate towards gingerbread cookies and everything ginger infused. I wanted to make a special treat and a twist on the classic gingerbread cookie, so meet the Gingerbread Molasses Smoothie. It’s a super thick, creamy, chilled, and full of sweet fruits, warming spices, and nutrient dense! The cold smoothie filled with warming spices of nutmeg, all spice, ginger, and cinnamon make this a wonderful ying-yang balance of warming and cooling foods.
In comparison to a yummy gingerbread cookie, this smoothie contains far more fiber, healthy fats, protein, iron, vitamin C, and minerals. All of these macronutrients and micronutrients are even more important this time of year for our bodies when we may be under a little more stress (good or bad stress) because of the holidays, traveling, working, socializing, etc. All my ladies out there will also love this smoothie because of one mineral in particular.
Not only is this smoothie incredibly delicious, seriously it’s so good, but it also contains very high amounts of iron! The star players in this smoothie that make this one so high in iron is the black strap molasses and the chia seeds. Smoothies are already super easy on our digestion making the nutrients from the ingredients easier for our bodies to assimilate and utilize. The iron rich ingredients black strap molasses and chia seeds are perfect matches for the vitamin C containing pear and banana.
TIP // To make sure you’re getting the maximum amount of absorption of iron especially from non-heme sources (i.e. plant-based foods), be sure to pair them with foods high in vitamin C (think bell peppers, citrus, fruits, and vegetables in general).
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 fresh pear
- 1-2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses (adjust to your taste)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (soak in the almond milk for at least 20 minutes)
- 1/2 scoop Sunwarrior warrior blend vanilla protein (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root (adjust to your taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon all spice
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract
- handful of ice cubes, as needed
- gluten free gingersnap cookies to garnish, optional
- Soak the chia seeds in the almond milk for at least 20 minutes to allow them to absorb the liquid and become like a gel.
- Blend all ingredients except the garnish cookies, into a high speed blender until thick and creamy.
- Add ice in as needed to your desired texture.
- Garnish by crumbling gluten free gingersnap cookies on top with a dash of cinnamon.
- Enjoy!
I hope you love this smoothie as much as you love gingerbread cookies! Also note, this can be eaten any time of day, I actually prefer this one as a dessert smoothie when I’m craving something sweet and filling. What’s your favorite Christmas or holiday cookie? Share below, maybe I’ll make a gluten free and vegan version 😉
With love and gratitude,
xo McKel
