Banana Cocoa Smoothy

Smoothies are truely amazing creatures!!  I absolutely love smoothies in the morning, makes me feel clean, fresh and vibrant.  The key is to have them on a empty stomach, let them source you all morning until you are ready for lunch. Most of my recipes make about 1litre, which I take with me to work and drink through the morning.

After doing my 1st Green Smoothy Cleanse, I am now convinced more than ever about four (4) things:

1. Adding even one smoothie a day (small or large) will bring changes you will love!
2. Following a Green Smoothy Cleanse (stay tuned I will have one posted soon ) for a few days is very VERY beneficial and will make you feel cleaner, energized and pumped!!
3. Choosing one day a week or even every now and then, to enjoy Green Smoothies throughout the day until dinner and then enjoying a big green salad for dinner, is a great way to give your body and digestive system a mini-cleanse!!
4. Pick one day a week and drink only Green Smoothies is another great way to give your body a weekly boost and a break for your digestive system!!

That said, here are some tips and tricks to my approach followed by more details about the various ingredients I use when creating my smoothies.

APPROACH:    First off, I pretty much always use organic ingredients.  But you don’t have to, it’s really a personal choice.  I also have a few “extras” that  I like to add to most smoothies to give an added boost of nutrients.

When making smoothies, I always add the ingredients with the most water content first into my blender.  For example I usually add water (or coconut water) first, followed by lemon, cucumber, celery, apple, perhaps a bit of ginger and then my greens, like kale, spinach or romaine (oh and this combination is actually one of my favourites for both green smoothy or green juice).  Adding highest water content first makes it easier to blend and helps ensure the ingredients don’t get “stuck” with the blade!!

I use my Vitamix (highly recommend the Vitamix, the smoothies are oh so smoothy, creamy & frothy!!  The best ever!!  Yes, I’m biased without a doubt!!  My Vitamix is truly my gem in the kitchen – I love it so much I also sell them now – you can buy through my site and save on shipping!!. Check out my Shop for more info!!).

When blending, I always start at a low speed and gradually increase the speed – not only to let the ingredients mix – but also if you start at high speed you end up with smoothy all over the lid/sides, etc. and it’s a mess!!  I want my smoothie in my tummy not all over the lid !!  So I start low speed, gradually increase and once it’s all mixed I put it on high speed until I can see it’s creamy & frothy (almost warm but not quite!! although my Morning Cocoa Delight is yummy when it’s a bit warm).

Also, when I make the smoothies in the morning I pour them into 1/2 litre or 1-litre mason jars and then put them in the freezer for a while (usually only about 1/2 hr or so) until I’m ready to leave for work.  It cools it down nicely without freezing it and lasts me through the morning this way. I also bring them in a lunch bag with freezer packs included, but if you have a fridge at work that might be a little easier.

Oh and you should know, every time I make a smoothy I pretty much “wing-it” – but don’t worry, you don’t need to “wing-it”, I have over 90 smoothie recipes you can choose from!!

Myself, I rarely follow a recipe, instead I reference recipes to get ideas for combinations and flavours that I may not have considered.  But more times than not, I do my own thing and each and every smoothy is different.  That said, my portions are also not exact measures – to me it’s all about personal taste, trying combinations of foods that you love, and then adjusting to your personal taste for any given day.  I find that my tastes have also adjusted over the years.  When I first started making smoothies they were very heavy in fruit flavour, probably 70-80% fruit with 20-30% greens.  Over time I adjusted the proportions and now I find I have probably 80-90% green and 10-20% fruit.  So be patient, experiment and gradually add more greens and before you know it you’ll be a Green Smoothy Queen (or King!).

There are several groups of foods I include in my smoothies:

Creamy Mango Smoothy

WATER:  I always add the water first and use water or coconut water.  As a guide I usually add 2 cups water, 3 cups or 4 cups.  With 2 cups water my smoothies usually yield about 1 litre, 3 cups gives me about 1.5 litres and 4 cups results in about 2 litres.  I find it’s a helpful guide depending on how much I want to make, and of course I adjust the ingredients accordingly and/or adjust the water so that I have the consistency I want – sometimes I feel like thick and creamy, other times I like a nice thin/juice like consistency.  It’s all about going with the flow and tapping into what you feel like for the day!!

FRUITS:  Some of the most common I use are mango, banana, berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries), lemon, oranges, apple… but really you can use whatever you like!!  I usually (not always) but usually use 1 or 2 different types of fruit – if you use too many different fruits the flavours may be lost.  There’s no doubt in the early days I included a higher % of fruits vs. greens, but it is very important to reduce the fruit over time so that the greens, sprouts, herbs become the main component of your smoothies.

A wee note on fruits – if you are diabetic, sensitive to sweets and/or challenging cancer or other serious illnesses, there is a lot (and I mean A LOT) of literature and research that strongly suggests minimizing or eliminating fruits, as the sugars can “feed” many of these diseases!!  From what I’ve read, I do believe this to be true, but I’m not a medical professional so you’ll need to do your own homework & research to learn more and find what works best for you and your body based on your own personal health situation!!

Eat Your Greens (Click to enlarge)

GREENS:  You’ll want to rotate your greens either daily or every 2nd day to ensure you get a well rounded blend of nutrients.  Some of my usuals include spinach, romaine, kale and occasionally I bring in collard, kale, bok choy, dandelion and swiss chard.  I also include cucumber and cellery as part of my greens mix, they are very hydrating and delicious mild flavours in smoothies.  It’s all of these greens that give all the nutrients and goodness comes from, so be sure to include a good dose of greens – ideally move towards having 80-90% of your smoothies should consist of greens, herbs and sprouts and 10-20% or less of fruits. If you are new to green smoothies, spinach is the mildest of greens and a great place to start.  Once you are comfortable you can start to experiment with other greens, but always add small amounts at first – your taste buds will adjust as your body gets use to the goodness!!

HERBS:  I love herbs.  Cilantro and Parsley are the ones I use the most, they are both very cleansing.  Mint is another favorite that adds a nice flavour.  Use whatever herbs you love.

SPROUTS:  Sprouts are chocked full of nutrients.  They are baby plants filled with tons of enzymes and everything great for your body.  Sunflower sprouts are my favourite and they have a nice mild flavour so they are good if you are new to sprouts (no, I don’t make them – I should – but I buy them), I also like alfalfa and mung sprouts in my smoothies – although their flavour is a little stronger so start small until you are comfortable with the taste.

Medjool Dates

SWEET: There are all kinds of sweeteners you can use but I like 100% natural sweetness so the only one I like to use are medjool dates – they offer natural sweetness that are delicious and nutritious.   So if I ever feel the need for more sweetness (more than the fruit can offer) I will add a couple/few medjool dates.

NUTS/SEEDS: I will normally add chia seed or flax seed every day (1-2 tbsp total) as these are great sources of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Hemp seed is another great option and is a great source of protein and I find it makes the smoothie more filling.  I also love to add raw almond butter and love LOVE the flavour it adds.  Another favourite is raw cashews, I usually use about 1/4 cup and soak in water before I go to bed so it’s ready to use in the morning.

OTHER:   There are so many “additions” you can add to your smoothie to make it even more nutritious.  Wheatgrass cubes is a super green as is e3Live and add a great boost.  Dulse (or any sea vegetable is also great to add 1-2Tbsp daily), nutritional yeast, maca powder although start small with 1/2 – 1tsp and increase gradually to about 1T/day.  Maca does have a distinct flavour that can be very powerful in smoothies so start small until you find a taste that works for you.  I also occasionally add cocoa or raw version.  Other great additions are garlic and/or ginger – both are great at cleansing and even “warming” the body!

Cheers!! Savour & Enjoy

I have over 90 smoothie recipes so be sure to check my Smoothies page for insight into some of my favourite creations.  Heck, better yet tap into your taste buds and create a combo that jives with you!!

Cheers!! Savour & Enjoy!!  Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmm xox