Smoothies

Smoothies are an excellent and tasty way to nourish your body with essential nutrients. 

Fruit Smoothies:

Citrus fruits - Grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, contain vitamin C, potassium and folate. Vitamin C helps boost your immune system. Potassium supports heart function and blood pressure.

Berries - Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, all contain antioxidants that help fight disease and decrease inflammation.

Tropical fruit - Kiwi, mango, banana, pineapple, pomegranates, are great sources of vitamin C, potassium, folate and manganese, which helps to keep your bones, blood sugar and thyroid healthy.

Fiber - Fruit smoothies can help you reach your daily intake of fiber in one glass. One serving of fruit contains two to four grams of fiber.

Green/Veggie Smoothies:

You can make a 100% green smoothie by using such things as kale, spinach, dill, parsley, collard greens, bok choy, tomato, carrot, celery, cucumber etc.

Many of us do not get the required amount of vegetables each day. An easy way to fix that is to make green smoothies. You don't have to make your smoothie with just vegetables, you can add fruit which will mask the flavor of the vegetables and greens. 

Micronutrients in green smoothies - Many vegetables provide a wonderful source of vitamin C and B. Kale provides your entire daily requirement for vitamins A and K. Beet juice is excellent for helping with hypertension and root vegetables contain nitrates, which can help lower blood pressure.

Preparing vegetable smoothies can be a little tricky.

It really requires practice and you are going to have good and bad batches. 

Here's a few hints:

- At first consider using the same ratio of fruits to veggies until you get used to the taste. Then,    gradually increase your veggie base.

- Romaine lettuce, cucumber and spinach will boost your vegetable intake, without adding strong flavor. Kale and beets will add a stronger flavor.

- Milk offers a rich base and a creamy flavor

- Water lets the vegetable flavor shine

- Iced green tea is another option if you don't want to use water or milk.

Here are a few of my favorite smoothie recipes:

                             

Blueberry - Banana

- 1 ripe medium-sized banana  

- 3/4 cup blueberries

- 1/4 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt

- 1 tsp. cinnamon

- 3/4 cup of skim milk (optional)

- 1/2 cup of crushed ice

Orange Juice Blend

- 8 oz orange juice

- handful raspberries

-handful strawberries

- 1 handful mango

-Blend and enjoy

*For this recipe I will also add Kale and Spinach for a healthy green smoothie*

*This can also get a little tart which I love, but you might want to add a pinch of sugar to offset the tartness of the berries*

My favorite Green Smoothie

- 8 oz orange juice

-1/2 cup - 1 cup of mango

- handful of organic kale

-handful of organic baby spinach

-Blend

-Enjoy!