My son, Rowan, is my official smoothie/milkshake tester for the blog. He loves it. In fact, if my husband makes a smoothie he refuses to drink it. Odd flex, I know, but its what I've got.
I don't think we've covered cherries yet, so lets dive in!
Cherries are a powerful medicinal fruit that are packed with vitamins A, C, E, and minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium and manganese. Their high levels of antioxidants and anthocyanins (a blue, violet, or red flavonoid pigment found in plants) make them an excellent food to help the body fight against neurological diseases, diabetes, and breast, lung, colon, and stomach cancers.
Cherries also contain strong anti-inflammatory properties and are particularly beneficial for those suffering with chronic pain, fibromyalgia, Lyme's disease, frozen shoulder, arthritis, gout, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, sports injuries, and post-surgical recovery. Cherries are a well known "brain food" and can help strengthen cognitive function by helping to improve memory loss, focus, and concentration and reducing brain fog.
Cherries are an excellent source of melatonin which is known to calm the nervous system, decrease irritability, relieve neurosis, ease headaches and promote a restful nights sleep with a balanced sleep-wake cycle. This makes cherries essential for those who suffer from insomnia, or for those who have high anxiety and stress in their lives. I personally like to eat a few cherries about an hour before bed when I haven't been sleeping well to guarantee a fantastic night of deep, restful sleep.
Cherries are rich in fiber and are a great natural remedy for constipation. They helped me so much during (and after) pregnancy!
When fresh cherries are unavailable, frozen cherries and pure cherry juice are great alternatives and relatively easy to find either online or at your local health food store!
Ingredients:
2 frozen bananas
5 dates
1 cup of fresh or frozen cherries (pitted)
1/2 cup oat milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy, anywhere from 30-60 seconds.