Your Diet Necessity

Mine is definitely GREEN SMOOTHIES! What is yours?

Watermelon Juice

Craving a refreshing juice for the summer time?  Watermelon juice is the way to go!  You do not even need a juicer for this one!!  All you have to do is throw the watermelon into your blender and voila you have yourself a delicious drink!  I juiced half a watermelon which gave me a large pitcher of juice! This juice is super sweet so I like to dilute mine with water.  You can also mix it with other fresh juices such as orange, pineapple, or a little lime! Try adding watermelon juice to your green smoothies for an extra boost of flavor and sweetness!

What can watermelon do for you? For starters, watermelon is high in lycopene, which is beneficial for heart and bone health and has powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties. It also contains large amounts of the amino acid citrulline, which is converted in our bodies to arginine.  Citrulline has been linked to cardiovascular benefits as well as minimizing adipogenesis (the creation of fat cells).  Go get your juice on!

Green Smoothie Recipe

This is by far my favorite green smoothie recipe. I think the more simple you keep the recipe, the better! Green smoothies are a great way to start your day. They make great snacks or meal replacements and kids even love them!

What you need:

-1 1/2- 2 cups organic spinach (I just pack as much as I can in there)

-3/4 cup frozen organic strawberries

-1/2-3/4 cup fresh squeezed organic orange juice (fresh squeezing your orange juice is much better than the commercial ones)

*Blend thoroughly, add more juice or frozen strawberries depending on the consistency you prefer.

**I have a NutriBullet and LOVE it. It pulverizes any fruit or vegetable and results in an ideal consistency smoothie!

I also alternate adding boosts such as wheatgrass, tsp of spirulina, flax seeds, chia seeds, etc!

Green Smoothie of the Day

Introducing the Strawberry-Banana-Coconut GREEN SMOOTHIE Recipe

What you need:

• Meat and 2-4 ounces of water from one young, Thai coconut
• 1 1/2 cups frozen organic strawberries
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 2 cups or handfuls of fresh, organic baby spinach (or other green)

Creating this smoothie definitely takes a bit more arm muscle than most. Add all the ingredients into your blender  and blend until the smoothie is creamy. Add ice if you prefer your smoothie on the real cold side.

I absolutely love coconut water. It is full of electrolytes and puts an extra pep in your step.  You can find young Thai coconuts at places such as Whole Foods.
They are a bit difficult to open so here is a video on the proper technique:
*I also think adding pineapple to this would be delicious!

Cheers!

GREEN-tastic Smoothie of the Day: Pineapple Perfection

What you need:

3 Large handfuls of spinach

2 Large handfuls of kale

1-2   1 inch slices of fresh pineapple (chopped)

1/2 an orange

1 cup frozen strawberries (about 5-6 strawberries)

1/2 banana

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups ice

Handful of wheatgrass (optional) *Wheatgrass is an acquired taste so my advice is to add in a small amount at a time to your smoothies until you find the right taste for you.

*For optimal nutrient content, use organic produce! 🙂

I have to start by saying that not all blenders are created equally, so it may be a trial and error type of situation for you to find the right amounts of ice and water until you obtain that “just right” smoothie consistency.

I put all of the greens (spinach, kale, wheatgrass) into the blender first to shred it up nice and fine (This helps with the consistency).

Then I add in the water along with all of the fruit ingredients as well as the ice. Sometimes it takes shaking the blender around a bit until everything is nicely blended together!

Also if you like one fruit flavor more than another, feel free to put more of that and less of the other. The best thing about making your own smoothie is you can adjust it to your own taste buds 🙂 This recipe makes 2 servings so feel free to share it with friends/family or save it for your next snack/meal of the day!

Have a Greenilicious Day!

GO GREEN…SMOOTHIES!!

We’re all very familiar with the term Go Green…but how many of us are familiar with ingesting GREENS?

If you want a mega boost of nutrition, then a green smoothie is just what you need!  Even substituting one of these for your breakfast can go a long way for your health! I know what you’re thinking, how can something that looks like that taste good?? Well trust me, it’s just like drinking a fruit smoothie!  And hey…you can’t judge a book by its cover now can you.

My favorite combination is using A LOT of spinach and kale along with a banana, frozen strawberries and blueberries and a little bit of filtered water and ice (all organic of course)

Reasons to GO GREEN…SMOOTHIES:

•  NUTRIENT DENSE.  Dark green leafy vegetables are nutritional powerhouses. One serving typically has more Vitamin K, C, and A than we need in an entire day. They also have high amounts of phytonutrients and antioxidant properties which prevent cancer, disease, aging, etc. And let’s just say that for the amount of fruits and vegetables you can put into ONE smoothie…well, you’d be eating that same amount of fruits and vegetables for a long time!
• OPTIMAL ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS. For optimal absorption of the nutrients in leafy greens their cell walls must be broken down. According to Victoria Boutenko, a pioneer in the green smoothie movement, in order to rupture the cell walls of dark leafy greens we literally have to chew them into a creamy consistency before we swallow….Is that even possible?? I think I will stick with the high tech blender! So that’s optimal absorption of nutrients going directly into our cells!
• GREAT SOURCE OF FIBER. Fiber is an essential part of  our diet and what’s a better way than getting it from fresh leafy greens?  This is key for our digestive tract!
• YUM FACTOR. I know many of you do not believe me when i say these things taste great but if I can make these for kids and they love them…then you should too!  We all know that kids hate their veggies!  (like in this commercial. Check out the dirty socks kid! LOVE HIM  All you have to do is add in your favorite tasting fruits..and that’s what it will taste like!!
• QUICK AND EASY. They only take 5 minutes to make..max!
• THEY FILL YOU UP!  That’s right, drink one of these for breakfast and you won’t be hungry until lunch!

So think about the amount of fruits and vegetables you typically get in a day. Now think of how much you can add to that just by drinking ONE smoothie or perhaps several in a day! ( I like to make them as a snack too or even a meal replacement!)