Several weeks ago my beloved juicer, a prized find from a yard sale, had a fatal run-in with my stove burner and had to be retired. I was so bummed that since then I haven't had the will to make smoothies or juices- and wouldn't you know it, I got sick for the first time in years when I stopped drinking my smoothies for a few weeks!
This weekend, when Alex and I started our three-week vegan diet experiment, I pulled out the blenders, dusted them off, and got back to work. So I'm back on the wagon as it were, blending my little heart out!
Today's green smoothie recipe:
Almond Milk
(milk was homemade with raw almonds over the weekend)
Kale
Bananas
Pineapple
Flax Seed*
Raw Sunflower Seeds*
Raw Pumpkin Seeds*
(*freshly ground)
Love
I've been known to add everything in my cupboard and the fridge to my morning green smoothies- chia seeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cayenne, ground cloves, cardamom, carrots, ginger root, celery, peppers, apples, oranges, lemons, cucumbers- really, almost anything. I even used to add tofu but we don't buy soy products anymore so that's no longer on the list of possibilities. But when making a big batch for the daycare kiddos and Alex, too, there just isn't enough room. In fact, with just the ingredients above, I had to use both blenders and divide the recipe to make enough for everybody.
The nutrition we get from one green smoothie is shocking (if you aren't used to drinking them and have never thought to figure it out like mwa).
The Dinosaur Kale we use has big leaves, and each leaf is about one cup's worth. I used 8 large leaves in today's smoothie, divided among 5 people. That's just over a cup and a half of Kale per person. One cup of Kale has 206% of the DV for Vitamin A, 134% Vitamin C, 9% Calcium, 6% Iron. One cup of Kale also has 2 grams of Protein. Is your jaw hanging open yet or what?
I added about 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds and 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds. 2 tablespoons is about 30 grams, or just a bit over 1 ounce. Pumpkin and Sunflower seeds both have between 6-7 grams of Protein each, Vitamin A, C, Calcium, and one ounce of Sunflower seeds has 8% iron.
But wait, there's more! One ounce of pumpkin seeds has a whopping 23% DV of Iron. Divide that by 5 people and that is still quite an iron boost.
Not to mention that Sunflower seeds are a good source of Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Copper, Manganese and Selenium, and a very good source of Vitamin E at 47% of DV!. Meanwhile Pumpkin seeds are also a good source of Vitamin K, Iron and Copper, and a very good source of Magnesium, Phosphorus and Manganese.
Now for the Flax seed. I actually added in about a half a cup's worth (maybe a little more), which is about 100 grams. That is a little more than 18 grams of Protein, 22% Calcium, 72% Iron, and an astounding 133% Vitamin E. And don't get me started on the essential Omega 3 Fatty Acids! And that's not all, Flax has amazing amounts of Folates, Niacin, Thiamine, Vitamin K and more.
And if you STILL aren't totally blown away, like I am, let's not forget the Almond Milk, which has a ton of Calcium, Vitamin A and some Iron to boot, and the fresh Bananas and Pineapples that add even more Vitamin C (131% for Pineapple!), Potassium, and oodles more trace minerals.
The fact is, most Americans don't get even half this much nutrition in an entire day. But look how easy it is to make sure our kids get their Vitamins!
Tips for making great healthy smoothies:
- Pre-freeze banana slices rather that using room temperature ones.
- Freeze some almond milk, yogurt, fruit or leftover fresh juices in ice cube trays to throw into your smoothies to cut down on prep time or to add a boost of flavor.
- Freshly grind seeds and nuts just before adding them to ensure they are as fresh as possible- many deteriorate fast after they have been ground.
- If you can't decide between Kale or Spinach, and both are excellent, choose Kale! It has the highest levels of micro-nutrients and will give you more vitamins per ounce than anything else. Spinach is a great runner-up, though!
- Blend your liquid (filtered/purified water or milk) and greens first, then add others items.
- If your blender is making sad noises from working too hard, it's probably time to add more liquid or stop it for a few seconds (and unplug it) and dislodge with a spoon or butter knife solids that might be compressed at the bottom.
- Drink blended smoothies within an hour, and don't make more than you'll be able to use right away as storing them in the fridge reduces the nutrients and taste quality significantly.
- If you have a super-mega awesome-powerful juicer or blender, try adding fresh wheat grass juice to your smoothie (strain if you blend as you only want the juice from the grass, not the grass itself)!
- Don't be afraid to add things like nut butters for protein, and coconut oil or raw honey, and herbs to boost your immune system like echinacea, dandelion root, ginger root, and even just plain 'old lemons. Most of these you'll barely even taste or notice but boy do they ever pack a nutritional punch!
- Start simple- you don't need to put everything and the kitchen sink in your smoothie on your first day.
- When you consume flax seed, always grind it up to make the nutrients available to your body, as they are not digested when eaten whole. And make sure you drink plenty of water after a smoothie with flax because they absorb water and expand.
- If you want to pack a smoothie for your school-aged kids, partly freeze it for an hour or two and send in an insulated thermos with a chill pack- you may have to fiddle with freeze/thaw times at home a little to get just the right consistency by their lunch time.
- Experiment to see what you like! There's no wrong way to do it. :-)
