Ocean Smoothie a Dairy-Free Spirulina Drink

What is Spirulina?

It is a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that can be consumed by humans and animals. Cultivated worldwide and used as a dietary supplement.

Is Spirulina a new Trendy food ?

In fact, Spirulina has been around for centuries, it was a food source for the Aztecs and other Mesoamericans until the 16th century; the harvest from Lake Texcoco in Mexico and subsequent sale as cakes were described by one of Cortes, soldiers. The Aztecs called it tecuitlatl.

Nowadays, Spirulina is being investigated to address food security and malnutrition, and as dietary support in long-term space flight or Mars missions. As it was mentioned before Spirulina can provide some essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that our bodies needs, here below a list of a few of the nutrients based on USDA.

1 tablespoon (7gr) of dried Spirulina contains:

Water 0.328 gr

Protein 4.02 gr

Energy 20.3 Kcal

Calcium, Ca    8.4 mg

Iron, FE            2 mg

Magnesium, Mg 13.6 mg

Zinc, Zn   0.14mg

If you want to know more about the benefits of Spirulina, here is an Article from www.healthline.com about it. Learn More

How to Prepare the Ocean Smoothie ?

As breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, we decided to incorporate Spirulina on the smoothies to create a healthy drink, however, you can use it as a smart snack any time during the day, too.

The flavor of the Green Spirulina is quite neutral, so, to add a little sweet taste to the drink you can use fresh or frozen fruits like banana, berries, etc, and fresh dates or date paste.

I really encourage you to prepare your own date paste at home; because is easy to prepare and to preserve for several months in the freezer (it will keep a scoopable texture). check the video at the bottom of the post.