Smoothies are one of the fastest and easiest ways to intake a large variety of healthy nutrients. Remember to "drink the rainbow"!
Ingredients
Step 1:
Choose the type of blender you will use (I use a NutriBullet or a Vitamix blender). There are so many good products on the market, you have lots to choose from. Find one that fits your budget and is easy for you to use.
Step 2:
Be sure you dedicate at least ½ of your smoothie to organic dark green leafy vegetables. Easy examples here are kale and or spinach (there is also Swiss chard and arugula, I find them a little bitter). I recently found a delicious red kale that I love. A quick, easy tip here to keep these from going bad before you get a chance to use them up: I buy the largest containers of organic spinach or kale. I bring them home, wash and dry them well (a salad spinner works well) and immediately bag them in smaller portions and freeze them. Once they are frozen, I smash the contents in the bag into small pieces to condense the space they take up. I can use them then for smoothies, eggs, soups, casseroles…….
Step 3:
Choose a creamy thickener like avocado or frozen banana (watch the sugar with the bananas) or even a spoonful of healthy nut butter with no sugar (avoid peanut butter). I like using frozen bananas. It is easy to store them and they give the consistency of ice cream.
Step 4:
Choose organic fruit of choice. Remember those darker berries are the best; blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. Costco has a wonderful selection of frozen organic fruits (and veggies). Again, I find it helpful to buy the large bags and repack them into smaller smoothie size bags to use more easily. This can save time in the morning, especially if you have a favorite mix or blend. You can venture into other fruits like pineapple and mangos as well.
• Optional:
Now is the time of many, many optional add- ins. There are lots of great green powders on the market (I like Green Superfoods) or other superfood powders like Mangosteen, Goji, Acai, Marqui Berry, etc… You can also add unsweetened shredded coconut, raw hemp seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds, chia seeds, cashews, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, etc…. This is where you can experiment and create your own special favorite flavors. I try to keep a variety of these items on hand. I use many of these items to make power balls (see recipe under Sweet Treats) and I also use them in non-dairy coconut yogurt.
Step 5:
Place your chosen ingredients into blender with ¼ cup filtered water or unsweetened non-dairy milk (coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk) of choice and blend until smooth. Drink immediately for best results
Instructions
Place your chosen ingredients into blender with ¼ cup filtered water or unsweetened non-dairy milk (coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk) of choice and blend until smooth. Drink immediately for best results.
Recipe by WellStone Gardens at http://wellstonegardens.com/paleo-smoothies-made-simple/