Superfood-Cherry-Banana Bliss

    

I ran across this cherry smoothie recipe on the Vivapura.com site and have made a few modifications. It sounds scrumptuous and oh-so-healthy.   I grow cherries and look forward to using them in this recipe!

1 C Organic Frozen Cherries
1 Organic Frozen Banana, chopped
1- 2 T Vanilla Coconut Creme
1 T Chia Seeds
1 T Hemp Protein Powder
1 T Bee Pollen
Honey to taste

Blend in a high-power blender all ingredients, except bee pollen.
Pour into a tall glass and mix in the bee pollen by hand for a refreshing crunchy treat. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Smoothie Recipes

photo from jeannewinters.blogspot.com

Doesn't Valentine's Day just go together with Smoothie like ? hmm... 'sweet' and 'fudge'?
So, this week, NO Smoothie-of-the-Week-- instead here are a whole pile of recipes for Smoothie of the Day (Valentine's, that is!)... Happy Birthday goes out to these Valentine Babies: Bernie, Malyn, Sheryl, Ashe, Bonnie-- all people I personally know and like!


I Heart You Strawberry Smoothies for Kids
Ben and Jerry Cherry Smoothie
Best Strawberry Smoothie Recipes
Chocolate Mint Smoothie
Coconut Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie


SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMS
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. You can also get SmoothieMoves Ezine delivered free through your email over the next year with 35 delicious, nutritious smoothie recipes by clicking here. To your better and better health, ~Cynthia

Recipe of the Week: The Serotonin Send-Up Smoothie

SERATONIN SENDUP smoothie is a “take off” on Dr. John Gray’s famous smoothie that is part of a morning regimen to balance the serotonin and dopamine brain chemicals for improved individual wellbeing and healthy, happy relationships.  Please note that males require more protein (hemp or whey) and females require more omega oils (chia or flaxseed (ground) or hempseed oil.
Per Person:

*1 T. ground Chia seed or Flaxseed (Male)
or
*2 T. ground Chia Seed or Flaxseed (Female)
*1 T. Hemp Protein (Female)
or
*2 T. Hemp Protein (Male)
*1 Apple, cored and chopped rough
*3 /4 C. Frozen Blueberries
*4 natural, unblanched Almonds
Add a little filtered Water and blend until smooth- Yum!!
————————————————-

To your better and better health, ~Cynthia

  

Smart Pineapple Sage Smoothie (vegan)

Salvia elegans, photographed at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum- Wikipedia, Eric Hunter, cc-

Okay, I've been wondering this all summer: what would a green smoothie with sage in it taste like? More specifically, what would a green smoothie with some of my abundant pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) in it taste like?  It smells like pineapple, it tastes slightly like pineapple and a lot like a mild version of the sage you put in your Christmas turkey.  I'm thinking it will have a sharp bitter flavour that will punch through any fruity flavours.  I decide to give it a try anyhow.

Ingredients:

• Water drained from 1 Young Thai Coconut (gel/meat reserved for another recipe)
• Handful of cleaned (with water) Pineapple Sage Leaves
• 2 Bananas
• 1/4 C. Organic Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)
• Dash of Cinnamon (optional)
• Filtered Water - as much as you want (1-2 Cups?)

Whirl up the above in your blender.  

Result: Actually, this is one of the mildest, sweetest Green Smoothies I've ever made. I may try it again and only use 1 banana.  It tastes very tropical.  I think some fresh pineapple would be very nice in this as well.  Sage is an herb with many ascribed natural healing properties.  Go here to read an interesting article from that perspective (also a recipe for Pineapple Sage Pound Cake). 

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSSMSMSMSM
This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions.

 To your better and better health, 

 ~Cynthia

Smoothie of the Week: Sweet Beet Smoothie

I've been dehydrating beets this week... tediously slicing and then when they are dry, grinding up the chips in a wee coffee grinder (don't get me wrong, I like doing everything the hard way lol). So now I have a fair amount of 'beet powder'. I know about the idea for instant borsch, and it's a good one, but I also thought of what I could do to augment smoothies with beet powder. Here is the delicious result of that pondering:

Combine the following in your Vitamix carafe:

• 2 T. Organic "Raw" Beet Powder (dehydrated beets at less than 115 degrees) OR 2 C. cooked beets
• 4 C. filtered Water
• 1 Banana
• 2 Lg. Handfuls of Kale leaves
• 1 Braeburn Apple, cored
• 1-2 T. "raw" Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Blend until smooth and yummy!  The beet fibre will stimulate your body's production of glutathione-S-transferase, an enzyme that speeds the liver's removal of fat-trapping toxins.  

The phytonutrient betaine in beets will soothe chronic inflammation and will also suppress the output of the belly fat-storing stress hormone, cortisol.  

The apple cider vinegar's acetic acid switches on genes that are key to creating fatty acid oxidation enzymes.  These enzymes block the storage of incoming dietary fat and break down and eliminate almost 10% of existing stored body fat.  You might want to try the "Apple Cider Vinegar" diet as a result of having enjoyed this delicious smoothie... go here to read more.

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSSMSMSMSM

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 appreciate your feedback... please use the comment box below. ~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

Smoothie of the Week: Tutti-Frutti Orange Cream Smoothie

Orange Smoothie - from Pinterest

Oh yum, oh healthy yum-- here's my morning smoothie recipe today-- using the 'new' Superfoods, hemp and chia seed:

Tutti-Frutti Orange Creme Smoothie:
Put the following in your Vitamix or other strong blender:
*2 T. Hempseed Protein
*2 T. Chia seed Gel*
*Filtered Water to soak Protein
*1 Ripe Organic Banana
*5 Pitted Medjool Dates
*2 Organic Oranges, peeled & pipped
*2 T. unsweetened organic coconut flakes
*Small piece of organic orange peel (washed) (optional)
*1 very ripe Avocado (optional)
*1 small organic Apple, chopped and seeded
*Water (2-3 Cups or more-- as you like)

*Process and enjoy!!! This will satisfy your hunger and thirst, provide you with ample fibre, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and assorted whole food vitamin and minerals... for added minerals you could add a 1/4 teaspoon of kelp flakes.

*to make Chiaseed Gel, place 1/4 Cup of whole chiaseeds in a quart mason jar and add water to the top. Stir until the seeds are dispersed. Let absorb the water for at least 15- 20 minutes. Stir again. Put on lid and keep in the fridge to use with other recipes. Provides a high source of protein (4 gm in an ounce), fibre, calcium, magnesium, and more Omega3's than any other plant source, including flax seed. Use the "whole seeds" and not milled seeds. There is some indication that milled seeds lack the nutrients.

This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions.

Smoothie of the Week: Lemon-Blueberry Bliss

        

This smoothie is so tasty and SOOO healthy-- I was looking for something with a little zing (lemons!), antioxidants (blueberries!), energy, protein, and omega3s ('new superfoods':hempseed protein and chia seeds!), but also sweet (stevia drops!). 

This is a winning, thirst-quenching, energy-building, good-feeling-making smoothie. You can add other ingredients if you don't have the ones that I used (eg.,flaxseed for chia seeds) but I would really suggest you try this one if you have the means....

Add to the canister of the blender (I use a VitaMix) the following:
~1-2 Cups Frozen Wild or Organic Blueberries
~1/2 Cup Hempseed Protein
~1/4 Cup Chia Seed Gel*
~1/4 Cup to 1 Cup Fresh squeezed Organic Lemon Juice
~Filtered Water to blend (as much as required) & Stevia drops to sweeten (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
~1 packet of Stevia sweetener (or sweetener to taste) (optional)
Blend up and drink up and enjoy!

*to make Chiaseed Gel, place 1/4 Cup of whole chiaseeds in a quart mason jar and add water to the top. Stir until the seeds are dispersed. Let absorb the water for at least 15- 20 minutes. Stir again. Put on lid and keep in the fridge to use with other recipes. Provides a high source of protein (4 gm in an ounce), fibre, calcium, magnesium, and more Omega3's than any other plant source, including flax seed. Use the "whole seeds" and not milled seeds. There is some indication that milled seeds lack the nutrients.

SMSMSMSMSMSMSMSMSSMSMSMS
This smoothie information is for you-- it's my bias-- so please see your own health care professional before making any health-related decisions. 

 To your better and better health, 

 ~Cynthia

Smoothie of the Week: Blueberry Breakfast Bomb Green Smoothie (vegan)

This morning my breakfast smoothie was sooo fantastic-tasting that I thought I had better pass the recipe along before I forget:

Into the blender canister, add the following:

*1 large cup frozen organic Blueberries

*1/2 C. Chia Gel*

*2 scoops Vanilla protein powder (there are lots out there-- my husband buys Brendan Brazier's Vega brand)

*1 organic Banana (peeled of course)

*Large Handful of Fresh Parsley (leaves & stems)

*About 4 C. of Filtered Water (or 2 C. Water, 2 C. nut milk)

To make Chia seed Gel, place 1/4 Cup of whole chia seeds in a quart mason jar and add water to the top. Stir until the seeds are dispersed. Let absorb the water for at least 15- 20 minutes. Stir again. Put on lid and keep in the fridge to use with other recipes. Provides a high source of protein (4 gm in an ounce), fibre, calcium, magnesium, and more Omega3's than any other plant source, including flax seed. Use the "whole seeds" and not milled seeds. There is some indication that milled seeds lack the nutrients.

This is a 'green smoothie' but it turns out purple because of the blueberries (they are almost always the dominant color-maker). Position the 2-piece VitaMix lid securely and then start the VitaMix on low, increasing the speed gradually, and ending by flipping over into the highest speed until homogenized (about 1 1/2 minutes?). You can use a regular blender, but it will just take longer-- pulsing to break the stuff up helps. Enjoy!