A wintery, holiday-inspired smoothie that combines bright, beautiful berries with pomegranate juice and non-fat Greek yogurt to create a vibrant, nutrition packed treat.
Just because we’ve had zero sun, and rainy, blustering weather here does not mean I don’t need my smoothie fix. I’m just switching up the ingredients a bit to suit the season.
What’s better than pomegranate juice to make the season merry and bright? Pomegranate juice and vodka…okay, that. But, we can’t be doing that all the time now, can we?
Can we?
Back to the smoothie.
Pomegranate juice is jam packed with antioxidants but it also happens to be delicious and adds just the right tart-sweet component to this smoothie. Just make sure you pick up a brand that is pure pomegranate juice, not a mixture that contains a bunch of sugar. This one is from Trader Joe’s but the POM brand is also excellent.
While at TJ’s I picked up some bagged, frozen berries. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Living five minutes away from Trader Joe’s has it’s benefits.
The star of the show today is my shiny new Nutri Ninja Blender Duo with Auto IQ. This baby is capable of some pretty intense blending tasks and is a real champ at blending frozen fruit for smoothies. I’ve never owned a high powered blender before and I was delighted with the power of this machine! It blows away all of the standard quality blenders I’ve owned over time. When I placed it on my kitchen counter for the first time, I was surprised to find it had super gripping suction cups on the bottom that hold it tightly to the counter. I quickly discovered why this feature is so important after using it for the first time. There is some serious blending action going on here.
In addition to the 72 ounce pitcher, it comes with cup attachments in two sizes – 18 ounce and 24 ounce – perfect for mixing up smoothies. The one you see above is the smaller of the two. It is wonderful to have the option of using these easy to clean cups instead of the pitcher.
Along with the frozen berries and pomegranate juice, I added some non-fat, plain Greek yogurt to add creaminess and a touch of honey to balance out the tartness of the juice.
Here’s the cool part. When you place the cup in the base, the unit senses which container is there and will only light up the pre-programmed buttons that correspond with that particular container. I selected Auto-IQ Nutri Ninja Ultra Blend and it ran through a program of blending and pausing all on it’s own. You can see exactly how long it’s going to take as the timer ticks down.
I sprinkled some fresh pomegranate arils on top and we loved the added texture. This part is totally optional but yummy.
Sweet, creamy perfection.
Disclosure: I received a Nutri Ninja Blender Duo with Auto IQ to aid me in my review but all opinions expressed are solely, completely, and 100% my own.
Berry Pomegranate Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Fresh pomegranate arils, optional for garnish
Instructions
- Place all ingredients, except the pomegranate arils, in your blender cup or pitcher. Process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a glass and top with fresh pomegranate arils, if desired.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Is it ok to use fresh fruit in this recipe or just it be frozen
Hi Jessica. I prefer using frozen fruit in smoothies because it yields a really nice frozen consistency but you can absolutely go with fresh. It will have a slightly different consistency but will still be delicious.
Pomegranate smoothie every morning to fight daily stress dan get calm in mind. nice recipe 🙂