If you know anything about blueberry pie, you know that lemons are an essential component. The lemon zest, in particular, adds the right amount of zing that completes the pie. The same applies to this lemon blueberry smoothie. You may classify this smoothie as a culinary experiment, but is much tamer than some of the wild concoctions we’ve come up with over the years. This is a refreshing, sweetly tart smoothie that is as good as any dessert you know and love.

The great thing about this smoothie is that it only contains five simple ingredients. It is dairy-free and raw vegan, but there is plenty of room to add your favorite nutritional boosters. That means that you can add some spirulina, raw vegan protein powder, or empty some Dherbs capsules into the smoothie for an extra boost of health.

The Ingredients

• Frozen blueberries: This smoothie’s beautiful color is attributed to the blueberries. Make sure to freeze your blueberries overnight because frozen fruit helps to thicken the smoothie better than ice can. If you have frozen blueberries on hand, you can use them, provided they do not contain added sugars or preservatives.
• Frozen banana: Most of the sweetness in this smoothie comes from the banana, but so does the creaminess. Just make sure that you peel and slice the banana before freezing it to make it easier on your blender.
• Lemon: This smoothie calls for the juice and zest of the lemon, both of which provide a wonderful tartness.
• Almond extract: Not vanilla extract? No, because almond extract is where it’s at and will take the flavor of this smoothie to the next level.
• Homemade almond milk: To bring home that almond flavor, you’ll use homemade almond milk, which also gives the smoothie a great creamy consistency.