NEW Book now available in paperback! Click here to purchase

  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
My Account
  • Podcast
    • All Podcasts
    • Ask Kimberly
  • Meditation
  • Blog
    • All Blogs
    • Health
    • Nutrition
    • Beauty
    • Meditation
    • Kimberly’s Corner
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • The Glowing Green Smoothie
    • Smoothies & Beverages
    • Salads
    • Entrées
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
  • About
    • About Solluna
    • About Kimberly
    • Solluna Circle
    • Kimberly’s Books
    • Press & Media
  • Contact
  • Shop
    • Recommended Products
    • Shop All Products
    • Supplements
      • All Supplements
      • Feel Good SBO Probiotics+
      • Feel Good Detoxy 2.0
      • Feel Good Digestive Enzymes
      • Feel Good Starter Kit
    • Skincare
      • All Skincare
      • Feel Good ASC2P Vitamin C Serum
      • Feel Good Cleanser
      • Feel Good Eye Cream
      • Feel Good Moisturizer
      • Feel Good Skincare System
    • Courses
      • All Courses
      • Cooking Course + Recipes
      • 30 Day Roadmap to Healthy Weight Loss
      • The Solluna Circle
      • The Beauty Detox Power Yoga Series
      • 7 Day Meditation Series
    • Manifesting Kits
      • Manifesting Your Goal Kit
    • Charity
      • We Are One Charity T-Shirt
  • Shop
    • Recommended Products
    • Shop All Products
    • Supplements
      • All Supplements
      • Feel Good SBO Probiotics+
      • Feel Good Detoxy 2.0
      • Feel Good Digestive Enzymes
      • Feel Good Starter Kit
    • Skincare
      • All Skincare
      • Feel Good ASC2P Vitamin C Serum
      • Feel Good Cleanser
      • Feel Good Eye Cream
      • Feel Good Moisturizer
      • Feel Good Skincare System
    • Courses
      • All Courses
      • Cooking Course + Recipes
      • 30 Day Roadmap to Healthy Weight Loss
      • The Solluna Circle
      • The Beauty Detox Power Yoga Series
      • 7 Day Meditation Series
    • Manifesting Kits
      • Manifesting Your Goal Kit
    • Charity
      • We Are One Charity T-Shirt
  • Podcast
    • All Podcasts
    • Ask Kimberly
  • Meditation
  • Blog
    • All Blogs
    • Health
    • Nutrition
    • Beauty
    • Meditation
    • Kimberly’s Corner
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • The Glowing Green Smoothie
    • Smoothies & Beverages
    • Salads
    • Entrées
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
  • About
    • About Solluna
    • About Kimberly
    • Solluna Circle
    • Kimberly’s Books
    • Press & Media
  • Contact

Nica Love Smoothie Recipe!

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

I recently returned from an incredible adventure in Nicaragua. It involved undeveloped, totally natural beaches, monkeys (including some that stole my bananas, but that’s a story for another time!), riding horses on a ranch, visiting moringa trees part of a permaculture farm on Ometepe island…and staying at the most incredible tree house wellness resort!

Kimberly looking at a Moringa Tree

For those of you looking for a chill, beautiful place with a beautiful ocean bay, where you can get some great Beauty Detox food options, practice yoga, and live in the trees amongst the monkeys, check out the Aqua Wellness Resort. It’s run by our friend Trevor, who is a great guy, and it’s an amazing and unique experience to stay there. I absolutely love it.  They also have kitchens in the tree houses, which is where I developed this recipe and where I shot all these pics!

Life in a treehouse!

Life in a treehouse!

Nicaraguan Cacao

If you’ve tried some of my desserts (like my Raw Cacao Truffles or my Chia Seed Delight), you will know just how much I LOVE cacao/chocolate in its pure dark slightly bitter beauty.

There’s a lot of local cacao being grown in Nica! We visited a chocolate factory and saw cacao trees growing all over the place, including on Ometepe Island where our friend Chris runs a permaculture farm. I got chocolate that’s all purely organic. In Nicaragua, they are known for making a cacao tea, which is a mixture of boiling water with the cacao shell for 10 minutes, straining it and adding cinnamon and honey. The chemical (anandamide known as the “bliss chemical”), that comes out of the cacao shell helps to relax and bring feelings of happiness.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

I always carry organic cacao in my purse or now diaper bag 🙂 for those afternoon cravings. This tastes amazing in this smoothie.

Cacao also contains anandamide inhibitors, keeping the compound from breaking down quickly and the feeling of cacao anadamide lasting longer in our system.

Even though cacao has some antioxidants, still treat it as a treat! It still does contain caffeine and other stimulants such as theobromine. The reality is that we do not need cacao for nutrition purposes. It is a treat and must be treated as such!

Tahini (sesame seeds)

Tahini is made of ground sesame seeds, which are an incredible source of plant-based calcium!

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

If you can blend your own sesame seed butter, great! If not, an organic tahini brand is the next best thing.

Sesame seeds provide healthy fats and essential amino acids to build protein in your body. It’s pretty rich, so a small amount of tahini goes a long way and is a great addition to some of our Beauty Foods recipes, including this Nica Love Smoothie.

Even when you use a small amount of tahini, it benefits your heart, skin health, hormones and has a great source of essential vitamins and minerals. The iron in tahini helps prevent anemia— fighting fatigue. The B vitamins found in tahini are important for metabolic functions (especially helpful when dealing with stress and cognitive processes).

Chia Seeds

As many of you know, I love my chia seeds and eat them almost daily. My Chia Seed Delight Recipe is one of my favorite afternoon snacks.

Chia seeds supply a rich plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids and are a complete source of protein— while also offering antioxidants, vitamins, and a variety of minerals such as calcium.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Prepare your chia gel the night before or 20-30 minutes prior to using in smoothie.

I love adding them to my Power Protein Smoothie for a long-burning, energizing and refreshing treat after a workout or just as a great mid-afternoon snack. We actually found some local chia seeds growing in Nica!

But from anywhere, here are the chia seeds that I recommend. I love this seed so much that they have replaced ground flax seeds as my daily seed.

Chia seeds have a high level of soluble and insoluble fiber, and swell up to 15 times their size when mixed with liquids to create a filling gel that provides long-burning fuel as it cleanses your digestive system. Not soaking these seeds before consuming them can contribute to dehydration and that’s a big Beauty no-no.

Since you know I am adamant about consuming chia seeds ONLY after they have been soaked, here’s how. Soak 1/3 cup of chia seeds in 2 cups of water or liquid of your choice (such as almond milk or coconut), for 20-30 minutes, preferably overnight (these will last in the fridge for 2-3 days). And that’s it!

Because these seeds are so nutrient-dense and filling, they will help reduce cravings and keep us on track with our Beauty routines

Protein Powders

If you find yourself traveling or in a situation where Beauty Detox or veggie meals are kinda scarce, it’s a great idea to always carry protein powders with you when you travel.

Protein bio-availability is the most important factor in deciding what type of protein supplement to use and I personally only recommend a high quality plant based supplement made from a variety of plant-based sources (Garden of Life offers an organic raw sprouted formula that I have on my Kimberly’s Picks page). Hemp protein and brown rice protein are also great choices. TIP: Always look for non GMO, organic supplements!

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Protein packets are great for when traveling and to toss one into your bag for those last minute emergencies.

Note: I don’t recommend dairy-based choices (whey), or soy protein powders.

This protein powder has a pleasantly nutty taste. If you can only get your hands on a ripe banana and cacao, this will be a great afternoon tasty treat!

.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Prepare ingredients.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Measure your non-dairy milk of choice (pretty colors of lower toxin nail polish is optional! 🙂 ).

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Pour milk into blender.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Add tahini.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Next, add your prepared chia gel.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Add 1-2 ounces of a dark organic chocolate bar (which blends and makes chunky/chewy little nibs versus  cacao powder for this recipe) and protein powder of choice (I use Garden of Life Raw Protein and what organic cacao I can get my hands on). 😉

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Add your banana!

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Blend until smooth and creamy.

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Sip, chew and enjoy (chewing your smoothies will mix our natural enzyme- saliva, to break down and assimilate our food better).

Super yum!! Try it for yourself ! 🙂

Full recipe below…

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie Recipe

Kimberly Snyder
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 tsp. tahini preferably raw
  • 1 Tbs. chia gel
  • 1-2 ounces of a dark organic chocolate bar
  • 1 ripe banana for extra creaminess you can use a frozen banana
  • Vegan protein powder serving according to package

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was on Instagram!

Happy blending and don’t forget to add this to your Pinterest Smoothie board!

All my love,
Kimberly

Nicaraguan Love Smoothie

Replenish your energy with this amazing smoothie, inspired by amazing Nicaragua!

 

Sunset Picture

A beautiful sunset!

SaveSavSaveSaveSaveSavSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSavSavSaveSSaSaveSave

8 Comments

  1. Shahana
    Shahana on September 6, 2016 at 10:50 am

    Hi Kimberly,
    I would love to make this smoothie but I can’t have bananas. What would you suggest as a good substitution?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Kimberly Snyder
      Kimberly Snyder on September 7, 2016 at 5:52 am
      Reply
  2. Mary
    Mary on September 6, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    Wow! This smoothie satisfied my daily chocolate craving and kept me full between lunch and dinner. Maybe because I finally soaked the chia seeds before adding them to smoothies 😉 Progress!

    Reply
    • Kimberly Snyder
      Kimberly Snyder on September 7, 2016 at 6:39 am

      Hi Mary and so happy to hear you enjoyed this smoothie and it kept you full. Yayy for soaking your chia seeds! 😉

      Reply
  3. Kristin
    Kristin on October 4, 2016 at 7:50 am

    I find that when I add chia seeds to my smoothies that I also stay full longer. However, I don’t soak them before-hand, but I am making them the night before (for breakfast the next morning), so maybe the overnight counts as soaking???

    Reply
    • Kimberly Snyder
      Kimberly Snyder on October 5, 2016 at 4:58 am

      Hi Kristin…as long as the chia seeds have soaked for at least 20-30 minutes, you are good to go! 😉

      Reply
  4. Johanna
    Johanna on May 6, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    dear Kimberly,

    according to your food pairing principles, bananas should not be mixed with fat and protein. But here they are…could you please shed a light on this?

    Reply
    • Kimberly Snyder
      Kimberly Snyder on May 7, 2018 at 4:20 am

      Hi Johanna – thanks for your great question. Yes, you will notice in my blogs that fruits should be eaten on an empty stomach and can be combined with vegetables (like in my GGS). However, since bananas are one of the few low-water fruits and breaks down slowly in the body, they digest well with other foods, such as in this smoothie recipe. Again, always listen to your own body and see how you feel. If something feels uncomfortable, jot it down and remove it from your meals until you feel you can reintroduce the ingredient(s). Let us know how you do and sending you lots of love and continued support! 😉

      Reply

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Sign Up To Get Weekly Tips, Videos, and Recipes and 10% Off Your First Order!

About Solluna

  • Our Story
  • Kimberly Snyder
  • Four Cornerstone Philosophy
  • Glowing Green Smoothie®
  • Press & Media
  • Feel Good Podcast

Shop

  • Supplements
  • Skincare
  • Wellness Courses
  • Manifesting Your Goal Kit
  • Kimberly’s Books
  • Recommended Products

Customer Service

  • Contact
  • Shipping Policy
  • Return Policy
  • FAQs
  • Track Your Order

Resources

  • Feel Good Podcast
  • Meditation
  • Ask Kimberly
  • Solluna Circle
  • Blog
  • Recipes

Follow us

  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

© 2022 Solluna By Kimberly Snyder. All rights reserved. All content on this site or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the site owner for the use of brief quotations in an appropriately linked review. We use technologies, such as cookies, to customize content and advertising, to provide social media features and to analyze traffic to the site.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

Order Now!

Select a bookseller below to purchase your copy!

  • <!--
  • -->