Apple Almond Butter Smoothie Recipe

Do you know what bees do? I asked my boys at lunch one day, as we were drinking the apple almond butter smoothie recipe I’d just made.

Turns out, they had a lot of questions for me. Because other than “go buzz” and “make honey” my kids didn’t really know a lot about the real job of bees.

What questions do you have about bees? I asked them. Turns out – they have a lot! And I honestly didn’t know the answer to a few of them!

How do they make honey?

How to they build their hives?

Where does the honey go? 

Do they eat honey from the flowers?

And that last question was so interesting because it was the perfect bridge to talk about how bees and plants are connected and why they are so important!

Food and mealtimes make the perfect opportunity to talk about the natural world with kids.

From discussing planting seeds to the soil food grows in… to pollinators! Yes, because without pollinators, we wouldn’t have the majority of our favorite foods! Like apples! Oranges! Avocados! Blueberries! Tomatoes! Almonds!

Oh my goodness, without almonds, we couldn’t have one of our favorite treats! Almond butter and jelly sandwiches!

Bees (and their friends the butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators) are pretty important to our food supply! Talking about the bird and the bees (as pollinators! haha) is also a great way to introduce children to how God designed the world to work in harmony. One-third of the world’s foods depend on pollinators!!

But… due to farming monoculture (land devoted solely to one crop) pollinators don’t stick around b/c they can’t find year-round food. So almonds and other crops are more and more dependent on commercial bees trucked from one crop to another.

This post about pollinator friendly foods is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. All opinions are my own.

Whole Foods Market asked me to share the buzz about pollinators. In fact, they’ve created a series of videos that some-what humorously remind us what meals would be like without our pollinators! Check out this smoothie with no pollinated foods! haha! (but really not funny!).

Thankfully, we have lot of yummy smoothie ingredients still available to us today! Here’s a few pollinator-friendly foods!

Since smoothies are my kids favorite treat, I mixed up three recipes to share with you. Each of these smoothies contains pollinated foods, plus Almond Butter for added protein and thickness. Almonds are a pollinator-friendly food… and a fantastic natural snack for kids and grown ups alike!

Apple Almond Butter Smoothie Recipe

PIN THIS to your Smoothie Pinterest Board (or Healthy Recipes, Quick Breakfasts!) so you don’t forget this yummy option!

Ingredients:

1 Granny Smith Apple

1/2 cup Spinach

1/2-3/4 cup Almond Milk (sweetened or unsweetened – your choice)

2 T Almond Butter

Crushed ice (optional)

Blend all together until very smooth. If you leave the apple unpeeled (which I like to do for fiber), then you will have more of a chunky smoothie. It depends on the type of blender you’re using too!

Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Smoothie Recipe

1 Banana

3/4 cup Almond Milk

2 T Almond Butter

2 T Chocolate Syrup

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Taste test to see if you need more almond milk. The combination of the almond butter and banana can create a thicker “shake-like” smoothie, so if you want it thinner just add more milk.

Blueberry Banana Almond Butter Smoothie Recipe

1 Banana

1/2 cup Blueberries

2 T Almond Butter

3/4 cup Almond Milk

Blend until smooth. Taste test to see if you need more of any of the ingredients.

Learn more interesting facts about pollinators!

For more information on pollinators and how you can help give bees a chance visit www.wholefoods.com/sharethebuzz. Also, be sure to check out your local Whole Foods Market store to learn more about local events.

I was compensated for recipe development and writing this post as part of my participation in a campaign with Whole Foods Market. Opinions I express are always my own.