Purple Cabbage Smoothie Recipe with Almond and Banana (Raw)

This purple cabbage smoothie blends raw red cabbage with raw almonds, a frozen banana and cold water into a creamy lavender-purple drink. Nothing is cooked, roasted or strained. In a high-speed blender it is ready in 60 to 90 seconds and makes about 18 ounces, one large glass or two small ones.

The almonds and water turn into almond milk right in the pitcher, which gives the smoothie its body, while the banana supplies sweetness and rounds off the peppery edge of the cabbage. One cup of chopped cabbage is enough to color the whole blend without making it taste like coleslaw. As with the strawberry banana smoothie, liquid goes into the blender first and frozen ingredients last.

The color comes from the pigments in red cabbage, which are purple in a mild, low-acid mixture like this one and turn pink when acid is added. For a purple smoothie, leave out lemon juice, pineapple and other tart fruit.

Raw Purple Cabbage, Almond and Banana Smoothie

A raw, dairy-free purple smoothie of red cabbage, raw almonds, frozen banana and cold water, blended until completely smooth in a high-speed blender.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings: 1 large smoothie (about 18 ounces)

Course: Beverage, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup cold filtered water
• 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 1 to 2 soft pitted dates optional, for extra sweetness
• 1 cup chopped red purple cabbage, loosely packed (about 2 1/2 ounces)
• 1 medium ripe banana peeled, sliced and frozen
• 1/2 cup ice cubes

Method

 

1. Rinse the cabbage, cut away any thick white core and chop the leaves roughly. Measure 1 loosely packed cup.
2. Put the ingredients into the blender pitcher in the order listed: the 1 cup of cold water, the 1/4 cup of raw almonds, the dates if using, the chopped cabbage, the frozen banana slices and the 1/2 cup of ice cubes.
3. Start the blender on low and quickly raise it to high. Blend for 60 to 90 seconds, until no flecks of cabbage or almond remain and the smoothie is an even purple. Use the tamper if the frozen pieces stall above the blades.
4. Pour into a glass and serve right away.

Notes

Equipment: a high-speed blender. In a standard blender, soak the almonds in water for 8 hours or overnight and drain them, chop the cabbage finely, and blend for 2 to 3 minutes; the texture will be slightly grainy.

Freeze bananas ahead: peel ripe bananas, slice them into coins and freeze them in a sealed bag or container for at least 4 hours. They keep in the freezer for 2 to 3 months, ready for smoothies.

Raw almond milk can stand in for the water and almonds: use 1 cup of homemade almond milk made from raw almonds. Most store-bought almond milk is heat treated and so is not raw.

Almonds labelled raw in U.S. stores are usually pasteurized. For a strictly raw diet, look for unpasteurized almonds sold directly by growers.

Soaking the almonds for 8 hours, then draining and rinsing them, is optional with a high-speed blender but gives a slightly creamier smoothie.

For a deeper purple and a fruitier taste, add 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries in place of the ice. Drink the smoothie soon after blending; the cabbage flavor grows stronger and the color duller as it stands.