There's a new berry love in my life....and it's of the Wild Blueberry variety! You will love this wild blueberry superfood smoothie. It is so refreshing and packed full of nutrition.
Disclosure: By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.
Seriously though....wild blueberries have been rocking my world this week! Up until just recently, I had never had a wild blueberry just by itself. My only exposure to them had been in things like the "Maine Wild Blueberry Syrup" at Cracker Barrel that my dad likes to get or some jam that was given to me as a gift by some New England friends. I just assumed that wild blueberries were just as good as any other blueberry but no, my friends. In my opinion, wild blueberries have some special qualities that make them far more superior!
For instance, wild blueberries have the most intense and complex blueberry flavor. Have you ever bought a carton of bland blueberries before? You know, the kind that are soft and mushy inside and just don't taste like much of anything? I have - many times - and been so disappointed! When I bought my first bag of wild blueberries, however, I was blown away by how concentrated the flavor was. These berries are much smaller in size than regular blueberries, but in this case, smaller size = major flavor! I'm just swooning over the way they make my buttermilk pancakes, blueberry muffins, and smoothies burst with delicious sweet-tart berry flavor!
Before we talk about this smoothie, there are a few more special details about wild blueberries that I need to tell you about:
- Wild Blueberries have a unique heritage - they are considered "wild" because they are not planted. They grow naturally in the fields of Maine and Canada and have been there for thousands of years! Talk about nature's gift of sweetness to us - I'd give anything to live near one of these fields!
- 99% of the wild blueberry crop is frozen at harvest. This locks in their nutrition and flavor - making wild blueberries twice as high in antioxidants than their larger, cultivated blueberry counterparts.
- You can find wild blueberries in the freezer section of most grocery stores! Since learning about them, I've found them in both of my favorite stores and they are now a weekly staple on my grocery list. I just can't get enough!
Now onto the smoothie - as if the wild blueberries were not enough powerhouse nutrition on their own, I decided to add a few "super foods" to really knock your socks off. With the addition of kale and matcha green tea powder, the antioxidant capacity of this smoothie is through the roof! To make it extra special, I melted a bit of dark chocolate with a smidge of coconut oil to make these dreamy, homemade magic shell. It's liquid at room temperature but as you drizzle it into the smoothie, it transforms into little shards of chocolate. Imagine if you were to blend up chocolate-covered fruit into a smoothie. That's just what this tastes like! It's as if you dipped the blueberries in dark chocolate before you blended it up - I love getting tiny pieces of chocolate in my straw with all of the blueberry goodness!
Tell me, have you ever tried wild blueberries before? I'd love to hear about your favorite way to use them in the comments below! Tag @sweetcayenne5 on Instagram with a picture of your favorite wild blueberry creation!
Chocolate Covered Wild Blueberry Superfoods Smoothie
Ingredients
For the chocolate drizzle:
- 1 tablespoon bittersweet chocolate chips
- ⅛ teaspoon extra virgin organic coconut oil
For the smoothie:
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
- ½ a frozen banana roughly cut into chunks
- ½ cup fresh baby kale or baby spinach
- 1 cup of skim milk or other milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
- ½ teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring thoroughly between each, until the chocolate is completely melted (do not overheat).
- Place the frozen wild blueberries, frozen banana chunks, kale, milk, matcha powder, and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate into the blender and reserve a little for the very top of your smoothie. Blend for about 15 seconds to incorporate the chocolate. Pour the smoothie into a glass and drizzle the remaining bit of chocolate on top. Serve immediately!
Evi @ greenevi says
This smoothie sounds super delicious and I just love the beautiful purple colour! So vibrant and so healthy 🙂
Whitney Reist says
Thank you, Evi!