Cranberry Coconut Smoothie

There’s nothing like a chilled Summertime smoothie.

Especially when you arrive back in humid Manhattan after a few days in breezy n’ cool San Diego.

BlogHer was amazing. I had the best weekend meeting new bloggie friends and catching up with my fellow bloggie pals.

To my surprise, two of my favorite gals, Monica and Kath where at the  BlogHer Conference.  It was so great to finally meet Monica in person and to catch up with my pal Kath.

I had a great time soaking up the San Diego sunshine, attending panels and walking the Expo Hall meeting the folks behind some of my favorite brands.

I attended a Knorr Cooking Class, Stonyfield Yogurt Party, California Raisins Luncheon and so much more.

I spoke at the conference on Friday and was shocked by the amazing comments I received from my audience via Twitter, emails and in person throughout the weekend. Thank you all so much…I’m already counting down the days until BlogHer next year when it’s back here in The Big Apple.

Anyhoo, back to the smoothie.

Because it’s delicious.

And just simply fun to slurp n’ sip on when the summer heat’s getting to you.

Instead of the traditional smoothie, I decided to get a lil’ bit creative. You will LOVE this smoothie.

Refreshing is an understatement.

Flavorful, smooth, sweet n’ fun to sip.

It makes me wanna move to California and drink smoothies everyday.

I added a fresh n’ ripe avocado just because.

A few raw cashews, chia seeds and flax seeds and a nice balance of protein and healthy fats.

You can add in or substitute the cashews for another nut but I just love the creaminess in raw cashews.  They create such a smooth nut butter consistency, don’t they?

There’s just something about soft nuts like cashews n’ peanuts. They always compliment my baked goods, dressings and marinades unlike almonds, which I find hard to get creamy.

Get my drift?

Am I alone on this one?

This succulent smoothie is hands down one of my top 5 favorites.

I may just have to make it again tomorrow.

I simply can’t resist the coolness this will bring to your mouth.  But I’m sure you have no idea how that feels, right?

I didn’t think so.

Cranberry Coconut Smoothie

Gluten-Free

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 10 fresh cherries
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1 large, ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup Greek plain yogurt (or dairy-free yogurt)
• 2 fresh Basil leaves
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 2 Tbsp. coconut flakes
• 1 tsp. honey
• 5 raw cashews
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions

Be sure to check out my contribution to Joy Bauer’s SpaWeek Daily Blog .