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Day 6 – BWLW September Smoothie Challenge – I took my own advice

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This post is a bit late because work has been…Crazy as a [beep].  Better late than never.  I’ve got 3 new smoothies recipes for you below.  Check out the previous days posts for other recipes.

I took my own advice from earlier in the week and added 1/2 cup of raw cashews to 2 bananas, water, and 2 cups of strawberries on Thursday morning to make this smoothie.  Yummy and creamy.  In the Nutribullet the cashews were completely broken down, but there were some chunks of frozen strawberry.  I’ll let it blend a little longer next time.

strawberry cashew banana smoothie
Strawberry Cashew Banana Smoothie

Today’s Recipes:

Peach and Avocado Dream

  • 1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
  • 1 pitted peach
  • 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 9 ice cubes

Mango Parsley Smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/2 pear
  • 1/4-1/2 cup parsley
  • 1 teaspoon of agave nectar
  • 1 big kale leaf (optional – little extra green)
  • 1 1/2 cups water

Green Energy Smoothie

  • 12 oz of brewed green tea
  • 4 large pieces of kale
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup blueberries, frozen
  • 1/4 cup regular rolled oats
  • 1 handful of almonds
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 Tablespoon wheatgrass powder (optional)
  • 2 Medjool dates, pitted (you can substitute 1 tablespoon of agave nectar)

Day 5 – BWLW September Smoothie Challenge

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Today I’d like to share a short list of benefits that can come from drinking smoothies.

Hydration

If you’ve been drinking at lot of soda and coffee, you may not have been as hydrated as you think.  Most smoothies contain water, ice, dairy or nut milk.  This gives added hydration.  Also, since you’re not eating dry food, your body doesn’t have to pull water out of your system to rehydrate the food to digest it.  Not a replacement for water alone, but much better than processed drinks.

Calcium and Probiotics

If you are adding yogurt to your smoothies, you will not only get smooth goodness, but also calcium and probiotics.  Leafy green veggies like spinach are also a great vegan source of calcium in green smoothies.

Less Excuses for Eating Healthy

Smoothies are so easy to make that you don’t have an excuse for not trying them (unless you have a health issue or food allergy).

  • You don’t have to buy special powders or mixes.
  • You can get great, healthy ingredients at your local supermarket.
  • You can drink them on the go.
  • You can get a mini blender and use it at work.
  • You can combine the foods you like and leave out what you don’t like.

There is no good excuse for not giving it a try.

You Can Get Added Nutrition with Oils and Nuts

Just as many people are surprised that they can add leafy greens and veggies like broccoli to their smoothies, you may be surprised that with a powerful blender you can also add nuts (raw cashews, almonds, macadamia) and oils.  Fats from oils and nuts added to the carbohydrates you already have in your smoothies will make them more balanced in terms of nutrition.  You can also add oils like flax seed oil or olive oil.  A teaspoon or 2 will do.  I suggest cod liver oil or coconut oil as well.  Nuts and Oils are also great ways to add calories to your smoothies in a healthy way.

Today’s Recipes:

Strawberry & Almond (adapted from the NY Times)

  • 1 heaping cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 tablespoon almond powder (also known as almond flour) or finely ground almonds – (grind them in a food processor first if they are whole)
  • 1 drop almond extract
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup buttermilk (you can substitute a cup of plain yogurt)
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Add ice if desired.  Drink right away.   330 calories; 6 grams fat; 6 grams of fiber

Green Coconut Goodness

  • 1 frozen banana (you can make this with 2 if you like)
  • 2 cups kale (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp flax seed meal (optional)
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (optional)
  • 1/4 cup milk (optional)
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Cashew Kale Shake from Cadry’s Kitchen – Makes 2 servings

  • 4-5 leaves of any variety of kale (without center rib) – about 3 ½ cups
  • 3/4 cup vanilla soy milk  (Can be replaced with any non-dairy milk or water)
  • 1/3 heaping cup raw cashews
  • 2 Tbsp flax seed
  • 3 ripe bananas, broken into chunks and frozen
  • 6 ice cubes

My Top 7 Sites for Healthy Yet Tasty Recipes

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Do you want to reboot your diet with healthy, delicious recipes – look no further than these seven (free) websites. They’ll bring diversity to your diet – satisfy your palate, and help you prepare nutritious meals.

Here is the BWLW list of the Top 7 recipe sites for tasty yet healthy food.

www.cleaneatingmag.com – Clean Eating Magazine is a great starting place for those who want to know what eating clean is all about.

www.thegraciouspantry.com – Another site that explores what clean eating is all about, their recipes are crazy good and easy to follow.

www.cookinglight.com – Cooking Light magazine’s website is dedicated to supporting a eating healthy lifestyle. They rework a lot of classics

www.eatingwell.com – From kids meals, special diets, to holiday feasts, Eating Well is a great resource for making healthy meals for any occasion.

www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html – The Food Network has a special section dedicated to “Healthy Eating”.  It features recipes from Ellie Krieger and lightened versions of  your favorites.

www.myrecipes.com/healthy-diet/ – “Thousands of healthy recipes plus nutrition news, diet recipes, and smart cooking strategies for a healthy diet”

www.allrecipes.com/Features/healthy-cooking-winter.aspx  – Check out the “Healthy Cooking” tab for some great recipes you can try out this Fall. Makeover your favorite dish and submit it to the site.