Ingredients
- 150 g frozen blueberries
- 1 ripe banana, fresh or frozen
- 200 ml oat milk or almond milk
- 1 heaped teaspoon spirulina powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- Squeeze of lemon
Method
- Blend blueberries with milk for 20 seconds first, to break down the berries before adding denser ingredients.
- Add banana, spirulina, flaxseed, and lemon. Blend on high 45 seconds.
- The colour should be a deep purple-green. If it's grey, your blueberries were low-anthocyanin; add a pinch more spirulina and an extra squeeze of lemon.
Why this pairing works
Blueberry anthocyanins and spirulina's phycocyanin are both blue-pigmented compounds. They share flavour space well — the berry's sweetness dominates the front palate, the spirulina's mineral note closes. Flaxseed provides omega-3 and fibre without affecting flavour.
Note. If the colour turns brownish-grey, the blueberries were old or the spirulina degraded — either way, it's still nutritious but not photogenic. Freshness of both ingredients matters here.