Five years ago I travelled to Mexico and Brazil with a big group of fellow students from college. Under the instruction of three professors, we were able to see and experience some of Latin America’s greatest cities. I struggled to find food in Mexico, but once we got to Brazil I was overwhelmed with all the good food available. Our final destination was Rio, where I came across the perfect smoothie. Vendors would sell very simple fruit smoothies in the corners of every street. Ever since, I fell in love with the idea of smoothies as a perfect meal. The difference between these and the ones that are popular in the states are the ingredients. Brazilian smoothies are usually containing only real fruit and fresh juice. Which make them very healthy, vitamin packed drinks.

When I started making these smoothies at home, I encountered a little problem. I would drink them as breakfast after a long workout, and would be hungry in an hour or two. I resorted to adding almond butter and almond milk, and voila: a perfectly refreshing and nutritious meal in a glass. The beauty about smoothies is that you can add whichever fruit you have at hand and make a totally different smoothie every time. Enjoy!

Makes one smoothie

10-12 raspberries

1 banana

1 teaspoon of almond butter

Splash of almond milk

couple of ice cubes

Place raspberries, banana, almond butter and milk, and ice cubes in a food processor. Process until smooth. Serve immediately.