Strawberry Banana Smoothie with Frozen Cauliflower Rice

Here's a twist on a classic smoothie. In my continued attempts to add more vegetables to my diet, I swapped out frozen cauliflower rice for ice cubes. It was great! So here is my update to standard strawberry banana smoothies. Try this strawberry banana smoothie with frozen cauliflower rice for a healthy, easy breakfast or post workout refuel.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie with Frozen Cauliflower Rice

Discovering the versatility of cauliflower has brought us everything from cauliflower puree in place of mashed potatoes to riced cauliflower in place of rice. It's even been turned into flour for cauliflower pizza crusts. Have you tried it in smoothies yet? Works great. Add a half cup of frozen riced cauliflower instead of ice cubes and blend away. It adds about a gram of both protein and fiber to that smoothie, which is alway a good thing.

Frozen Cauliflower Rice: Buy It or Make It

You can buy bags of frozen cauliflower rice at most markets, but it's easy to make your own with a food processor. To make your own, chop up a head of cauliflower and process into cauliflower rice. Spread it on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze, then scoop off and place in an airtight container for the freezer. Without a food processor, grate by hand onto a cutting board or rimmed baking sheet.

If you toss a bag of pre-riced cauliflower into the freezer, it freezes into a lump, but you can break it up with your hands.

A Note on Strawberries and Bananas

Bright red and juicy, strawberries are a low sugar fruit providing many healthy benefits. Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C, fiber, manganese, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. And be sure to buy organic, as conventional strawberries have high levels of pesticide residue.  Strawberries are always on the Dirty Dozen list and often the number one worst offender.

For the banana, choose a greenish one. Green bananas are a good source of something called resistant starch, which the friendly bacteria in your gut microbiome love. Green bananas are also lower in sugar than ripe ones.

Special Smoothie Additions

While you can make a simple smoothie with just berries, banana, frozen cauliflower and some almond milk, I like to jazz it up a bit. Try 1 cup of almond milk and ¼ cup of canned coconut milk for creaminess. Add one scoop of brown rice protein powder for clean, plant-based protein, a tablespoon of organic acacia fiber for more fiber, and sometimes 1-2 tablespoons of ground organic flaxseeds for fiber and protein. To sweeten, use berry liquid stevia drops by Sweet Leaf.

In the heat of summer, try these frozen popsicle smoothies!