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Chocolate beetroot smoothie and the importance of good gut health + a giveaway!

February 24, 2014 16 Comments

Velvety smooth probiotic chocolate and beet smoothieToday’s recipe comes from Julia Mueller’s (of The Roasted Root fame) amazing new cookbook Delicious Probiotic Drinks. The arrival of this book was very timely for me as I have been reading more and more about the importance of good gut health and have been working to increase my own gut health – largely through probiotic beverages.

You can have the best diet in the world – but eating mountains of maca, bountiful berries and copious amounts of kale will not return you the desired results if you don’t have good digestion to process the food you eat and properly absorb all the nutrients. Your intestinal tract plays host to over 100 trillion healthy bacteria which do an amazing job in aiding digestion, boosting the immune system, and limiting the growth of bad bacteria – the number of healthy bacteria in your gut should outnumber bad bacteria by five to one. Unfortunately, many factors in modern day-to-day life contribute to killing the good bacteria, creating an uneven balance of good and bad bacteria. Contributing factors include taking antibiotics and some over-the-counter drugs; consumption of chlorine, found in drinking water; consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and processed foods; a diet high in fats and meats (particularly non-organic meats); and overuse and overexposure to harsh chemicals  (read more about this over at MindBodyGreen)

Velvety smooth probiotic chocolate and beet smoothie

A key way to ensure good gut health is to consume probiotics on a daily basis. Most cultures have been doing this for centuries in their national diet – for example, kimchi in Korea, sauerkraut in Germany and Eastern European countries, and kefir in Russia and the former Soviet states. Unfortunately, the modern western diet places little emphasis on fermented food and drinks which historically have played a vital role in ensuring good gut health. This is (slowly) changing, with the increase in interest in drinks such as kombucha and kefir.

Velvety smooth probiotic chocolate and beet smoothie

With this knowledge, I have been working on including probiotics in my daily diet. I started brewing my own kefir a few months ago, which I hope to write a post on soon. However, I haven’t been too inventive when it comes to secondary fermentations and flavourings. Enter Delicious Probiotic Drinks, which contains 75 mouthwatering recipes, which I am slowly working (fermenting?) my way through. This book is the perfect place to start if your new to probiotic drinks. Not only are the recipes inventive and delicious, it’s also packed with informative instructions and tips on how to make your own kefir, yoghurt, kombucha and other fermented drinks like ginger beer (it also includes dairy free methods such as water kefir and coconut yoghurt for readers who don’t consume dairy).

The recipes range from more common and known flavours which will be sure to appeal to less adventurous brewers, such as peach soda and strawberry kefir, to more adventurous combinations such as coconut basil ginger beer and hibiscus jun. So far, my favorite drink that I have tried from Julia’s book would have to be the Chocolate Beetroot smoothie – its velvety smooth, and luxuriously rich – if I hadn’t made it myself I could have sworn that it had something more decadent in it other than beets and cacao! The flavour combination is great – think a delicious chocolate beetroot cake blended up – only healthier.

Velvety smooth probiotic chocolate and beet smoothie

Chocolate beetroot smoothie

Taken from Delicious Probiotic Drinks by Julia Mueller

Notes: To make the cranberry kefir, combine 2 cups cranberries with 2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan and mash together over a medium heat until berries are soft. Blend with either water or milk kefir until smooth. I have also made this using plain kefir and also using additional almond milk – both ways its still delicious, so don’t let the cranberry kefir put you off if you aren’t feeling that adventurous.

1/2 beetroot – steamed, chopped and frozen
1 frozen banana
1 1/2 Tbsp raw cacao
1/2 cup cranberry kefir (see notes above)
1/2 cup almond milk

To prepare the beetroot, chop into quarters and steam in a vegetable steamer over boiling water until soft (mine took half an hour).

Cool the beetroot and chop into smaller pieces and freeze.

Peel and chop a ripe banana and freeze also.

To make the smoothie, add all ingredients to a blender and mix until completely smooth.

Serves 1

*******************

Julia has been kind enough to offer a copy of Delicious Probiotic Drinks to one lucky to her core reader. For the chance to win a copy of this probiotic brewing bible, simply leave me a comment below. The winner will be drawn randomly in a weeks time.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Drinks, Recipe, Wellness Tagged With: almond milk, beetroot, cacao, fermented, giveaway, good bacteria, gut health, kefir, probiotic, smoothie

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Comments

  1. Jessica Cashion says

    February 24, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    ooooh this looks amazing! would love to win zee book xxx

    Reply
  2. Josefine {The Smoothie Lover} says

    February 25, 2014 at 4:16 am

    Oh, please do a post on kefir. I’d really like to learn more about it and lear how to make it. I’ve heard a lot about it, but never had it myself :)
    Lovely post!
    And the smoothie looks so delicious!

    Reply
  3. Sharon says

    February 25, 2014 at 6:58 am

    I posted a probiotic smoothie today, too! We are on the same wavelength. ;) Great photos!

    Reply
  4. Julia says

    February 25, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    I love how informational this post is! It’s amazing how wide-spread the art of fermentation is across the whole world. While the U.S. is still behind, we seem to be catching up! Thanks so much for this wonderful post! Seriously, I can’t tell you enough how PROUD I am of you for making this smoothie! So glad you’re getting something out of my book, and cheers to many, many years of delicious drinks and healthy guts! xoxo!

    Reply
  5. whatjessicabakednext says

    February 26, 2014 at 1:51 am

    This looks divine and super healthy!

    Reply
  6. Consuelo @ Honey & Figs says

    February 26, 2014 at 9:28 am

    I’d love to introduce more probiotics into my diet, as I’ve been reading a lot about them lately and they sound really important for one’s health. This smoothie looks delish and the color is gorgeous. Can’t wait to get my hands on Julia’s book :)

    Reply
  7. heather says

    February 26, 2014 at 3:46 pm

    I would love to win this one thanks for the chance to win it. God Bless.

    Reply
  8. Margot C says

    February 26, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    I adore beets – a much underrated food – more iron than a steak!

    Reply
  9. Alyssa M says

    February 27, 2014 at 12:50 am

    I’ve never had kefir, but have been thinking lately of trying it! This smoothie looks like the perfect way to get started! I love beets too, I’d try anything that has them!

    Reply
  10. Laurence says

    February 27, 2014 at 2:04 am

    Wow ! I’ve never tasted Kefir. Can’t wait to try :)

    Reply
  11. Barbara says

    February 27, 2014 at 3:04 am

    Would love to win this. I am just starting to make smoothies and this would be wonderful.

    Reply
  12. Cassandra says

    February 27, 2014 at 2:18 pm

    This recipe sounds great, would love the cookbook!

    Reply
  13. Sarah says

    February 28, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    I’d love to win this book for my husband! He just cut caffeine out of his diet because of stomach problems and has replaced it with healthy smoothies – he’s been experimenting like crazy and a book like this would be perfect for him!

    Reply
  14. Katie @ Whole Nourishment says

    March 3, 2014 at 10:24 pm

    I did not have kefir around but this was still delicious, Dearna! Added juice of half a lemon though to help cut through the earthy sweetness of the beets. Love this chocolate/beet combo!

    Reply
  15. Bianca says

    April 11, 2019 at 2:49 pm

    Look bloody but I think it’s very yummy. (Hey that rhymed) Anyway, This is the first time I saw chocolate and beets in a smoothie. I can’t wait to try this.

    Reply
  16. Jhoei says

    June 20, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    I love cold smoothie and this one really looks yummy and very healthy. It’s a must-try for everyone.

    Reply

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