A friend of mine asked me for a simple recipe section. She suggested I talk a bit about smoothies. Now that the summer heat has started to kick in there is nothing better to battle the temperature than an ice cold vegan smoothie. To be honest making a vegan smoothie is not a difficult task. Simply pick your favourite fruits, try and have something like an apple or a banana to thicken it, then place it in a blender. Ta Da!! How easy is that?!?!
So why would you drink a smoothie? Ever heard of your “Five a day” rule? Five serving of fruits and vegetables are necessary for good health. If you’re someone like me, you take that to a bit more of an extreme. Lol. I know when things got busy here in the past, it was really hard to get enough nutrients in… Heck, even now. Sometimes I’ll be running doing this or running doing that and you don’t really have time to stop for lunch. Not only that, but have you ever tried to find a raw vegan restaurant in Saskatoon? I tell you. It is tough to eat on the run. So, what do I do? In the morning I make a smoothie and put it in a jar or go mug so that I can drink it throughout the day. Perfect way to keep the energy flowing. If there’s one thing about the raw vegan lifestyle is that you do NOT want to get hungry. When you get hungry you are ready to eat almost anything. That’s not good when it’s hard to find good healthy food sometimes. The other night Andrew and I were walking through a large drug store and I was looking around. There was NOTHING I could eat in the whole store. It’s a drug store for heaven’s sake.
Not only do you get your “Five a day” from smoothies, but you get a whole heaping tonne of vitamins and fiber. Who doesn’t like fiber? Who needs multivitamins if you start your day with a fruit and veggie packed smoothie every day? OK, I’m not a doctor, so don’t go off your medications or vitamins on my account. Please. I, myself, would rather get my vitamins from food. That’s just me though. Yes, I go to the doctor regularly and get my blood levels tested. I’m fine… No worrying lol.
Along with vitamins you get some antioxidants which is heavily dependent on the fruits you use(blueberries are amazing for these!!). Antioxidants are crucial to staying healthy because they are the main reason for preventing diseases and sicknesses.
Two last things to mention here: energy and convenience. Having all these extra fruits provide you with really high quality carbohydrates which gives the average person a dramatic increase in energy. Also, you don’t have to worry about having to eat fruits when they are fresh because you can freeze them. You know those bananas that have almost had it? Take the peels off, cut them into chunks and freeze them. Use them in your smoothies and you get a nice cold almost milkshake type consistency. Some people argue that freezing kills some of the natural enzymes. I have never had a problem digesting frozen fruit from a smoothie. Oh, and I heard a trick the other day on one of Bill Barlow’s video’s on youtube. He said make your smoothie slightly chunky so you have to chew it. It gets your stomach acids flowing. Ewwww…. I know, stomach acids…. But if it helps you gain every nutrient you can get, why not.
Two last things to mention here: energy and convenience. Having all these extra fruits provide you with really high quality carbohydrates which gives the average person a dramatic increase in energy. Also, you don’t have to worry about having to eat fruits when they are fresh because you can freeze them. You know those bananas that have almost had it? Take the peels off, cut them into chunks and freeze them. Use them in your smoothies and you get a nice cold almost milkshake type consistency. Some people argue that freezing kills some of the natural enzymes. I have never had a problem digesting frozen fruit from a smoothie. Oh, and I heard a trick the other day on one of Bill Barlow’s video’s on youtube. He said make your smoothie slightly chunky so you have to chew it. It gets your stomach acids flowing. Ewwww…. I know, stomach acids…. But if it helps you gain every nutrient you can get, why not.
Recipies
Tropical Dream (I just made that name up lol… Pretty good isn’t it)
1 mango, de-stoned
1 banana
1 cup chopped pineapple (real pineapple, not the stuff from that can
1 banana
1 cup chopped pineapple (real pineapple, not the stuff from that can
Blend that all up until it’s smooth. Add some water, juice or coconut water until you get a good consistency. Then add about 1/4c coconut and blend it up again. (this gives you something to chew and it’s soooo good)
I lived on this smoothie for breakfast for a long time. I got very addicted to it lol.
Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie
2 small rhubarb stalks or some chopped, frozen rhubarb
2-4 strawberries
2 tablespoons agave nectar
cinnamon to taste
2-4 strawberries
2 tablespoons agave nectar
cinnamon to taste
Directions:
1. Blend to desired consistency.
2. Add water as needed. I love rhubarb and strawberries together!!!
1. Blend to desired consistency.
2. Add water as needed. I love rhubarb and strawberries together!!!
Chocolate Smoothie
Bananas, about half a blender full lol
6 Soaked dates, mashed in the date soaking water or more if needed (if it's not sweet enough add more dates... stop the blender and taste it, if it's not sweet enough add more)
Water to the desired consistency
Carob powder till desired taste
Blend it up and enjoy :)
Did you notice that the last recipe was a little 'lax on the amounts? That’s called raw food freedom. You just start throwing things in a blender, tasting once and a while, throw something else in, taste again… add more if needed, throw something else in… and you end up with something that tastes good to you, not someone else. Also, with raw food, you can a lot of the times just hear the ingredients of a raw recipe and you can figure out on your own how to make it. It’s simple. Remember this… Raw Food Freedom!! Enjoy your smoothies. :)
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