During the warm summer months I often use cold chaga as a base for my smoothies as opposed to making a hot elixir. A tablespoon of raw almond butter is a quick and easy way to make a creamy almond milk smoothie without having to have a prepared almond milk on hand. I always sprout and dehydrate my almonds prior to processing them into a butter however; you can just use raw organic almonds or a purchased almond butter if you don’t have a dehydrator. Maca root, grown in the Andes and central Peru is actually a cruciferous vegetable and is a good source of carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals. It has a slightly nutty taste and is also known to boost endurance and balance the hormones.
To make your own raw almond butter:
Soak 4 cups of raw almonds in plenty of water overnight. Strain, rinse, and dehydrate at 117 degrees F. for 24 hours.
In a food processor, process the almonds until a butter is formed. This will require scraping down the sides of the food processor jug several times and perhaps giving the machine a bit of a rest as you blend.
Chaga Tea
- 2 litres of water
- 1/4 cup of chaga pieces
- 1 stick of true cinnamon
Bring the water and the chaga to a boil. Simmer for an hour. Allow to cool before pouring into mason jars to store in the fridge.
The Smoothie:
- 3/4 cup of chilled chaga tea
- 1 Tbsp. of raw almond butter
- 1 heaping tsp. of ground maca powder
- 1/2 tsp. of true cinnamon
- frozen banana chunks (to equal roughly one banana)
- freshly grated nutmeg to garnish
In your blender combine the chaga tea, the almond butter, maca power, cinnamon and frozen banana. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding a few more chunks of banana if you like a really frozen texture. Serve topped with freshly grated nutmeg.
