Smoothies, smoothies, smoothies!

Good morning! I hope this new blog post finds you all in good health! I finished the 21-Day Sugar Detox this past Monday and it was marvelous. I did miss having blueberries but I really learned a lot about the way I eat and just how much sugar was being put into my body prior to the detox. It’s amazing what happens to your body when you take away all that sugar, too! I sort of fell off the no-sugar bandwagon though when I tried a new recipe for an “allergy-free” chocolate cake yesterday – HOLY MOLY. But due to the headache I have again this morning, it’s a clear sign I need to jump back on that wagon and buckle up!

One of the things that really helped me through the detox and now have become a regular thing in my house is SMOOTHIES. They’re easy to whip up, hard to mess up and help to keep you full. During the detox there were 2 kinds of fruits I could have – green apples and bananas – and I could only have one serving per day. If I really wanted to be hardcore about it, I would’ve skipped those altogether. But I didn’t. There was a smoothie recipe from the 21 Day Sugar Detox program called the “Coco-Monkey Smoothie” which became my go-to smoothie and included a banana, coconut and almond butter but I wanted more! That’s how I found Primal Toad. This guy has a smoothie book called “Toadally Primal Smoothies” which basically rocks my world. I also came up with my own concoctions though just based on what I had in the house. When you have 3 kids at home, grocery shopping happens as few times as possible so I go with the flow.

Smoothies are a great alternative to meals or snacks or desserts! Just depends on what goes into them. Fruit, vegetables, grains, yogurt, dairy, eggs – you can find a smoothie recipe with pretty much any ingredient in it. They’re also great for weight loss and for helping your tummy stay full. I’ll make a smoothie, pour it into a big cup and pop a straw in that bad boy and it goes all over the house with me for over an hour sometimes! But instead of snacking on crapola, I can grab a sip of my nutritious smoothie and that feels pretty darn good. Smoothies can also be a great way to get more fruits and veggies into your kids. They look a little like milkshakes and if you don’t put in too much green stuff you can usually get them to try it! Chances are they’ll be hooked and smoothies are super easy to whip up in the morning for breakfast or in the afternoon for an after-school treat!

I’m going to share a couple of smoothie recipes today. One is a green smoothie but has a similar taste to the Coco-Monkey smoothie and the other is ultra simple (I’m talkin EASY AS PIE here, people!) but full of anti-oxidants and a good snack or even dessert! The latter smoothie my sister-in-law actually came up with while I was at her house at the very end of my detox. She is a rock star. Another great thing about most smoothies is that you can throw in some “neutral nutrition”. Ya like that? What I mean is something like a small handful of pepitas or sunflower seeds or a teaspoon of ground flax seed. They won’t alter the taste in most smoothies but they add in some great nutritional benefits! WINNING!

Green Coco-Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup baby spinach leaves

2 Tbsp coconut cream concentrate (you can find this at your local health food store or in the hispanic food section at a grocery store, for ex: Goya)

1 cup coconut milk*

1 banana, frozen

4-5 ice cubes

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp almond butter (optional)

1 or 2 squares dark chocolate (optional, I like Green & Black’s organic 85% dark chocolate)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients except spinach into a blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Add in spinach and blend again until smooth.

Enjoy!

*There are many alternatives that can be used. I like to use canned, full fat coconut milk because of all the extraordinary healthy benefits it has however if you prefer regular cow’s milk, soy milk, rice milk, etc. any of those can be used!

Berry Vanilla Smoothie

Ingredients

1/3 cup blueberries

1/3 cup strawberries (2-3 strawberries)

1-2 TBSP vanilla protein powder (this is optional but my sister used it in the one she made me, and it really gave the smoothie an extra sweetness plus the protein kick!)

1/2 frozen banana (optional)

1 cup vanilla coconut milk

4-5 ice cubes

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy!

HOW EASY IS THAT?! Again with this recipe, any type of vanilla flavored milk can be used or even plain milk!

So there’s a couple of my favorite smoothies to get you started. If you like the green smoothie, check out Green Smoothie Girl – she’s also a rock star in my book and she has some GREAT recipes. If you want some more ideas, definitely check out the Toadally Primal Smoothies book but if the Paleo/Primal diet isn’t your thing check out Better Homes and Garden’s awesome recipes here or check out Pinterest! There are thousands of smoothie recipes there and in the great, big world of the internet! Sorry for no pictures by the way – I’m going to get on that and report back here within the next couple of days!

Have a great weekend!!