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Wednesday, August 24, 2016

My Favorite Smoothie

Years ago,  I started making smoothies and juices to improve my health and energy.  As long as I kept making them, I noticed my health and energy level improving.  It was also to supplement my health while eating a vegetarian diet in case I was requiring so much more vitamins than I was getting.  So, I became a fan of blending or juicing, and all the while I ate seasonally and mostly locally.  I loved the foods I was eating and I began getting creative to make different recipes and smoothie blends.

I found a lot of juicing and making smoothies information on You Tube.  So blasting together juices, at first took a long time to obtain a juicer, until I was gifted a Jack Lalanne's power juicer.  It was fantastic to start off with.  It required a lot of cleaning though, but I was happy to have a juicer and then I bought a new blender to also add in smoothies to my regime.  So, I started on my blender smoothies full-time and it eventually replaced juicing, due to mostly time limitations of cleaning time, budget and kitchen space.  Honestly, a large juicer on the counter when you only have 2 small counters seemed to be a large machine that can hamper the small space I have.  If I want a special juice, I can always still make it but for the most part smoothies are quick and easy.

Another thing, is I was always dealing with pulp from the fruits and vegetables when I was juicing.   It became a whole pulp project trying to make it into foods, so as not to waste it.  So, I made my own pulp crackers, muffins, shaker salad spices and more. When ever I could implement some of the pulp, into recipes, that is what I did.  And I had to use it up quick so it didn't spoil because unless I froze it. Before I knew, I had pulp overload!

 Like I mentioned, I ended up freezing some and would store small baggies of pulp in the freezer to use in recipes and still,  I would make muffins.  I was starting to really like the recipe I made work, so I had some delicious apple pulp and bran fibre muffins with raisins and nuts in them.  They were so healthy too, but there were just too many for me to eat since no one else at work or at home cared for the healthy food, (they preferred cupcakes with coffee in the morning, not muffins with a smoothie or a juice- ha ha), I couldn't rely on anyone to help me eat them and there was usually more than a dozen to plow through.

So, that is where smoothies became more the normal around here, as I found a break from finding ways to use pulp, or having to clean all the parts of the juicing machine.  I don't have to find any ways to cook or bake to use the fruit and veggie pulp, and I don't want to be in the kitchen any more than I already am these days.


Not all smoothies are created equal.  Some mixtures of smoothies taste very strong, green and healthy, or even like "hay," I have heard.  So it's important to balance your flavors. Smoothies that taste like a tropical drink or chocolate milk can be made.  Choco Mada Smoothie's look good, and I also blend a couple pitted dates in my smoothies.   Use bananas, apples, mango, pineapple and more sweet fruits to liven up a green smoothie.

My absolute favourite fruits or vegetables to add to smoothies are pears.  I like it in green or in fruit smoothies.  I also like to add fennel which is a fresh licorice taste to the smoothie and is great with green apples.  Beets give a red and vibrant colour, which I love using the sweeter small beets and blend up a sweet and refreshing combos. Personally, I wash and peel my fruits that are not organic, otherwise I will just scrub and wash an organic piece of fruit.  I do not peel it when adding it into smoothie either unless it's something with a hard-skin.  You can chop you fruit and veggies to make it easier on your blender.

I love to make different combinations that are not to complicated, such as blueberry and spinach, or banana and pineapple, or green apple and kale or other greens even using lettuce at times in place of the kale.  I give my growing toddler grape and banana smoothies with hemp seeds in it.  I find this is a great way to make sure she is getting more fruit in her diet, and as for grapes being a choking hazard with little ones they are not when they are made into a smoothie. I also use some bagged frozen fruit which blended with an orange works out great.  Practically anything can become a smoothie and it makes a great supplement drink to the day, while using your produce so there is not waste!


A past favourite smoothie of mine was pineapple, apple, fennel and a carrot, topped with Lotus Flower pollen.  This combo is amazing, and I also like the ginger in that smoothie or with an apple and carrot combo altogether.  But, if you got this far along reading all my recommendations, then here is MY ultimate smoothie that I cannot get enough these days.  It is super alkalising and detoxing for your body and gives me so much energy.  It is half a green apple, a large handful from a bushel of cilantro.  Then I blend it with either my Brain ON Nutrient Dense Aqua Botanical powder supplement (I call my gunpowder) or a couple teaspoons of pine pollen which is also green.

This is my green elixir, and while it can be modified according to what greens you have on hand, for instance a leaf of kale or the leaves of organic cauliflower or even lettuces, I gotta say cilantro is what makes it taste so fresh.  Brian ON is what gives me energy and  helps me to think better, and pine pollen is rich amount of amino acids, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins it contains.

So it depends what I am feeling like, or if I am trying to use things before the expiration date.  As of lately, I have been saving some avocado pits to add into my smoothies.  I peel them, chop them up and then they go into the blender, but to conserve the blade of your blender you can "grate" the peeled seed.  It turns out the avocado pit is just as nutritious as the flesh of the fruit itself, if not more and can be used for your health when added into a smoothie drink.


Smoothies can change your life if you are suffering from different ailments such as fatigue, chronic conditions, to strengthen your immune system and overall keep you youthful.  If you are new to making smoothies and eating fruits and veggies, I recommend looking into smoothies, especially green smoothies as they are super for your health!
 Here's a start: Green Smoothie 101







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