When I lived in LA, a juice shop opened right next to my hot yoga studio. Pretty brilliant planning if you ask me. After you get your sweat on, a nice cold-pressed or coconut water sounds fantastic. One night after a particularly grueling session, I decided to branch out from my go-to drink and order a smoothie. I can barely describe how delicious this chia smoothie tasted. Since I don’t live in LA anymore, I haven’t had the original in a while, but it is still such a vivid memory. I had to stop myself from ordering it after every class! Eventually I moved away, and sadly the temptation was gone.
I really wanted to recreate the smoothie knew I needed almond milk for the recipe. After scouring the grocery store for a clean store-bought bottle, I didn’t find anything acceptable. Why must carrageen be in everything?! I was nervous to make my own almond milk but decided to take the plunge. I used Danielle from Against All Grain’s recipe from her cookbook, but this is also a great option! Making almond milk is so easy! I was really excited to have it all week for my coffee too. With my little aerator and some MCT oil, my coffee is better than Starbucks!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbls chia seeds
- 1/2 cup coconut water
- 1 cup almond milk, homemade
- 2 tbls almond butter
- 2 dates, pitted
- 1/3 cup + 3 tbls chia gel, divided
Directions
- Warm coconut water in a small sauce pot or nuke for 20 seconds in the microwave.
- Stir chia seeds into the mixture. Every 15 minutes swirl mixture. This will help the chia seeds stay in suspension.
- For best results, do this the night before.
- In a blender, mix in all smoothie ingredients except 3 tablespoons of chia gel until smooth.
- Pour into glass then stir in 3 tablespoons of chia gel.
Enjoy!
x vanessa
Hi, just wanted to let you know I tried this recipe about 3 months ago and it’s been my favorite smoothie since. Thank you for sharing. I do have a question though. I have to run the smoothie cycle on my Blendtec Blender at least 2 times to get the 2 dates chopped up. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to not have to chew the dates at the end of my smoothie?
You can definitely soak your dates in coconut water or regular what for a couple hours. Obviously not very convenient but you can also nuke them in the microwave in coconut water for about 15 seconds. This will help plump up the dates and make them easier to blend!
Love this flavor combo, and that you’re sneaking in chia seeds. Is the recipe as written for one serving?
Yup it is for one person but it a pretty big smoothie!
Works for me! Thanks, Vanessa!