Cranberry and Blueberry Green Smoothie With Ginger

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I saw that cranberries were out – both fresh and frozen cranberries too. Of course, my mind went automatically to incorporating them into my smoothies – plus I think this year, I’m going to try and make cranberry sauce from scratch for Thanksgiving dinner.

Cranberry and Blueberry Green Smoothie

Cranberries are very tart, so not using too many (for your tastes) is key. I used a “light” 1/4 cup in this smoothie – and a “heavy” 1/4 cup of frozen blueberries. And since this is a “Green” smoothie, there was a general handful of spinach added too. I usually aim for 1-2 cups, but I never measure it out.

And there’s ginger. When I use ginger in a smoothie, I first peel it – cut it up into small pieces – and then add it by itself to the blender with a small amount of water. Blend that for a minute or 2, and then pour it out through a small strainer into a container. That’s the ginger juice to use in the smoothie. It sounds like a lot more work than it really is – but it’s worth it! I love ginger – but if you don’t … try it anyway! Or you could leave it out.

Ingredients

+ 1/4c Cranberries

+ 1/4c Blueberries

+ 1-2c Spinach

+ 1/2-1c Bananas (frozen)

+ 2Tbsp Ginger Juice

+ Water

Don’t forget the bananas! This is what will offset the tartness of the cranberries. Add all the ingredients together and blend for 3-5 minutes.  My blender of choice for smoothies is the Oster MyBlend Blender. If your smoothie comes out too thick … add more liquid and blend some more. If it’s too tart – add more ‘nana.

The color will come out anywhere from brownish to purple depending on the amount of ingredients added … the more spinach, the more it tends towards brown.

Usually my smoothies also have chia seeds. I’ve made this with and without.

Do you like cranberries? Do you buy fresh, frozen or canned?

Linking up to Weekend Cooking @ Beth Fish Reads