Welcome to week 4 of the Blended series guys! Can you even believe that April is almost over? I am in shock here; it still feels like January just ended. And yet we’re spending almost every waking minute outside, counting down the days til we have fresh tomatoes from our backyard and we’re only a few weeks out from my sister’s wedding! That in and of itself is crazy to me in the most awesome way. Those of you who are big brothers or sisters know the feeling that your kid siblings will always be a certain age; for me my sister will always be 16 years old in my eyes. She could have a bunch of babies and she would still be 16 to me!
I find that as much as I love this time of year – can we chat about dogwood trees later?! – I still cling a little to the comforts that remind me of cooler temperatures. Spices that are warm and comforting are such a sweet reminder of cozy days, and while I love our spring/summer/fall days that are chock full of parks and pools and swearing (yes, I swear sometimes…) about the heat, those cooler times contain such sweet memories of hunkering down by the fire with a good book or great movie.
A big obsession for me right now is this great local honey that I’ve been mixing into everything. I always enjoyed eating honey on a biscuit or some cornbread, but have just recently started baking with it consistently and using it as a sweetening agent. This smoothie in all of its spicy tropical goodness benefits greatly from the honey – it’s just the perfect flavor to go with it! If you don’t have honey and want it sweeter I would suggest stevia or agave instead though 🙂
Basically I took my favorite chai spice mixture (SO EASY! SO GOOD!) and added a half teaspoon to my smoothie, but if you have a favorite chai mix go ahead and use that instead. I just love knowing exactly what’s in it because I mixed it myself!
Y’all enjoy!
Chai Mango Smoothie
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened plain almond milk)
- 1 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1 tablespoon honey (or desired amount of other sweetener)
- 1/2 teaspoon chai spice
Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. If desired add about 2 cups of baby spinach to get some green in!
Shawn @ IWYD says
OMG!! LOVE love love!! I am obsessed with Chai tea so I am totally pinning this AND your chai spice blend! Can’t wait to try it!
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
I adore chai flavors year-round. What a fun, fresh way to put comfort into a cool smoothie!
lauren says
1) Local Honey is the BEST! It is also supposed to be good for seasonal allergies
2) Dogwoods are so lovely
Have you grown your own Stevia? It grows so well it killed my sage last year.
Heather says
That’s one of my favorite things about the honey – I never had seasonal allergies until we moved to Arkansas! I’m hoping it helps! And I haven’t done Stevia but I would love to! Where did you get yours? Can it grow in pots?
lauren says
Gah allergies.. if I don’t use my nose I’m ok?
I got my stevia plant at a local nursery, I think it could do well in a pot but it grows kind of tall. To use I cut some of the stems and dried them then ground them with a mortar and pestle. It is actually far easier than that sounds since drying did not take very long, a few days?
Teresa says
this looks so decadent and healthy! thanks for the recipe!
Heather says
Thank you Teresa! I hope you love it!!!