Bringing to you today a unique flavor combo of Carob and Citrus in a perfect P3 HCG Diet Smoothie Recipe.

In my book, smoothies are one of the life savers in phase 3 (p3) of the HCG Injection. Eating no starches and no sugars for 3 weeks can be a bit challenging, but being prepared (ie getting great p3 recipe ideas from pinterest!) and having a few tricks up your sleeve like smoothies,  p3 sails smoothly by and ends up being a very satisfying part of your hCG Diet journey. That’s what I’ve found to be the case anyway.  I used to be quite the ice-cream buff, so these smoothies, especially with the addition of the Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum for thickness, really hits the spot for me.  You can also find a few other P3 recipes I’ve made here.

Getting the Cream Factor Without Dairy

This P3 hCG diet recipe has a couple “secret” ingredients. I’ve been contemplating going dairy free for awhile, and while I haven’t actually done it yet, I am attempting to find new ways to get that creaminess factor in food dishes that things like cheese and yogurt and heavy whipping cream usually provide.  Avocado would see to be a strange thing to put into a fruity-desserty dish (although if you’re asian this is nothing new to you), but honestly it tastes great! The avocado adds the proper creaminess without lending any weird taste- I promise!

Carob- If You Love It, You’ll Love This. If You Hate It, Use Cocoa

The other ingredient not used very often is Carob powder. Carob has it’s own sweetness and is a very unique flavor- I love the taste of it in this smoothie combined with the citrus. Carob is one of those things that people either love or hate, so if you’re a carob hater, I’d skip this recipe. I’m sure you could always replace it with chocolate or cocoa powder- I mean, when is it ever NOT a good time to use chocolate right? Many hCGers even manage to get by with using chocolate somehow on p2 don’t they? 😉

The Citrus Flavor

Lastly, the clementines (or some other citrus like orange) really seems to make this smoothie.  I didn’t realize what a pleasant zing and complexity the citrus adds to the overall flavor- now that I know I’m starting to use it a lot more.

To Fruit or Not to Fruit on P3?

Whether or not you choose to include fruit in p3 of the hCG Diet is a personal decision. Fruit DOES contain sugar in the form of fructose, but in moderation, eating whole fruits is a pretty healthy way to consume something that tastes sweet. I do think it wise to limit the amount of fruit you eat in p3 and try to stick with fruit that has a lower sugar content- most berries fit this category, like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Most of my p3’s I found using a small amount of a fruit in a smoothie each day did not cause me any problems in stabilizing and maintaining my new found fat loss.

P3 hCG Diet Carob Citrus Smoothie Recipe- Creamy but Dairy Free:

¾ cup water
½ avocado
½ cup frozen strawberries
2 clementines or “cuties”
2 heaping tsp. Carob Powder (about 1.5 tbs)
10 ice cubes
stevia to taste

Toss it all in the blender (or vitamix if you have one- I’m super spoiled and got one as an anniversary gift a couple years ago), and blend it all up. If you want a thicker smoothie to imitate the ones you used to have with ice-cream, after blending add:

1/8 tsp. Xanthan Gum (if you buy a big bag like this, it will last you for YEARS)

¼ tsp. Guar Gum

Blend again. Done!

Nutrition Facts/Calorie Count:

First let me say, this smoothie comes out HUGE. Really too large to eat all by oneself. Unless you’re pmsing and crabby and feel like crying while you watch sad romantic movies- then you could probably eat the whole thing. [pullquote]First let me say, this smoothie comes out HUGE. Really too large to eat all by oneself. Unless you’re pmsing and crabby and feel like crying while you watch sad romantic movies- then you could probably eat the whole thing.[/pullquote]I share it with my 3 year old and eat about 2/3rds of it myself. So factor that in. The calorie count here is for the entire smoothie.  Considering that you will feel quite full after eating it, this is great bang for your calorie buck.

Thankfully water and ice cubes are calorie free (three cheers for h20!), so that just leaves us with:

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