I’m writing this post with mixed emotions. Not about the smoothie, though!
The smoothie is so, so good.
Fresh-picked summer strawberries good.
Dessert-for-breakfast good.
In fact, the inspiration for this smoothie was actually a fresh strawberry cake that a neighbor of mine in Chapel Hill used to make from scratch. Her strawberry cake wasn’t technically a shortcake, but rather a moist vanilla cake with ripe strawberry puree stirred into the batter. Each layer was then iced with fluffy buttercream, tinged pink with strawberry juice and tender bits of berry.
It was heaven on a plate.
Of course, it wasn’t remotely healthy, or even vegan. Yet it’s one of my favorite flavor memories, and I wanted to recreate a plant-strong version of it that I could enjoy whenever I wanted! Preferably a version that contains veggies because, well…Veggie Quest.
Escape from the everyday
So recreate it I did, in the form of a strawberry shortcake smoothie. This creamy vanilla-strawberry confection conjures up memories of moist, tender cake and ripe summer strawberries. So blend up a strawberry shortcake smoothie, step outside into the warmth of an early summer morning, and savor.
It’s like taking a little vacation, without ever leaving home.
Guilt-free indulgence
Beyond tasting like cake, this smoothie is actually good for you! Thanks to plant-powered ingredients like strawberries and cauliflower, it delivers 33% of the daily value of folate, 26% of potassium, 24% of magnesium, and 296% of vitamin C. (Not a typo! 🙂 ) This smoothie even packs in 8g of protein—more than an egg! Even better, it contains a healthy dose of omega-3 fats, and fiber to keep things moving along, shall we say.
Did I mention it also tastes really, really good?
Cauliflower in a smoothie?
But wait, you ask, cauliflower in a smoothie? I promise, you can’t taste it at all. In fact, all the cauliflower does is give the smoothie a lovely creamy texture. Don’t believe me? Whip up one of these smoothies and give it to the nearest available child—just don’t tell them there’s cauliflower in it! It’ll be gone in a New York minute. (Although you will need to make another smoothie…)
However, you must use a high-power blender if you’re going to use cauliflower in a smoothie. If you don’t, you’ll end up with lots of little cauliflower chunks (not delicious). Don’t have one? Simply swap out the cauliflower for half a pear or half a banana.
Sweet torture
The only problem is, after spending a week perfecting this smoothie, I’ve since learned I can’t have it anymore. (I am one sad gal!)
Why? Well, the explanation contains some very, ahem, personal information. I’ll tell you about it my next post, in hopes that it might help someone (and that someone might be able to help me)! In the meantime, though, I’m depending on you to enjoy this smoothie in all its creamy strawberry goodness.
So do me a favor, and have a strawberry shortcake smoothie for me! May it bring you as many sweet strawberry memories as it did for me.
- 1 c almond milk (I used unsweetened)
- 1½ c hulled strawberries
- ½ pear or ½ banana
- 1 c raw cauliflower florets
- 2 Tbsp rolled oats
- 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 1 pitted date or squeeze of agave, plus stevia or additional sweetener to taste
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 drops imitation butter flavor (optional; makes smoothie taste more like cake)
- 1 piece of beet, about the size of a quarter (optional, for brighter color. Careful, though: too much = purple smoothie!)
- Place ingredients in your blender and whiz until smooth.
- Enjoy!
1. Swap out cauliflower for either ½ banana or ½ pear.
2. Use cooked beet (if using)
-If you do have a high-powered blender, make sure your cauliflower is as fresh as possible for best flavor!
-For a McDougall-friendly version, leave out the flax seed. Smoothie will then have 4g fat and 242 calories. (For an almost-zero-fat version, use rice milk.)
Want to try an amazing dessert made out of cauliflower? Check out this gluten-free, soy-free chocolate silk pie!
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Oh my gosh! I love the idea of putting cauliflower in a smoothie! I used to make a chocolate smoothie with broccoli I it, but I never tried using cauliflower. I am so trying this for breakfast.
On a sadder note, I am sorry that you can’t have this smoothie any more. I hope everything is okay.
Hi Heather, I never thought of broccoli in a smoothie! I’m definitely going to try it (although, alas, maybe not right away, long story to be told soon). Is the recipe on your blog? I’ll pin it for later!
And thanks for your concern. Everything is going to be great, it’s just going to be crappy for a little while. 😉 (No smoothies is NO FUN!)
wonder if i could steam the cauliflower (since i don’t have a high-powered blender) and then refrigerate until cold and use in the smoothie. would that change the taste??
Hi Jen, great question and great suggestion! You might risk a little bit of “cauliflower funk” if you steam it first. However, I steam the cauliflower for my cauliflower chocolate silk pie, and that works out fine. (Although chocolate is really good at overpowering other flavors.) Since cauliflower is only a portion of this smoothie, though, I think steaming it could work. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out! I’ll update the post with your findings. 🙂
As a less than religious follower of recipes, I put in too much beet… Uh oh. But all it did was make the color more intense! Still delicious
For those who don’t know, Jeff is hubby Veggie Quest. 🙂 And he’s right–even though his smoothie was rocking a full slice of beet, it was still delicious! The smoothie just turned a really bright fuchsia color, which was actually quite pretty. (Though it didn’t look very strawberry-y…) 😉
Lee, it’s so funny that I’ve just come across this recipe as I was only looking in my fridge a few hours ago wondering how cauliflower would taste in a smoothie! I didn’t try it, as I thought it would be a bit weird, but I will give it a go for my smoothie tomorrow. By the way – are you in Australia too? Your ingredients just look like everything that’s in season here at the moment (and I never seem to meet enough Aussie veggie bloggers!).
Wait, I just realised you are in America, haha 🙂
Hi Kyra, looks like this post came at just the right time! How did it go with cauliflower in your smoothie? Have you tried it yet? I’m curious to see what you think!
And apparently I’m TOTALLY out of season, because aren’t you all in the dead of winter right now?
SO excited to try this…I am always trying to get additional sneaky veggies into my kids smoothies…anxious to see if this passes the test! Featuring your recipe this week on Allergy Free Wednesday, thanks for sharing it with us!
Thanks Tessa! I’m delighted to be featured on Allergy Free Wednesdays AND delighted to help sneak more veggies into your kids’ diet! 🙂 Let me know how it goes (even if it flops, heaven forbid)! 😉
This was great! No cauliflower to be detected! We used cocnut milk, and the banana, and needed no additional date or sweetener. Also added collagen peptides for protein and some vanilla extract…..no butter extract here. Great to have another veggie to sneak into smoothies…..and this one will not have the color like all the greens! thank you!
Hi Tessa, thanks for reporting back, and glad you liked it! 🙂 Nice to have a neutral color for fruit-and-veggie smoothies, no? (But still packed with awesome nutrition!)
What’s Summer without great smoothies and who can resist this healthy, delectable one! Thanks for sharing your Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie recipe with us on the Plant-Based Potluck Party Blog Hop. I’m pinning and sharing.
Thanks Deborah! You’re the best. 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!
This is so good! To be honest, I didn’t expect it to actually taste like strawberry shortcake…I think a lot of smoothie recipes have a title that don’t quite fit their name. But not this one! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Viktoriya, so glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by and leaving your feedback, too–your comment made my day. 🙂