Green Smoothie Bowl

While I love the simplicity and health value that a smoothie holds, sometimes I want to chew my food. I still need simple, but occasionally like to step it up a notch, my choice: smoothie bowls. Have you ever made one? It's not rocket science. It's just a smoothie poured into a bowl with toppings. You can get excessively fancy or keep it simple.

You can get so much get nutrition into a smoothie. If you are not making them, then you are missing out. Yes, I can get smoothied out and I do take breaks when I get bored. I think it's thoroughly important to be mindful of our emotions and thoughts because they can trick us and tempt us into doing something that is not advantageous such as going through the drive-thru. While I believe in eating to live and not living to eat, there's nothing wrong with enjoying our food. So when boredom sets in, then it's time to do something different. Choose life!

I've made many different smoothie bowls. As I make more I'll take pictures and share my steps and ingredients. I really enjoy taking advantage of utilizing superfoods in my smoothies. They make it easy to maximize my nutrients.

In the picture above you can see the ingredients that went in the blender. 

Smoothie Ingredients:

2 Cups Tightly Packed Organic Kale (Costco)

1 Frozen Organic Acai Packet (Trader Joes)

2 Cups Filtered Water

1/2 Cup Frozen Organic Cherries (Costco)

1/2 Cup Frozen Organic Mango (Costco)

1/2 Banana

1 Tsp Organic Gelatinized Maca Powder (Trader Joes)

9 Sunfood Chlorella & Spirulina Tablets ( Thrive Market)

1/4 C Hempseed (Costco)

1 Tbsp Chia seeds (Costco)

1 Medjool Date (Costco)

Ice if desired

2 Drops Young Living Lime Vitality Essential Oil

I don't put the same items in every smoothie because I do like to change it up. I do love the ingredients above though so I thought I'd share why. Acai berries have an extremely high ORAC score. That means they contain an abundance of antioxidants, which means we are healthier. I like adding maca because it's great for hormonal balance. A key to life and vitality is consuming chlorophyll, basically, plants own superfood. Chlorella and spirulina are both algae packed with chlorophyll. They support natural detox and cleansing in the body as well. 

Directions:  

Put everything in the blender and blend, really difficult, right?! Pour it into a pretty bowl, and then top it.

The topping choices are endless. Choose what you like. Pictured above is dried unsweetened coconut, 1/2 banana, organic raw pumpkin seeds, Purely Elizabeth Blueberry Granola (I buy it at Thrive Market, or either Target or Whole Foods when on sale). I don't usually buy granola due to the fact that it's usually really unhealthy. This brand is fairly impressive with a low glycemic sweetener being coconut sugar and a healthy fat with organic coconut oil. It's organic and certified gluten-free...so happy!

If you have questions about the ingredients, need any tips, or want to share your favorite smoothie recipe, please comment below.

Helping you to be a good steward of your health,

Marie A. Brock, HHC

Overnight Oats...

I love oats so much, I cannot even express how versatile, and wonderful they can be in the kitchen. I, sadly, cannot consume them too very often. They are not a food my body loves too terribly much, so I try not to overdo it. Nonetheless, they offer quite the nutritious punch, and I will enjoy them on occasion. Such an awesome source of fiber! I always purchase certified gluten-free and organic. Oats have been shown to be highly genetically modified so look for that organic label. Oats are often cross-contaminated with wheat, so it's important to tell someone with a sensitivity or allergy to wheat whether or you use certified gluten-free oats or not.

So I super love breakfasts that I can prepare the night before to make my life more simple in the morning. Well in walks in all the foodie bloggers rage...overnight oats, so appropriate. I wanted to share how I prepared them the last time. It was super yummy, so much so that I prepped the next day again to have them the same exact way in the morning.

I always soak my oats with water and apple cider vinegar the night before to increase nutrient absorbance potential as well as making them more digestible. Here's how I typically soak them. I love that with overnight oats you do just that except just a tad bit differently.

Overnight Oats Recipe

You'll need the following for your base...

1 16oz Wide Mouth Mason Jar
1/2 Cup Organic Certified Gluten Free Traditional Rolled Oats
1/2 Cup Organic Full Fat Coconut Milk
1/2 Tsp Fresh Organic Lemon Juice (helps with making oats more digestible)
4 Drops Organic Stevia (WE use Trader Joe's)
3/4 Tbsp Organic Chia Seeds

Mix the above ingredients in the jar. Then layer the following ingredients in this order. I do this every time I make them. What comes after this may vary.

Toppings...

1 Handful Frozen Organic Raspberries
2-3 Tbsp Raw Chunky Almond Butter (We use Trader Joes)

Top with dairy free yogurt. I used Kite Hill Greek Almond Yogurt. Place it in the fridge. In the morning drizzle with raw honey on top and add such fresh fruit like I did with the bananas.

You can get really creative and top them with all kind of yummy options.

Have you made overnight oats? What toppings do you like to use?

Helping you to be a good steward of your health,

Marie Brock, HHC

How to Build a Smoothie

                    

Do you struggle with getting enough veggies in yourself or your family? A simple way to help your body get the veggies in for the day are smoothies. Maybe during the cold weather you weren't interested in smoothies, well now is great time to start them! 

The fiber and nutrients in the smoothie each day will give you energy and vitality! Since the blender breaks everything down, that makes a smoothie a perfect first daily meal since it's easy on the digestive tract. It's fast and easy to put together if you are just running out the door as well!

The important part is knowing how to build your smoothie. You need a few factors to be aware of:

1) Nutrition: you'll want a good selection of veggies and fruit; more veggies than fruit, especially leafy greens; that's the bonus of a smoothie, getting all of those nutrients in easily; 2-3 handfuls of leafy greens; also rotate your greens in your smoothies for optimal nutrition, that's really important. Too much of a good thing can turn bad, think wide variety.

Do not limit yourself. Try all different fruits and veggies in your smoothie. Keep in mind some are better cooked a bit first. Use fresh and frozen.

For leafy greens try: kale, baby spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, Swiss Chard, bok choy, or lettuce. Always buy your greens organic, they are heavily sprayed with toxic herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides.

Have some fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro in the fridge, throw them in there! Herbs are super cleansing and good for you! 

To sneak in even extra vitamins and minerals, you can try superfood powders. These include a multitude of dried greens like kale or broccoli, as well as foods like Camu Camu, goji berries, and often probiotics and enzymes too, all good for digestive health. Make sure it's certified gluten free if you are sensitive. Do NOT do superfood powders if you are allergic to grasses. There's usually quite a bit of them in there, so do avoid them if that is the case for you. I really like Healthforce Nutritionals Vitamineral Green, Ormus Greens, and Green Smoothie Girl. 

I add 1-2 tbsps of organic unrefined coconut oil in mine for healthy fat, detoxification, and fat burning. 

2) Taste: understanding what flavors compliment each other is helpful; Everyones tastes are different though. 

Know berries are great for flavor, but not sweetness. Tropical fruit like bananas, mango, and pineapple have more natural sugar, and it doesn't take much of those. 

I also like dates, a little raw organic local honey, and organic liquid stevia. Go for fruit to sweeten though when possible for the fiber. Fiber slows down that sugar release in the body. 

It's also fun to include other items for flavor like organic raw cacao (raw chocolate powder), organic ground cinnamon, ginger root or organic ground ginger, organic ground cardamom, or organic ground pumpkin spice. 

3) Texture: So most people want their smoothie a little creamy. Good add ins are bananas, avocado, nut butters, chia seeds (awesome nutritional bonus for fiber, calcium, and omega 3 fatty acids), whole organic coconut milk, whole organic coconut cream, and fresh coconut meat/flesh.

4) Liquid Base: You can really get creative here, but a liquid is definitely needed for all to move in the blender. My favorite is water because it's always there and it's inexpensive. 

You can also use milk, dairy based or not. Keep in mind store bought non-dairy milks have a lot of yucky additives unless they are homemade. I will use whole, organic store bought coconut milk by Native Forest. Whole Foods has it, but you can buy it cheaper here. 

If you go for a dairy based milk choose raw, grass fed if you can, and if not, grass fed, whole fat, only pasteurized (never homogenized and ultra pasteurized. Read why here.) You can also use organic, raw coconut water, or even herbal tea. 

5) Protein: So unless you are a wizard at combining just the right amounts of amino acids with your fruits and veggies, you'll need to add a protein if this is a meal replacement. 

My three favorite protein choices are hemp seeds, grass fed gelatin + raw almond butter, and Green Smoothie Girl Protein Powder. 

I love my Green Smoothie Girl Protein Powder because it's USDA organic, gluten free, sugar free, soy free, vegan, Paleo friendly, and raw. So it's completely junk free and only has 3 ingredients: pea protein, hemp protein, and Maca root! You can get it here.

6) Blenders: Well the most important thing is that you have one! I have a Vitamix and I love it. You'll never buy another blender again. A Vitamix is in a class called high speed blenders. All parts, labor, and customer service are sourced in the USA, if that kinda thing matters to you.

No, a Ninja or even a NutriBullet are not high speed blenders, they are good choices, but not high speed, no matter what anyone tells you. 

Another high speed blender is the Blendtec. My close friends have one and love it. 

Just make sure you have a blender. The biggest difference is with smoothies on a regular basis, you may burn out your regular blender. 

Hope that simplifies things for you and doesn't complicate them. Just throw stuff in the blender, experiment, and have fun! So proud of you for trying to eat well!

Helping you to be a good steward of your health! ~Marie A. Ligorria, HHC

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