This colourful layered smoothie is perfect for a healthier Halloween treat. It comes together in just a few minutes and when topped with a bit of whipped cream and sprinkles you will think you are drinking a milkshake!
This post and recipe was created for #HalloweenTreatsWeek! This event is being sponsored by Dixie Crystals. As always, all opinions and thoughts are 100% my own
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I love smoothies and I have one every day.
I love that there are endless varieties and they are a great way to use up bits of greens I have in the fridge. Whenever I have fresh fruit that is getting a bit soft I chop it up, store it in ziplock bags and toss it in the freezer. It’s a perfect way to ensure less waste.
While doing Halloween week I knew that as much as I love all the sweet treats I wanted to have a healthier option that the kids would go crazy for.
This layered smoothie is bright, colourful and fun. I chose to use fruits that would give me three bright layers in green, orange and purple as these are the colours I most associate with Halloween.
Because I still wanted this to be a treat I decided to add a bit of whipped cream and sprinkles to the top to make it even more festive, but this is totally optional.
Why this recipe works
This smoothie uses simple ingredients that can be customized any way you like.
By using frozen fruit you don’t need to worry about produce spoiling before you can eat it and it’s easy to keep on hand.
Even though it looks fancy you can have this layered smoothie ready in just a few minutes making it a great quick breakfast or snack.
Ingredients
Smoothies are one of those things that don’t really require a recipe. However, there are standard ingredients that all smoothies require.
To make a smoothie you will need:
- Liquid – I like to use unsweetened almond milk. But you can use dairy milk, oat milk, or soy milk. You can even use juice or plain water. Yogurt also counts as liquid for the purpose of smoothies.
- Fruit – I like to use a combination of fruits. Berries are a favourite of mine, as is pineapple, but you can use whatever you like. In this smoothie we are using banana, pineapple, peaches and blueberries.
- Greens – This is optional. You don’t really have to add greens to a smoothie, but they are a great way to add a couple of servings to your day. If you choose a neutral flavoured green like spinach, you probably won’t even taste it. Kale is great too, but be sure to remove the woody stalk as it can be bitter. I’ve even added herbs like cilantro and parsley to my smoothies.
- Add-ins – These are all the little things like chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax seed, and protein powder. They add a bit of protein to the smoothie which will help with keep you feeling full longer.
Expert Tip – For extra thick and cold smoothies use frozen fruit.
Step by Step Instructions
Making a smoothie is pretty simple, but there are a few tricks that will help ensure you get a nicely blended smoothie.
One – When making a smoothie be sure to add the liquid ingredients and fresh fruit first.
Two – Add the leafy greens.
Three – Add the frozen fruit and add-ins, such as chia or hemp seeds.
Four – Start the blender on low and let the liquid and greens blend together. When the frozen fruit starts to fall you can gradually increase the speed of the blender. Once it looks like everything has started to mix together you can turn the blender up to high for a few seconds to make sure it’s nice and smooth.
For this layered smoothie, you are going to follow this blending process for each of the layers.
Start with the green layer and once it is blended add it to the glasses. Put the glasses in the freezer while you make the next layer, and then repeat for the third layer.
I chose to top these smoothies with some fresh whipped cream and some Halloween sprinkles to make them even more festive and fun. But you can skip that part if you like.
Make sure to serve them with a straw so you can stir the layers together. You can get assortments of paper straws at most dollar stores.
Wide glass or bamboo straws are great too, and they are reusable!
It is easy to make your own whipped cream. All you need is one cup of cold whipping cream and one tablespoon of powdered sugar. Pour them into a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer until it is fluffy and holds peaks.
Top Tips & FAQS
While you can make a smoothie the night before and keep it in the refrigerator until morning, it is really best to make it the day you want to drink it. I find the texture changes a bit after it sits and it’s just never as good as freshly made.
Instead of making the smoothie the night before I would suggest measuring all your ingredients, excluding the liquid, and storing them in a bag in the freezer. Even the greens can be frozen. Then in the morning you just have to pour in the liquid, dump the bag in the blender and mix.
Sure! If you want to make this into a bowl instead of a drink then you will want to either decrease the liquid a bit or increase the frozen fruit a bit so that it is thicker and spoonable.
Related Recipes
Recipe
Layered Halloween Smoothie
Ingredients
Green Layer
- 1 Large Banana
- ½ Cup Almond milk or any milk you prefer
- 4 Cups Spinach loosely packed
- 1 ½ Cups Frozen pineapple chunks
- 2 tablespoon Hemp hearts
Orange Layer
- ½ Cup Greek yogurt
- ½ Cup Almond milk or any milk you prefer
- 2 Cups Frozen peach slices
- 1 Tbsp Hemp hearts
Purple Layer
- 1 Large Banana
- ¼ Cup Greek yogurt
- ½ Cup Almond milk or any milk you prefer
- 2 Cups Frozen blueberries
- 1 Tbsp Chia seeds
Whipped cream
- 1 Cup Whipping cream cold
- 1 tablespoon Powdered sugar
Instructions
For the green layer
- Pour the liquid into the blender and add the banana.
- Add the spinach, then top with the frozen pineapple and hemp hearts.
- Place the lid on the blender and turn it to low. Once the liquid, banana and greens have mixed gradually increase the speed of the blender until everything is mixed.
- Turn the blender up to high for a few seconds until smooth.
- Divide between 4 glasses. Place the glasses in the freezer while you mix the next layer.
For the orange layer
- Pour the liquid and yogurt into the blender.
- Add the frozen peaches and hemp hearts.
- Place the lid on the blender and turn to low. Gradually increase the speed until everything is mixed then turn to high for a few seconds until smooth.
- Remove the glasses from the freezer and slowly pour the smoothie over the green layer, dividing between the 4 glasses.
- Place the glasses back in the freezer while mixing the next layer.
For the purple layer
- Add the liquid, yogurt and banana to the blender.
- Add the frozen blueberries and chia seeds.
- Place the lid on the blender and turn to low. Gradually increase the speed until everything is mixed then turn to high for a few seconds until smooth.
- Remove the glasses from the freezer and slowly pour the smoothie over the orange layer, dividing between the 4 glasses.
- Top with whipped cream and spinkles if desired and serve.
Homemade whipped cream
- Pour the whipping cream into a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar.
- With a hand mixer, mix on low and gradually increase the speed. Mix on high for one to two minutes until the whipped cream is light and fluffy. It should just hold stiff peaks. Be careful not to over mix as this will cause the cream to break and become stiff and lumpy.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Priya
Thursday 8th of October 2020
Loved the smoothies idea in layering up. healthy and a great helloween drink.