On a recent trip to visit some dear friends in South Florida, we hit the mat at Red Pearl Yoga in Ft. Lauderdale then stopped in to Eat the Tea Superfood Cafe to replenish. This little café is a tea lover’s dream—there’s looseleaf tea you can buy by the pound, special blends for a pre- or post-practice pick-me-up and our favorite, the Superfood Tea smoothies.
Eat the Tea’s Chocolate Raspberry Chaga Smoothie is a yummy blend of almond milk, raw cacao powder, raspberries, maca and chaga. It was delicious, and we think the chaga helped give us a much-needed energy boost.
So what exactly is chaga? Chaga is a medicinal mushroom that has been used for centuries for its supposed healthy benefits.
Believed benefits of Chaga:
- Enhances liver health
- Reduces inflammation
- May be beneficial in the treatment of certain types of cancer and diabetes
Sounds amazing, right? We thought so too, so we bought a small bag of chaga powder from Eat the Tea (you can get some here) to create our own superfood treats at home.
Chaga Superfood Smoothie
Makes 1 large or 2 average-sized smoothies
- 2 cups Almond Milk or Nut Milk of Choice (hemp, coconut or cashew would work well)
- ½ c. frozen cherries
- ½ c. frozen blueberries
- 2 c. organic baby kale (baby kale has a nice mild flavor, if you can’t find it, spinach, romaine or any other dark leafy green will work)
- 1 tsp. chaga (It’s always best to start with smaller doses of superfoods)
- 1 Tbsp. raw cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp. chia seeds
- splash of vanilla extract (optional, but so good!)
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (optional)
- dash of cinnamon (optional)
Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender (Vitamix is the best), blend well and enjoy. If you have time, allow chia seeds to sit in almond milk in Vitamix for a few minutes before adding other ingredients for a nice, thick consistency.