Carrots and apples go great together in juices, so it stands to reason that they make a heavenly match in a smoothie. The results are in: they work great together in this smoothie. It may seem odd to add carrot to a smoothie, but the inherent sweetness works well with other sweet ingredients like apple and banana. The cinnamon makes it taste reminiscent of a fall dessert, while the clementine adds a refreshing, zesty flare.

Because carrots are woody, they may not blend easily if you do not have a great blender. Even then, you may wind up with little chunks of carrot in your smoothie if you just chop them willy nilly. For this reason, we recommend grating your carrots prior to blending them. Whether or not you peel them is entirely up to you, but at least wash them before you grate them. It is entirely based on personal preference.

Although you can taste the carrot, it isn’t an overpowering flavor. The creaminess of the homemade almond milk, coupled with the sweetness of the banana and apple, makes the carrot flavor almost non-existent. If you want a little more healthy fats, toss in some ground flaxseed or chia seeds. And a little scoop of raw almond butter never hurt!