Nettles in my Smoothie!

Vibrant Nettle Leaves impart the same energy to YOU when you use them in a smoothie!

I was out in my yard this morning and spotted the ingredients for one of my favourite Spring smoothies-- planted during an effort at being more fully  locavor -- Stinging Nettles!  Yes, they are usually run from instead of being seeded in your own yard, but I have my healthy, gardening son to thank for this anomoly, and I do thank him.

 We are very blessed to live where we do, but there are many ways to achieve the same outcomes, even if you live in an apartment in a concrete jungle of a city.

So, here is that favourite smoothie recipe:

**a handful of fresh Nettle leaves

**a cup or more of frozen Dark Sweet Cherries (or other fruit)

**6 Celery ribs, chopped

**1 small ripe Banana (or 1/4 soft, ripe Avocado)

**1/4 C. Chia seed Gel

Spin up in your high speed blender (or do up in a couple of batches in other blender) until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy!  And enjoy the energy spurt!  

This nettle is not the only thing I find under a rock in my yard!

STINGING NETTLES FOR YOUR HERB BED~

 Go check out the nettles
at West Coast Seeds

                                              
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The Green Smoothie vs. Radiation Poisoning

COMBINE THE FOLLOWING IN THE VITAMIX CANISTER:
*2-6 Celery stalks, chopped
*1 Apple, cored, chopped
*1 C. Blackberries, frozen or fresh
*1 T. Cinnamon
*1/2 tsp. Turmeric
*Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
*1 T. Raw Honey
*1/4 C. Raw Pumpkin Seed
*1/4 C. dried Coconut
*Water (1 - 1 1/2 Quarts)

Spin up. Drink by itself (i.e., don't eat it with your breakfast, etc. Give yourself about an hour before and an hour after eating to digest this. There are several kinds of radiation that will be protected against by drinking Green Smoothies every day.  (recipe adapted from David Wolfe)
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Apple Cider Green Smoothie

Mmmmm.... Apples are definitely a nice clean crisp fall fruit choice for smoothies.  And they 'warm up' with a couple of shakes of cinnamon or cardamom... as you wish.  

When I was a kid and went out trick'n'treating I remember the smell of MacIntosh apples being crunched into in the cool (sometimes frigid lol)night air. 

 I grew up where we didn't grow big apples (just crabapples and small tart pie apples)-- the MacIntosh of that day was such a treat!  Well, on the weekend at the Farmer's Market in Steveston, we picked up some "old fashioned" MacIntosh and some Ambrosia, great locavore varieties.  Organic, of course-- apples are highly sprayed fruits so please buy organic... if you scrimp on the cost of other fruits, buy something like oranges that have a thicker skin.  

Here is a perfectly delightful and tasty Apple Cider Green Smoothie, all made up in your blender... no dairy (yogurt, etc.) and really just 3 ingredients (besides water) to give you a real clean start to your day or to refresh you somewhere along in your day... you really can't miss with apples for taste and nutrition!

Put the following in your high speed blender:
*2 Tasty organic Apples (not too soft), cored and chopped, but with skin still on
*Chopped organic Celery, including the leaves (cut off the bottoms)
*2 shakes good quality Cinnamon powder, or perhaps Cardamom seed ground in your coffee bean grinder
*2 C. Filtered Water, more or less, as you desire
(you might choose to add 1 T. Braggs Apple Cider-- with the "mother" in it-- and perhaps 1 T. Maple Syrup for extra enzymes)

Whirl up and go climb a tree!

Did you know that....

• apple, like other fruits, is 'antidepressant'?  Try it-- feeling down? Grab an apple and munch!
• pectin-- soluble fibre-- in an apple slows down the release of sugars into the bloodstream and thus controls insulin levels... the apple is a pancreas-friendly fruit
• by lowering insulin levels, the pectin also reduces cholesterol levels
• the antioxidant activity in one medium-size apple with skin is equal to 1500 mg of Vitamin C.  Studies show that both human liver cancer cells and human colon cancer cells are inhibited in growth by the application of apple extracts in vitro
• people eating lots of apples have lower rates of lung cancer than those who don't
• Quercetin, a flavenoid in apples, is found right under the skin, so don't peel your apples to get the most benefit from eating them

~facts above from AtoZ of Health, Beauty and Fitness 


This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions. If you found anything useful, intriguing, or have questions, I would really appreciate your feedback... please use the comment box below. To your better and better health, ~Cynthia

Smoothie of the Week: Coconut-Peach Punch

Peach Smoothie @pixabay

This is my absolute favourite green smoothie in a long time.  If you are new to the 'green' in a green smoothie, you might be surprised by the ingredients... but keep your mind open... I think you'll be surprised!  It's fair to preface the recipe with a few other ideosyncratic details of my own: I freeze all my fresh fruit and berries and then I don't have to use ice cubes.  Sometimes I will throw in unfrozen, fresh off the vine fruits, but quite often not.  The peaches in this recipe were peeled by hand (they were that ripe) and sliced and put into a medium freezer baggie (I also really like to use mason jars in the freezer, but more for berries).  I hack about 1/8 of the resulting block off-- maybe a couple of peaches.  We'll go with that.

All smoothie recipes have a "you-decide" quality-- you can decide if you want more or less or different ingredients!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 peaches, cut in sections (no pit)
• 4-6 ribs of celery, including leaves
• 2-3 frozen bananas
• 1 coconut, water and meat (or a small container of coconut water from the store)
• Water to the top of the blender container, or as much as you wish

Whirl up to heavenly smoothness.  Drink.  Enjoy!

This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions. If you found anything useful, intriguing, or have questions, I would really appreciate your feedback... please use the comment box below.
To your better and better health, ~Cynthia