Irene’s Smoothie – A great place to start.
The first part of this series explained the virtually unlimited benefits of smoothies. From savings to health, and even in helping children to do better in school, smoothies are a fun and delicious way of enjoying good food and all the benefits it brings. A friendly patient asked about smoothies, so I said I’d write an article with her very own starter smoothie recipe. Hi Irene!
Blending makes eating good food fun, and a treat! Just watch the long lines of people at the juice/smoothie shops. People pay $5-7 for a smoothie with some special ‘boost’. 20 of these over the course of two months will pay for a very nice blender. Eating this way also pays for itself because of the relatively low cost of vegetables, fruit, and other things you need to make a lot of tasty snacks.
Try this combination for a delicious and nutritious smoothie that has all the necessary elements to satisfy your taste and hunger, detoxify your blood (antioxidants), reduce inflammation (omega oils), provide complete nutrition, and stabilized/clean your insides.
This smoothie is designed for those interested in reducing the effects of cataracts, and lessening the impact of macular degeneration, but has many more health and environmental benefits. No, this won’t ‘cure’ these and you won’t see the effects overnight, but science tells us that in time the benefits will be there. Cataracts can actually clear a little when the diet is healthy. A proper diet can also help slow down the effects of macular degeneration, just ask Irene. Enjoy!
Amounts are relative to the size of your blender. Obviously, you will use smaller quantities in a Magic Bullet as compared to a 2 L Vitamix blender. I like to make a full pitcher then fill up a few containers. I’ll put my own equivalent in [] at the end of each item. This makes about 3-750 containers full of delicious smoothie.
- 1 – part fresh baby spinach leaves (Costco) (Yes, spinach! You don’t really taste this and it offers many excellent nutrients including calcium, lutein, zeaxanthin!) [moderately pack about 3 inches of leaves in the bottom, about two big teenage handfuls]
- 2 – parts frozen ‘Fieldberry Mix’ (Costco, includes raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries – yum!) [2-3 cups]
- 1/2 – 1 – banana (depending on the size of your blender) Sweetens, makes the smoothie ‘smooth’ and adds many excellent nutrients. [1-2 bananas]
- 1 – Tablespoon of Flax Seed Oil [1-2 tablespoons]
- 2-3 tablespoons of Hemp Hearts (source of proteins and omega oils) [1/2 cup]
Options:
- 1/2 – 1 scoop of Whey Protein (Costco. Scoop is in the pail. One pail lasts a long time.) Adds more protein, more ‘smooth’ to the smoothie. Warning: Sweetened with aspartame. Optional. [1-2 scoops, but balance this out with the hemp hearts: more of one, less of the other. The banana already sweetens the mix, so you may not want the aspartame in the whey protein.]
- Shaved ginger to taste. [I wash and freeze my ginger root, then slice strips of frozen ginger into the pitcher, sometimes as much as 3 heaping tablespoons worth. Cutting frozen ginger can be hard to do, so you may wish to simply refrigerate it and grate it, or better yet, cut whole chunks off and let your blender do the work!]
- Baby carrots and/or snap peas to taste. [Put a little extra savoury in your morning smoothie with a combination of these. While your at it, rinse some of these off and throw them in a container and leave them in the fridge for when you feel like a crunchy snack!]
Whip this up in the blender until smooth. You can either drink it immediately, or store it in a portable container for later, or both. Suggestion: Make up a batch of smoothie and split it between three 750 L containers. One is for breakfast, and the others are for drinking over the course of the day. For diabetics, it’s best to eat smaller meals but more frequently during the day, so this combination is ideal.
Experiment with smoothies. Follow these general guidelines:
- Always make the smoothie palatable. Start with an emphasis on fruits and berries, then move towards berries and vegetables over time.
- Savory combinations that include more vegetables than fruit are generally better for health.
- Try smoothies with avocado, tomatoe, fresh ripe colourful peppers, some spices, a dash of salt and ground black pepper. You can also easily turn a combination like this into a soup by using more water.
- ALWAYS include berries! (My personal bias.)
- Be creative and experiment: Try dairy, soy products like milk or raw tofu (adds tonnes of value, but no flavour), agave nectar for sweetening. Use the library, go online, or visit restaurants that serve raw food to learn more about smoothie options and more about other yummy healthy foods!
- Consider using savoury smoothie combinations as marinades for your favourite roasts.