Power Smoothies

Last night, I went to a Vault Denim party at my lovely friend Kathryn's house.  We were talking about my blog when she mentioned that she would love to have more smoothie recipes.  I have heard this request from a few friends now so I thought I better get on it if I want to keep my readers happy.  (By the way, I love to hear feedback and discussions about this blog.  I do it for not only myself, but for you.  I encourage comments, recommendations, and I love to hear what works for others in terms of green products, recipes, and natural living.  Remember, I am a newbie and can learn much from you.)  

I don't know about you, but everyone I know is getting, or is recovering from being sick.  My boys have had a runny nose for days, and baby M is so congested he (and Mommy) can hardly sleep at night.  Luckily for me, I haven't been sick sick for a loooong time.  Clearly, I contribute this to my wicked immune system :) No really, I think the butt load of vitamins and my diet play a huge role.  I know now that I am letting this secret out into the universe, I will come down with something nasty within the next week.  In the meantime, I will continue to power up on smoothies, juicing, and eating real foods from the earth, plus an occasional piece of dark chocolate. 

The best way we can fight nasty viruses, flu, and possibly radiation exposure, is to power yourself with antioxidants.  What are antioxidants and why should you care?  Well they are nature's way of fighting off potential dangerous molecules in your body.  Molecules come in forms of broken down food, smoke, and pollutants like, pesticides, plastics, and chlorine byproducts.  These are free radicals and they feed off your healthy molecules.  According to Shape, "these 'free radical' cells are actually missing an important molecule, which causes them to attach themselves to healthy cells and attack them, causing a chain reaction. The result can make you sick for the short-term (colds, flu, etc.) and potentially, the long-term (they may contribute to heart problems, cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases)".  Antioxidants neutralize the effects of free radicals.  Eating more fruits and vegetables probably won't prevent cancer, but can give your bod a fighting chance.  Here is a list of the top antioxidant rich fruit and veggies.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Antioxidant Fruits                                     

Prunes

Raisins

Blueberries

Blackberries

Strawberries

Raspberries

Plums

Oranges

Red Grapes

Cherries

 Antioxidant Vegetables

Kale

Spinach

Brussel Sprouts

Alfalfa Sprouts

Broccoli

Beats

Red Bell Pepper

Onions

Corn

Eggplants 

And don't forget red wine :)

Now, I eat a lot of these in my regular diet but to add a little fun and to make sure my kids are getting enough super foods, I blend some of them.  Here are some of my Power Smoothie recipes:

   The Power Green

                                                                         3/4 cup of ice

large handful of spinach

3 or 4 kale leaves (stem removed)

1/2 cucumber

1/2 banana

1 apple

3/4 cup of light coconut milk

     Coco for Strawberry Banana

•  3/4 cup ice


• 6 or 7 strawberries


• 2 ripe bananas


• 1/2 cup of light vanilla soy milk


• 1/2 cup of Plain Coconut Milk yogurt

Mango Orange

3/4 cup of ice

1 orange

1 mango

1 banana

3 kale leaves (stems removed)

bunch of spinach

3/4 cup of coconut water

Almond Straw

• 3/4 cup frozen strawberries


• 2 ripe bananas


• 1 pitted date


• 3/4 cup of light vanilla almond milk


• 1 handful of spinach

Now most of these smoothies turn green because of the spinach.  If you are starting out, just use a handful of spinach and leave the kale for another day.  In fruit smoothies, you hardly taste the spinach at all.  You can experiment any way you want with whatever fruit and veggies you have on hand.  If you really want to be spoiled, add ice cream or frozen yogurt for a real treat!  A good book for smoothie concoctions is Green Smoothie Revolution by Victoria Boutenko.  Now get blending friends!

What are your favorite smoothie recipes?

On another note, I just went to Borders yesterday and picked up The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.  I have heard amazing things on these book and I can't wait to read them.  Look out for a review!