Today’s recipe is brought to you by Angela from Eat Spin Run Repeat. Angela is an incredibly passionate, success-driven lady, with big dreams and a dose of healthy confidence that I have no doubt will help her accomplish anything she puts her mind to.
I could go on for days about how much I love Angela’s blog, her approach to healthy living and commitment to pursuing her dreams, but I’ll let this high calcium, B vitamin packed, antioxidant rich smoothie do the talking for me.
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I’m ready! 
Hi Everyone!
My name is Angela and I write over at Eat Spin Run Repeat. I am so excited to be helping Leanne out by guest posting for her while she embarks on the next big thing in her life, and today I’ve got something delicious and refreshing for you! But first, a little bit about yours truly.
If you’re a regular visitor here at Healthful Pursuit, you might have already met me back in my guest post about my journey to clean eating. Like Leanne, I’m a Canadian blogger and a huge fan of wholesome, natural foods. I am also a group fitness instructor, and I love running. Earlier this summer, I traveled to Vancouver to compete in the Lululemon SeaWheeze half marathon, and as you can imagine, I wanted to be as prepared as possible for the race. Unfortunately I had a nasty case of Achilles tendinitis which delayed my training progress, and I was only able to begin running about 3 weeks prior to race day. Lucky for me, I was still able to do a lot of cross training to keep my cardiovascular endurance at a high level. But I knew that workouts weren’t the only way I could prepare my body for the half marathon. You may have heard the phrase “food heals” before, and I’m a strong believer that it’s true.
When a person is injured, this is a sign that a part (or parts) of their body is inflamed. Inflammation occurs due to many other factors too, such as carrying excess weight, poor environmental conditions, and poor lifestyle choices, and sometimes we don’t even know or notice it. However, in the case of my injury, lets just say that I definitely noticed it! I was determined to do everything I could to minimize inflammation, and I knew that eating anti-inflammatory foods would help. I stocked up on my favourites, which included heaps of these:
Cherries! Studies have shown that athletes who drink cherry juice post-workout experience less muscle soreness over the days that follow, and other tests show that markers of inflammation are greatly reduced when cherry juice is consumed. This is particularly true of tart cherries, but in my mind, a cherry is a cherry and the fact that they’re full of anti-inflammatory powers is just one more reason to eat more!
I’m a big smoothie fan, so during my training, I incorporated cherries in tons of my post-workout blends. The pitting process was a little tiresome since I don’t own a cherry pitter, but the end result was always totally worth it!
Now, I know that it’s almost the end of summer (which makes me want to cry), and that cherries are going to be out of season very, very, soon. However, the recipe I’m about to share with you can very easily be made with frozen cherries. I’ve got a biiiiiiig Costco bag sitting in my freezer and I’m hoping it lasts at least another couple of months!
Ok, so on to that recipe….
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Print Cherry Almond Smoothie Author: Angela Simpson Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free Prep time: Total time: Serves: 500mL, 1 serving Creamy vegan smoothie bursting with fresh cherries, super foods, and protein. Ingredients- 1 cup pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I prefer to use whey protein)
- 2 teaspoons almond butter
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- ½ teaspoon maca root powder (optional – doesn’t affect the taste or texture)
- ½ teaspoon camu camu powder (optional – a powerful super food with lots of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties)
- 1 cup water or unsweetened almond milk
- 6-8 ice cubes ice
- ½ teaspoon guar gum, to enhance creaminess (optional)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender except for the ice and guar gum. Blend until almost smooth.
- Add ice and guar gum, and continue blending. Pour into glasses and enjoy!
View nutrition info
2.2.8 
Thank you so much Leanne, for inviting me over to Healthful Pursuit this morning. I hope all of you have a fantastic day, and don’t forget to pop over and visit me if you’re looking for more delicious recipes that fit in with a clean-eating lifestyle.
Talk to you soon!
Angela
This entry was tagged: cherry, smoothie
