Carrot Creamsicle

You know what's really good? Blending carrot juice with other stuff. I know it seems like sacrilege to a detox purist, but what can I say: I like it!

Must be the rebel in me. The rebel made me do it. And the fact of having some day old Trader Joe's carrot juice in the fridge. Along with some fresh turmeric roots, aka the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer best herb ever. Nothing wrong with that. 

If you don't have access to fresh turmeric, just use the best quality powder you can find. And drink up. To your health! 

Carrot Creamsicle

Ingredients

8 ounces carrot juice

1/4-1/2 of a honey crisp apple, cored

1/2 a lemon, peeled

1 small turmeric root, or a teaspoon of powdered turmeric

1 Tablespoon hemp protein powder

1/4 cup raw cashews

Optional Supplement Boosts

2 g vitamin C powder (I like Complete C from Innate Response) for added immune support.

2 g leucine powder (from Moss Nutrition). Leucine, a branched chain amino acid, works together with protein to help stimulate muscle growth and promote lean body mass (as opposed to fat. You know what I'm talking about.)

Instructions

Put all the ingredients into a blender and whip into a sweet, frothy shake. Serves one delightfully.

P.S. Want to order professional quality supplements through me or ask me a question? Shoot me an email or leave a comment on this post, and I'll get right back to you. ♥

(Secretly Green) Blueberry Almond Smoothie

I just tried something new: adding almond butter to my smoothie. Pleased to report it's really good! So I'm sharing. Turns out almond butter makes your smoothies creamy in a rich way that nicely complements the fruit, while adding a little protein, too. Double win.

The reason this drink is secretly green is because blueberries are so purple, they cover up the parsley...if that makes sense. ;-)

To make, blend the following ingredients until well combined:

1 orange
1/2 ripe banana
1 large handful blueberries
1 tsp lime juice

1 Tbs raw almond butter (I use Trader Joe's)
3 stalks Italian parsley (stems and leaves)
a dash of cayenne pepper

That's it! Yum!

Vanilla Bean Coconut Smoothie

With snow in the forecast 'tis hardly the season for chilly fruit smoothies. You can still keep breakfast light, though. Try this comforting vanilla bean smoothie made with unsweetened coconut milk, hemp protein powder, bananas and a pinch of powdered whole green stevia leaf for calorie-free, low-glycemic sweetness.

Got IBS? This recipe is also FODMAPs friendly for those of you who need to minimize intake of fermentable sugars and carbs.


Vanilla Bean Coconut Smoothie

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 ripe banana

2 Tbs hemp protein powder

1 Tbs shredded coconut

1 tsp powdered whole vanilla bean

1/4 tsp powdered green stevia leaf

Blend all ingredients on high.
Makes one serving. 






NOTE: Please sip slowly! Although a drink, this smoothie is also a food--and digestion of food begins in the mouth, especially when it comes to carbohydrates. In fact, all smoothies should be chewed, not gulped to help optimize digestibility, promote satiety and support blood sugar balance.

Warm, Spiced Vanilla Goji Berry Mylk

I love drinking my breakfast - usually in the form of a fresh green juice or smoothie sweetened with fruit  - but I've been running into trouble with sugar lately. This has sparked some creativity in the kitchen as I experiment with new ways to satisfy my sweet desire.

I'm not a big fan of juicing in the winter, as I've mentioned before, so for now, I'm focusing on low-sugar smoothies, like this warm Spiced Vanilla Goji Berry Mylk (pictured above).

Starting with a base of hempseeds for the mylk, I sweetened this beverage with two things. One: lucuma powder, a nutritious whole food sweetener made from the dried pulp of a golden-colored Peruvian fruit. And two: goji berries.

Goji berrries have a very low sugar content, measuring only 29 on the Glycemic Index scale. (For comparison, low-sugar grapefruit is 25, ripe bananas average 52, and the evil demon white sugar is 100.)

Nutrition and health-wise, goji berries are famous for their high antioxidant content. Antioxidants - including vitamins A, C and E, and polyphenols (plant compounds found in olives, green tea, berries, grapes, etc.) - help to protect cells and blood vessels, fight cancer and boost immune function, so we want to eat lots of them!

In addition to antioxidants, goji berries are high in polysaccharides, fiber and protein. In fact, they are considered a "complete protein," containing all eight essential amino acids. Traditionally, goji berries were thought to promote longevity, and people who eat them regularly are known to have beautiful, glowing skin. If you want to learn more about goji berries, click here to link over to a good article.

I mostly love goji berries because they taste cherry-plum delicious. They're fun to eat in a raisiny kind of way, and besides, they're pink. Need I say more? (Yes, it's Valentine's Day! Love to you all.)

Spiced Vanilla Goji Berry Mylk
makes one 2-cup serving

1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 Tbs hemp protein powder
2 Tbs goji berries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon  nutmeg
2 Tbs lucuma powder, or stevia to taste
1 or 2 teaspoons white chia seeds
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 to 1.5 cups water

Add all ingredients to blender and soak for fifteen minutes, to soften goji berries and activate chia seeds. After soaking, blend on low for half a minute, then increase speed to high until thoroughly smooth. For a thicker mylk, use less water and/or more chia. If you like, add ginger, too!

Note: The longer you allow the mylk to blend, the warmer it gets, which is nice this time of year. I recommend drinking this smoothie at room temperature, or slightly warm, fresh out of the blender. Yum.

Vanilla Hemp-Milk Shake with Goji Berries

August ends tomorrow, and back to school season will be upon us. But for now, a week of ninety degree weather is keeping the summer love alive. Here’s a refreshing meal-in-a-glass, perfect for breakfast on these last hot days of summer.

This shake is packed with protein and healthy essential fatty acids from fresh hemp seeds, and gets an added cell-saving antioxidant boost from high ORAC goji berries.

The Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity, or ORAC scale measures the antioxidant potential of different foods. Goji berries are one of the highest ORAC fruits, surpassed only by black raspberries and acai. Raw cacao tops them all – but that would be a different shake! Goji berries also contain all eight essential amino acids, making them a complete protein in a cherry-plum tasting package.

In this raw vegan version of the old childhood favorite, the Strawberry Milkshake, hemp seeds make the milk and goji berries stand in for strawberries.

Goji berries are a first-class thickening agent, so lots of water and ice are required, making this shake terrifically hydrating as well as delicious. Powdered vanilla bean provides a deep flavor experience but vanilla extract would also do. Tip: I always peel, bag and freeze my too-ripe bananas so I’m sure to have a stash of frozen bananas on hand.

Vanilla Hemp-Milk Shake with Goji Berries

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons goji berries
1 ½ cups filtered water
1/3 cup hemp seeds
2 frozen organic bananas
¼ teaspoon vanilla powder
4 ice cubes

Directions
Place goji berries, water and hemp seeds in blender container and allow to soak for five minutes or so while you gather the other ingredients. Blend well to make your goji hemp milk, then add bananas, vanilla powder and ice and blend again till nice and frothy.