How’s everyone’s January shaping up? If it’s not already, January should be deemed national smoothie month. It’s when everyone gets hyper-excited about a new diet and fitness regime and starts crazy, unhealthy juice cleanses to shed holiday pounds by any means necessary. I’ll admit, I too jumped on the juicing bandwagon 4 or 5 years ago when it was all the rage. BIG MISTAKE! The idea of brightly packaged colorful juices all lined up in a row for you to methodically drink through out the day is very enticing, really. If you pay for one of those companies to deliver them to you , there’s no preparation or thinking involved, and you fork over the money under the guise that it’s completely natural and healthy. What you’re really doing is reeking havoc on your metabolism and endocrine system. You see, when you take out the fiber from fruits and veggies, you’re leaving out a huge component of what controls your blood sugar. You’re left with basically, really tasty vitamin-rich sugar water, and blood sugar levels are left to spike and drop all through out the day without the help of that fiber. Counter productive to weight loss! And totally dangerous for someone like me who has hypoglycemia as a symptom of PCOS, a delicate and complicated endocrine disorder. Don’t get me wrong, fresh juices are great as a snack and paired with a meal, but juice and juice alone? No. Don’t do it people!
That’s where the Super smoothie comes in. And I thought I’d share three of my favorite go-to recipes that are packed with protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and completely suitable as a meal replacement. I usually have 2 a day actually (see what I mean? The Vitamix just pays for it’s self!) and not a workout goes by without my green protein brew afterwards. Remember, it’s essential you drink your smoothies as soon as possible after blending because the longer they’re exposed to air the more nutrients dwindle away every hour. That’s why it’s kind of pointless to buy pre-bottled fruit and veggie juices if you think about it! what a waste of 7-10 dollars for a single serving!
Here are the recipes! All make about 64 oz. of liquid-nutrient gold.
Green Protein
- 2 cups kale or other dense, leafy green
- 1/2 granny smith apple
- 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
- the juice and seeds (if you have a highspeed blender) of 1 lemon
- 1 inch knob of ginger, finely chopped if you have a standard blender
- 1 tsp. Spirulina powder
- 1 scoop plain or vanilla protein powder (I like Sun Warrior)
- about 3/4 cup ice
- Stevia if you like it really sweet!
Just want to say a quick note about this smoothie. It’s my tried and true and the first recipe I concocted when I got my Vitamix back a few years ago. At the time, I was not yet diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and I was having horrible night sweats which left me exhausted the next day and perplexed as to what the hell was going on with my body. I was working out daily with my queen Tracy Anderson, but not properly replenishing my body and blood sugar levels afterwards, sending my pancreas into a tail spin. Once I started drinking one of these daily, my hypoglycemic night sweats virtually disappeared. Kind of amazing, no?! It’s pretty incredible how nutrient dense, yet delicious this recipe turned out (well, I hope you think it’s as delicious as I do!). P.S. I get NO kickback from the Vitamix company for singing their praises, just an obsessed customer over here!
Protein Packed Piña Colada
- 1 cup reduced fat or full fat coconut milk (from the can)
- 1 cup organic plain Greek yogurt (or coconut milk yogurt if you don’t do dairy)
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 1/2 piece grated turmeric for color (and to fight cancer!) Don’t worry, your drink won’t taste like curry!
- about 3/4 cup ice
- paper umbrella, grass skirt & coconut bra
Berry-Beet Glowing Skin Antioxidant Smoothie
- 1 cup frozen organic mixed berries
- 1 cup almond milk or plain coconut water
- 1/2 medium sized beet
- 1 tbsp dried Goji Berries
- juice and seeds of one lemon (if using a high speed blender, the seeds contain salicylic acid, great for acne)
- Stevia to taste
- 1 tbsp Chia seeds
- a few cubes of ice
Happy blending! I would love to know if any of these recipes become one of your new favorites!
