Ah, the comforting smell of apples and cinnamon bring back childhood memories of apple pies baking in the oven! While you may not have time to bake apple pies every week (nor, perhaps, do you want the extra calories that the crust adds), you can get your fix by mixing up a healthy apple cinnamon smoothie. Apples are no doubt good for you with their antioxidants and fiber; cinnamon has its own health benefits such as helping to boost cognitive function and memory, helping to eliminate headaches, and helping to stabilize blood sugar.
All recipes make one serving unless otherwise noted. Apples should be peeled unless you have a really tough blender. For really old or less powerful blenders, microwave the apple for two minutes to make it softer. Changing the types of apples you use will change the flavor of the smoothie, so feel free to experiment!
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Apple Pie Smoothie
1 apples (chopped, any kind)
1/2 bananas
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or regular milk)
3/4 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt (regular or Greek)
1 tbsp walnuts
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 tsp ginger (fresh grated, or a generous pinch of ground ginger)
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
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Cinnamon Apple-Banana Smoothie
1 apple, cored and peeled
½ cup almond milk
½ cup water
½ banana
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup ice
1 tsp honey
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
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Apple-Pear-Spinach Cinnamon Smoothie
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 pear, cored and sliced
1/2 apple, cored and sliced
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup ice
Pour apple juice into a blender. Top with pear, apple, spinach, cinnamon, and ice in that order. Blend until smooth.
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Apple-Oatmeal Cinnamon Smoothie
3/4 cup non-fat milk
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/2 medium apple, cored and roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Blend the ingredients until smooth.
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Low-calorie Apple Cinnamon Smoothie
1 cup peeled and chopped Fuji apple
3/4 cup light vanilla soy milk
1/4 cup fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)
1 cup crushed ice or 5 – 8 ice cubes
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
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Superfoods Apple Cinnamon Smoothie
1 apple, chopped
3/4 inch slice tofu (1/4 block)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
3/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 cup raw spinach
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes two servings.
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Apple Cinnamon and Almond Smoothie
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 apple, cored
1/2 bananas (
1 tsp honey
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp almond butter
1 ice cube
1/2 tsp chia seeds
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
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Hot Cinnamon Apple Smoothie
1 apple, cored and cut into large chunks with skin on
1/4 cup black or yellow raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsps pecans
First, place the apple chunks, raisins, cinnamon, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan and heat over medium high for about six minutes, or until water boils and apples soften. Then, remove the saucepan from the heat and let the apples cool for two to three minutes. Next, add the apple-raisin mixture to a high-speed blender. Then, add the pecans and ¾ cup warm water. Finally, blend on high for 1 minute, until smooth and creamy.
Photo Credit: istockphoto.com
