Very Berry Smoothie; A sipping drink for summer

From salads, soups, jellies and jams. The main star of a dish, or served as side order. Whatever role it plays in my kitchen, I enjoy fruit. I cannot get enough of them. They come in a perfect package, that in most cases is ready to eat.

When it comes to desserts, fruits are my dessert of choice, I normally eat them plain. They are the perfect food to have on hand when you don’t feel like cooking.

Ever had one of those days when you really don’t feel like cooking, or you’re so busy you don’t have the time to cook? Yesterday was one of those days. Although I did have the time to prepare a meal, I simply didn’t feel like making anything. Thankfully we had plenty of leftovers available. Just in case, I had chopped up vegetables and fruits standby in case we had an attack of the munchies.

Now that I think about it, I did make something yesterday, the Very Berry Smoothie!

Very Berry Smoothie

    • 3 cups of unsweetened apple juice, water, or ice cubes
    • 1 cup strawberries
    • 1 cup blueberries
    • 1/2 cup blackberries
    • 2 plums
    • 1 peach
    • 3 cups of dark leafy greens (I used a mix of collards and kale)
    • 1 tablespoon of spirulina

drop Spirulina into the liquid without touching it, or the spirulina will gum up the spoon

Directions

Combine ingredients in blender, blend, serve and enjoy!

*I prefer my smoothies to be very thick, however it if it’s too thick for you, just add more liquid.

Experiment

Of course, you can select your own fruit too, say you want a sweeter smoothie you could add a few cups of pineapple or mango to the blend. Do you like a slight tart taste? Toss in some a few kiwis. The beauty of smoothies is that you can add or take away the fruits that you don’t like and make your own personalized smoothie. Have fun, and experiment with your foods.

spirulina_powder.07.19.10.jpg

Spirulina powder
A few facts about Spirulina…

I was introduced to spirulina in the early 90’s. I was living in downtown Baltimore at the time, to be more specific I lived in Mount Vernon. The place had a Bohemian type vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I was introduced to a lot of things while living there, became interested in Aromatherapy, got aromatherapy certifications and really started experimenting with my own skin care products. I met some fabulous crunchy folk during my time there, and some of them gave me gushing reviews about Spirulina.

Spirulina is a blue green algae that thrives in fresh bodies of water, like lakes and ponds. Numerous research has been done about spirulina; it’s purported to contain a numerous health benefits for the body. If you can, try adding spirulina to your cabinet. Include it in your smoothies or sprinkle it over your food. It’s a great way to enhance the nutritional benefits of the foods you consume.

It’s loaded with nutrients that are good for our body. Spirulina is 60% protein, which is higher than any other food. It’s also the highest source of B12. Did you know it contains ten times more beta carotene than carrots? It also contains iron, vitamin E and a whole host of nutrients that I won’t discuss here. You can learn more by reading up on the health benefits of spirulina. That’s pretty impressive right, I call Spirulina a super algae. Since its health benefits blow me away, I make sure I keep it in stock.

This very berry smoothie made a fair amount; we didn’t drink it all. About half of the smoothie was used to make fruit popsicles. It’s a healthier choice than the majority of the empty calorie popsicles you see at the store. The smoothie is an excellent sipping drink for the hot days of summer.

 

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Moondancer, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

 

Vegan: Green Energy Smoothie

green-smoothie.05.28.10.jpgAs I’ve already mentioned I’ve been craving a lot of greens lately. Fortunately for myself I have plenty of green vegetables growing in my garden, and so last evening I went out and picked more collards and kale.

Quite a bit of the green veggies were turned into collard and kale chips. I’ll post the recipe in a later post. Kale chips are a tasty (and healthy) snack. It was hard not to put all my greens into my soon to be chip pile, but I managed, and I was able to make a green smoothie.

Green smoothies are something my daughter and I drink daily. The green smoothies I make are delicious and nutritional powerhouses. Yep, they are chock full of vitamins and minerals. Something that not only taste good, but is good for you too. You can’t beat that right? Yes, the smoothies are Vegan. The green smoothies are a much better choice than the many of the empty calorie drinks that are flooding the market.

A few facts about greens
Did you know that ounce for ounce collards have more calcium than milk? Shocking stuff, I know and something you most likely won’t hear too often if you’re listening to mainstream media. According to many of those sources, milk is where it’s at, right?

Importance of Vitamin K
Another powerful vitamin you’ll find in most green leafy veggies is Vitamin K. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color, It also provides vitamin K. Many people overlook this amazing vitamin. We really shouldn’t since it plays an extremely important role in calcium circulation and bone formation. There have been numerous studies done that show low levels of vitamin K are linked to low bone density. Don’t forget your vitamin K!

Spinach and Oxalic acid
Ok back to the calcium, it’s true dark greens are an excellent source of calcium. However, there is one dark green that shouldn’t be counted (at least not by itself) on for calcium. Which dark green is that? Spinach. The reason is simple, spinach contains a high amount of oxalic acid. Oxalic acid removes calcium from the blood. When you eat spinach it’s best to pair it with foods that are loaded with vitamin C since this will help cancel out the oxalic acid.

Green Energy Drink

  • 4 cups unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 cup grapes
  • 2 cups kale and collards
  • 1″ ginger root (if you don’t like spicy leave out the ginger)

*If you don’t like your smoothie thick add more apple juice.

Directions

  1. In a blender add all ingredients
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. Drink and enjoy

This is one of the numerous high energy drinks I make throughout the week. It’s all natural, sweet, and it’s good for you. I naturally have a lot of energy but this drink gives me even more.

For those of you who aren’t eating enough vegetables, why not give smoothies a try? Smoothies are a great way to add more vegetables into your diet without the ‘taste’ of the vegetables. Personally, I do like the way vegetables taste however, if you aren’t used to them but would like to add more to your diet, green smoothies are a tasty (and delightfully sneaky) way to accomplish that. Enjoy!

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Gardening, Recipe, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian