Apple pie smoothie

Who says smoothies are only for the summertime? This creamy and flavorful drink combines the autumn flavors of apples, almonds, cinnamon and spices, reminiscent of a fragrant apple pie… yet much easier to prepare.

Since I got my hands on a super-fancy Optimum G2.1 blender, I have been blending everything in my path: soups, sauces, nuts, creams, and of course, smoothies of every kinds. I’ve never owned a blender before (much less such a powerful blender), and I must admit that it is upstaging all my other small appliances in terms of frequency of use these days.

I included a recipe below for homemade almond milk, which is surprisingly easy to prepare, and the results are far superior to anything you can find in the supermarket. Enjoy!

1/4 cup (60 g) yogurt
3 tablespoons almond milk (store-bought or homemade: recipe below)
2 apples, peeled, quartered and seeded
2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey (optional)
1 handful of almonds (about 8-9 nuts)
1/4 cup (20 g) rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground ginger
6 ice cubes

For 1 smoothie

Place all the ingredients into your blender in the order listed and cover tightly. Blend on high speed until smooth. Serve immediately.

Almond Milk

2 cups (240 g) almonds, preferably organic
4 cups water (1 liter), plus more for soaking
Sweetener of choice (honey, sugar, agave syrup, or maple syrup), optional

Makes about 4 cups

Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with about an inch of water. Soak overnight or for up to 2 days. Drain and rinse the almonds (discard the soaking water). Place almonds and 1 liter of clean water in a blender and blend for 2 minutes at the highest speed until the almonds have broken down into a fine meal, and the water becomes white and opaque. Strain the almond milk using a fine-mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Press all the almond milk from the almond meal, squeezing the cheesecloth with your hands. Sweeten to taste. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.