March 20, 2011

If You Like Pina Coladas… (Giveaway Post!)

…then surely you will like a green-a colada!

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(I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smoothie/beverage called a green-a colada before, but I can’t be the first one to think of that name—it was begging to be used!—so advance apologies to whoever I “stole” it from!)

I now spend much of my Saturdays teaching Zumba and boot camp, and it all begins with an early (for a weekend!) wake-up call. Not only am I barely hungry at 7am, but I prefer not to teach on a full stomach. It is less than advisable to teach a vigorous workout such as Zumba running on fumes alone, though, so smoothies have become the ideal vehicle for pre-teaching energy.

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I often turn to long-time favorites Choosing Raw and Oh She Glows for reliably delicious and nutrient-dense smoothie ideas, but this weekend I threw together a smoothie that tasted so nice I made it twice!

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Green-a Colada

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup coconut milk (such as So Delicious)
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1/2-3/4 cup pineapple chunks
  • 3 large romaine leaves (or a handful of spinach)
  • hefty spoonful coconut butter (~ 1 tbsp; shredded coconut might also work if you blend thoroughly)
  • 7 drops NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia (or sweetener to taste)
  • 1 tbsp hemp protein powder, optional (or other protein powder of choice)
  • 2-3 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender, starting with milk, and process until smooth.

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I’ve always been a big fan of NuNaturals stevia and use it every day, so I’d like to give you a chance to try it yourself. FOUR (4!) lucky winners will receive a box of NuStevia packets and a bottle of Vanilla Stevia Liquid (my favorite!). Just leave a comment below to enter.

Extra entries will be awarded to those who tell me their favorite smoothie recipe/combination (bwahaha) and/or those who tweet about this giveaway. You can use the following text: @soapnchocolate is giving away NuNaturals stevia! http://bit.ly/i0G05G

Be sure to leave separate comments for each of your extra entries or they will not be counted!

I’ll choose a winner next Sunday, March 27. Good luck!

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would love to try NuNaturals, ESPECIALLY the liquid vanilla stevia that I always hear so much about!

rachel said...

i would loove to try nunaturals!

Necia said...

I would love to try NuNaturals. Im all about he sweet, and less about the sugar. So far Ive only tried splenda and agave nectar.

Necia said...

Now for a smoothie recipe. I call this tropical bliss.
Vanilla almond milk
Romaine lettuce
Fresh pineapple
Fresh mango
Banana
Ice ice ice

Necia said...

Vanilla almond milk
Baby spinach
Banana
Strawberries
Baby carrots

Necia said...

Vanila almond mlk
Beets
Baby carrots
Strawberries

Erica said...

Yum! I never would have thought of a Pina Colada smoothie

I would love to try NuNaturals stevia - the vanilla drops seem to pop up in recipes everywhere but I can't seem to find them in stores

Erica said...

I don't really have a favorite smoothie recipe, per se - I tend to throw things in a blender and hope for the best. My current smoothie of choice is:

apple - 1 whole
spinach - ~1 cup (as much as I can pack into the magic bullet after the apple)
water (or juice) - just enough to get it to blend
mint extract - to taste, a couple drops of actual extract or 1t of mint-flavored chlorophyll

Be forewarned - I don't have much of a sweet tooth so this smoothie is only slightly sweet from the apple and kinda tangy from the spinach, it might need some sweetener to match normal taste buds

Tess Moore said...

Your smoothie sounds delic! And I love the name :) NuNaturals is good stuff. I would love to win some free stash! Thanks for the give-a-way and the recipe. Tess

Averie said...

I love nunaturals! Their vanilla is THE BEST!

Averie said...

smoothie: frozen bananas, nunaturals vanilla, almond milk, cocoa powder

Averie said...

tweeted

Protein Girl said...

I would love to win this! I am really making an effort to minimize my use of artificial sweeteners, so this would be amazing!
Barbara

Protein Girl said...

I love thick, ice cream-type smoothies! Depending of what I'm feeling like, I change it up from sweet to fruity. Protein powder (usually chocolate, cookies and cream, peanut butter chocolate, vanilla or rocky road; or strawberry banana, raspberry, raspberry white chocolate, banana when wanting fruit flavored). I love adding sugar free syrups (maple) or extracts, PGX granules or gums to thicken, ice, some water and cinnamon/sweetener. Adding sf pancake syrups really helps the taste/texture. I love adding bran crispbread crackers/cookies to the blender, or pouring the smoothie on them. It tastes like a milkshake!
Barbara

JW said...

I'd love to win!

JW said...

I tweeted! @butterjessfly

Rachel (tea and chocolate) said...

I'd like to try NuNaturals!

Rachel (tea and chocolate) said...

Favorite smoothie: a frozen banana, almond milk, peanut butter and peanut butter Puffin cereal. The cereal are the key! It makes the smoothie very thick and filling.

Gabriela said...

I actually love NuNaturals but I'm almost out, so this is perfect.

Gabriela said...

Tweeted

Gabriela said...

Favorite combo of late:
1 c canned pumpkin
large banana
scoop of vanilla Sun Warrior
chia seeds
almond milk
stevia, cinnamon and nutmeg

Jennifer said...

Mmmm, I've yet to try stevia but would love to!

Jennifer said...

And my smoothie recipe...I don't get too exciting, I admit.
1 frozen banana
handful of spinach
1-2 frozen kiwis
splash of oat milk
sprinkle of cinnamon
flax seeds
sprinkle of coconut

lshloss said...

I really want to try NuNaturals, I keep seeing it all over the blog world and I want to try it in recipes!

lshloss said...

My favorite smoothie recipes is frozen banana, a scoop of pb, cocoa powder, and a little almond milk. My favorite combo!

Unknown said...

so nice you made it twice? lol. i still have not tried stevia, so i need to win this ;)

Unknown said...

my fav smoothie is pretty simple: milk (almond or cow), spinach (i use lots), frozen banana... sometimes i throw in protein powder, other frozen fruit, or even peanut butter ;) crazy, i know! in the summers a bit of peeled cucumber is quite refreshing

Unknown said...

tweet tweet! @tri2cook

Katie said...

Oooh yummy! I'm so glad to see recipes that don't need super intense vitamixes and the like... and I LOVE the idea of adding pineapple. (Why do I never do that?)

Katie said...

I'm 6 years old, but my favorite smoothie combo is (and always will be) strawberry-banana.

Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

Anisha said...

I've been wanting to try NuNaturals for ages!

Anisha said...

Smoothie recipe--simple but classic!
banana
chocolate soymilk
spinach
1 scoop peanut butter

Anonymous said...

I love my chocolate banana smoothies MMMmmm!

Anonymous said...

I tweeted :)

Heidi said...

Yum! I actually made a smoothie like this just the other day :) Sooo good. Except I cheated and used a couple drops of coconut extract. I actually love banana and strawberry(with a couple handfuls of spinach) the best though :)

Heidi said...

Oh, and I'd love some NuNaturals! I love the liquid stuff too.

Jess - The Domestic Vegan said...

Ooh, that smoothie looks fantastic!

I love NuNaturals, too! I have so many favorite smoothie recipes, but my all time favorite is probably the Chocolate Cherry Bomb Shake from Kristen's Raw. It's uh-may-zing.

christine said...

I want to try the vanilla! All the recipes that call for it sound so good.