Antioxidant Powerhouse Smoothie

By: Esther Vasa

Dragonfruit highly benefits a person with diabetes (especially type 2). This is a mildly sweet fruit with little black seeds all over. The seeds are high in lipids. The fruit is rich in Vitamin C, fiber, calcium and phosphorus. Aronia is packed with antioxidants and is one of the superfruits in the world. If you have some place to grow your own, grow aronia. Blackberries are one of the top ten foods containing antioxidants. They are filled with polyphenols that help in the prevention of cancer and heart disease. They are also rich in anthocyanins, which give blackberries their deep purple color. Anthocyanins help in memory retention, fighting inflammation and in improving eyesight. I therefore called this smoothie as "Antioxidant Powerhouse Smoothie"!

Ingredients:
Dried Aronia Berries - 1/4th cup or 1/2 cup fresh aronia berries
Frozen Dragon Fruit - 1 (chopped and frozen)
Frozen Blackberries - 1/2 cup
Cold Cantaloupe - 2 cups

Preparation:
In a power blender, quickly blend cold cantaloupe. This is the medium for making your smoothie. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Variations:
1. You can easily transform this into a sorbet by using all frozen ingredients. For blending, you could use 1/2 cup of fresh coconut water.
2. You can make this into ice cream by using all frozen ingredients as well. For blending use cold coconut cream to get the required creaminess.
3. If you like your smoothie/sorbet/ice cream a bit sweeter, add five or six soaked dates or a frozen banana.