Berrylicious!

Day 4 of the green smoothie challenge and today's smoothie was berry, berry good! Ha. Ha. 

During this time of year, berries are abundant so I wanted to create a berry good drink today:)  When berries are this cheap, I'll often buy a bunch, wash them off, and freeze them for future smoothies. Using frozen fruit makes your smoothie cold without using ice cubes. 

Today's berry, very good recipe is as follows:

2 cups Power Greens (baby kale, chard, spinach)
2 small celery stalks
1/2 c frozen blueberries
1/2 c raspberries
1 tsp raw organic honey

1 tsp Maca powder

1 tbsp raw walnuts

1/2 tsp chlorella powder

1 tbsp goji berries
1 c Synergy Mystic Mango Kombucha

Cheers!

Focus on Cinnamon

Day 3 of the 30 day green smoothie challenge and so far I'm feeling good! My precious Vitamix is getting a workout for sure!

After a quickie 30 minute exercise session this morning, I had a taste for chocolate. Yes, chocolate! There is such a thing as a chocolate green smoothie. Don't believe me? Try out today's recipe.

2 cups Power Greens (baby kale, chard, spinach)
1 packet of Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion
1 tbsp sunflower seed butter (any nut butter will do)
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp raw organic honey
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Hefty sprinkle of cinnamon

If you like a sweet combination, this recipe is pretty darn sweet. I didn't realize it until after I tasted it, but the Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion powder has 6g of sugar from organic cane juice. Add in the whole banana and the honey - that's a good dose of sugar and a tad more sugar that I would have liked to ingest in one sitting. If I make it again, I would omit the honey, and use half a banana. 

Enough talk about sugar. 
Let's get to the good stuff.
The super spice...
Cinnamon! 

Benefits of Cinnamon
There are many, many documented benefits of this super spice. Here are just a few. 

1. REGULATES BLOOD SUGAR
Studies have shown that cinnamon can regulate blood sugar (hopefully it regulated mine from the sugar explosion in the smoothie this morning!). A steady blood sugar level means steady energy levels throughout the day. 

2. GOOD FOR WOMEN DURING THEIR MENSTRUAL CYCLE
Yep! Studies have shown that it can ease menstrual pain. Because of the higher levels of manganese (see #4 below), cinnamon can mitigate the effects of PMS. 

3. FERTILITY BOOSTER
Cinnamon contains a natural chemical called cinnamaldehyde, which has been shown to increase the progesterone hormone (good) and decrease the testosterone production (also good) in women which helps to balance hormones. 

4. NUTRITIOUS AND DELICIOUS
One teaspoon of cinnamon contains 28 mg of calcium, 1 mg of iron and over a gram of fiber - in just one tiny teaspoon! It also contains vitamins C, K, and manganese.

5. IMPROVES GUT HEALTH
If you suffer from IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome - cinnamon can help kill the bad bacteria in the gut and heal infections in the GI tract enabling the gastric juices to work normally. 

6. ANTIOXIDANT
Cinnamon is one of the top seven anti-oxidants in the world. Nuff said.

A little sprinkle of cinnamon won't magically heal you overnight, but using a substantial amount over time will probably do more good than harm. 

So don't just sprinkle cinnamon on your pumpkin pie. Sprinkle it generously and sprinkle often.

Cheers!

What the heck? Kombucha. Yea...

Day 2 of 30
Happy Labor Day!

I had a great weekend full of good food and yummy cocktails! Today I HAD to go to the gym so I could sweat out all those toxins. Shout out to Unite Fitness for facilitating some of the hardest workouts I've experienced in a long time. 

On to today's detoxifying green smoothie recipe...

2 dinosaur kale leaves

2 celery stalks

2 tbsp hemp seeds

1/2 frozen banana

1 tsp raw organic honey

1 tsp Maca powder

1 tsp chlorella powder

1 packet Amazing Grass barley grass, wheat grass & alfalfa powder

1/2 c Synergy Mystic Mango Kombucha

1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Today I added Kombucha to the DoD to help combat those weekend toxins and to help my belly bloat.  

Benefits of Kombucha

The ancient Chinese refer to Kombucha as the "Immortal Health Elixer." Sounds intriguing, right? There are plenty of benefits to drinking this fizzy beverage. Not only does it taste yummy, it helps with:

1. DETOXIFICATION

Kombucha is rich in many enzymes and bacterial acids your body needs to detox your system thus easing the burden on your liver to do all the work. 

2. AIDS DIGESTION AND GUT HEALTH

You may have heard this, but Kombucha is a probiotic beverage. It's naturally fermented with a living colony of bacteria and yeast. This means it great for improving digestion, mental clarity and mood stability.

3. IMMUNE BOOSTING

Kombucha contains tons of antioxidants which boost your immune system and your energy levels.

After a weekend of "over doing it", Kombucha is the perfect addition to today's DoD. 

Cheers!

Maca root powder

Day 1 of 30
Today's green smoothie turned out kinda orange due to the carrot juice I used but it's yummy!!

Prayerfully my photos and photo editing will improve drastically at time goes on!

2 cups Power Greens (baby kale, chard, spinach)

1 celery stalk

1/2 frozen banana 

1/3 c fresh raspberries

1 tsp Maca powder

1 tbsp raw walnuts

1 date

Pinch of parsley

2 tsp ground flaxseed

2 tsp hemp seed

1/2 c carrot juice

1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Benefits of Maca Root

Maca is one of the top 10 superfoods in the world. Maca root has been used by the Peruvian culture for thousands of years. 

1. ENERGY BOOST 

Try substituting your morning coffee with maca powder. It can offer a super boost of energy naturally without the side effects from caffeine.

2. SUPER NUTRITION

This nutritionally dense superfood contains high amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and essential amino acids. Dried maca powder contains nearly 20 amino acids - including seven essential amino acids. It also contains 5X MORE PROTEIN than a potato and 4X MORE FIBER! 

3. BALANCE HORMONES

Most of us have hormones that are out of whack due to the over abundance of environmental estrogens. Maca stimulates and nourishes the "master glands" in the body - the hypothalamus and pituitary glands which in turn helps to balance the adrenal, thyroid, pancreas ovarian and testicular glands. 

Maca powder

In summary, this superfood increases energy, endurance, strength, and libido. Ooo la la! That's what's up! 

Cheers! 

Green Smoothie 30 Day Challenge Starts Now!

It's September 1st!
Unbelievable. 
In honor of September and the new blog, I am going to do a 30 day challenge. According to the directions by personal development guru, Steve Pavlina, you can do anything for 30 days, right?

My 30 day challenge will be to drink a delicious green smoothie EVERY DAY!

I'm no stranger to the good for you green smoothie. I've been drinking them a few times a week for the past few months, but now I am challenging myself to drink one every day and I'll share my recipes aka Drink of the Day (DOD) on the blog. 

Check out my collection of green smoothie recipes on Pinterest.

A few reasons why drinking a green smoothie a day is good habit to have. 

1. GREEN SMOOTHIES ARE PACKED WITH GOOD NUTRIENTS

Green smoothies are packed with fiber, which lowers cholesterol and glucose levels, keeps you feeling fuller for longer and regulates your body’s cleansing processes. Plus, it’s a tasty way to get a strong dose of fruits and veggies, which provide vital nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, folate and potassium.

2. YOU CAN DRINK YOUR DAILY REQUIREMENT OF VEGGIES
Most folks don't eat enough fruits and veggies on a daily basis to provide all the nutrients their bodies need. Solution! Drink them. Green smoothies are packed with a chlorophyll and chlorophyll is a molecule that closely resembles a molecule of human blood. What exactly does that mean? By drinking two or three cups of green smoothies daily, you will consume enough greens to nourish your body, and all of the beneficial nutrients will be well assimilated. 

3. THEY TASTE REALLY GOOD!
Not convinced it won't taste like a glass of liquefied lettuce? The best ratio of greens to fruit is 60/40. 60% veggies and 40% fruit. Let me break that down again. 2 cups of greens to 1 cup of fruit. The fruit will balance out the taste of the greens. If you're a newbie, start with a mild green like spinach or broccoli. 


Cheers!