19 Apr Super Power Smoothies
I often get asked about protein shakes and smoothies. The common inquiry I get it, is what ingredients are best suited to for protein shakes?
Many people seem to feel pretty secure using fruits in their smoothies as the tastes and textures are familiar. However, once you start blending nutrients for the sake of health, you’ll start looking beyond flavour and venture into products that contain a host of beneficial nutrients that can be easily absorbed and digested.
For the most concentrated nutrients, I personally, turn to super foods. Super foods are the most nutritionally rich foods on the planet. They’re known to boost your energy, reduce your cravings, help you build a healthy immune system and bring vitality back into your life.
I combine a variety of super foods in glass jar and keep it in my refrigerator and add a few scoops to every smoothie or shake that I make. There’s no magic formula or recipe. You can start with adding a few super foods and gradually add more to your pantry (and your shakes) as your knowledge and taste buds expand.
The products I used here are: maca, lucuma, spirulina and camu camu along with non-GMO lecithin and l-glutamine powder. The super foods (in the brown bags in the photo) were purchased on-line through Truly Organic Foods and shipped right to my front door or can be found at most health food stores.
I love variety, so my shakes vary from day to day and season to season, but the foundation of my shakes always include at least one product from each of the following categories:
Vegetable
Green leafy vegetables are power house options: kale, spinach, parsley leaves, cabbage, collard greens
Fruit
Fresh or frozen: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, bananas, cranberries, peaches, pineapples.
Chose organic where possible and feel free to freeze your own fruit for ease. Frozen fruit eliminates the need for ice cubes. Peeled bananas can be frozen (and make a great icecream replacement when blended)
Healthy Fat
Nut butters, flax oil, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, avocado
Protein
Protein rich foods like: nuts, seeds, quinoa, collard greens, spinach, chia seeds, spirulina or protein powders (I like Vega the best, followed by Sun Warrior – both are plant based and vegan)
Kick Jumper
Natural flavor enhancers or super foods: ginger, mint, cinnamon, lemon, maca, lucuma, cacao, spirulina, camu camu
Liquid
Plain old filtered water, coconut water, nut milks (almond, cashew, hemp, etc)
My go to smoothie recipe
¾ c baby spinach
1/2 banana (you can keep peeled bananas in the freezer)
1/2 c blueberries (usually frozen wild blueberries)
1 – 2 c coconut water
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 Tbsp of super power mix (as described above)
handful of ice cubes
- Blend and be nourished
Cheers,
Sharlene
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