My simple Cranberry Smoothie will wake you up, and slap you back into shape after all manner of foodie indiscretions…did I mention it also happens to be insanely delicious?
My cranberry smoothie is a day-after tradition!
It’s that time again…time for a healthy cleanse after a day, a week, (or how about since March?) of eating with abandon. That’s ok, there’s nothing wrong with that as long as we eventually regain our sense of balance. Which is exactly why I’m going to make myself a refreshing cranberry cleanse smoothie.
cranberry smoothie ingredient notes
Cranberries
- use fresh or frozen cranberries. No need to thaw from frozen.
Yogurt
- your choice. I use vanilla yogurt which balances out the tart berries.
Clementine
- a whole seedless fruit, peeled.
Ginger
- a chunk of fresh ginger not only brightens this smoothie, it gives your digestion a boost.
What makes cranberries a healthy superfood
Cranberries are gorgeous, and have an incredibly vibrant flavor, but they’re also insanely healthy.
- Cranberries are extremely high in antioxidants, which help the body fight cell damage that can lead to cancer and heart disease.
- They’re a good source of Vitamin C ~ sailors used to eat cranberries to prevent scurvy centuries ago (an 8-ounce glass of cranberry juice contains 137% of your daily value)
- Cranberries are high in fiber for good digestion.
- Cranberries are low in calories.
- Medical research over the past few decades has found that cranberries promote urinary tract health, so if you suffer from UTIs, cranberry juice can help.
- They can help lower blood pressure and may help reduce your ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol levels
Fresh ginger for digestive health
Among the many health benefits of fresh ginger, it has long been used to help with digestive issues. It helps break up gas in the digestive tract, and can calm nausea. Women have relies on it for generations to ease mentruel cramps.
I love it in this smoothie for its zippy flavor. Use it peeled or unpeeled.
how to make a cranberry smoothie
- Load your blender with cranberries, yogurt, clementine and ginger.
- Blend!
You can enjoy healthy cranberries all year round ~ just freeze them
Frozen cranberries are just as healthy as fresh, and so easy to freeze
- Literally all you have to do is pop your bag of fresh cranberries into the freezer. You can stack up as many bags as you like.
- If you buy your cranberries loose or in a mesh bag, just transfer them to a sturdy zip lock freezer bag and throw that in the freezer.
- Flatten out your bags and stack them at the back of your freezer.
- Frozen cranberries will last up to a year and can be used just like fresh. In most cases you don’t need to thaw them before using.
the cranberry craze continues all winter
- Cranberry Jelly
- Cranberry Porridge
- Cranberry Breakfast Cake
- Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Chocolate Cake with Cranberry Buttercream
Cranberry Cleanse Smoothie
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 seedless clementine, peeled
- 1 Tbp chopped ginger
Instructions
- Put the cranberries into a blender. Top with the yogurt, clementine, and ginger.
- Blend until smooth.
Notes
- If you use unsweetened yogurt you will want to add some kind of sweetener to your smoothie because the cranberries are so tart. Use honey, maple syrup, or sweetener of your choice, to taste.
- use frozen cranberries to make a frozen smoothie.
Nutrition
Like this! Easy to have ingredients. Always buy plain yogurt, so sweeten with maple syrup. Hope to find good price on cranberries after Christmas, which was the case after Thanksgiving. (Am fortunate to have a high speed, sturdy blender)
This is one delicious smoothie. This and your lemon ginger smoothie are my go to’s. Thank you so much! p.s. love your recipes!
This is delicious!!!
I didn’t have vanilla yogurt so subbed in a dollop of vanilla bean paste and left over cranberry sauce for the sweetener. The ginger and cranberry are a great combo! Reminds me of the crust in your cranberry pie.
Interesting…im not a big fan of this…i used frozen cranberries…my blender wasn’t a fan either lol…after I tasted it i added protein powder…still didn’t help…not sure if its seedy or what..very bitter..anyway not my favorite smoothy
Sorry you didn’t love this one Sherry. It sounds like you might have needed more sweetener. And I’ve noticed some cranberry varieties are ‘seedier’ than others, you might have gotten an extra seedy bunch.