We have been staying up late, and getting up even later this weekend. This means we end up eating brunch and dinner and then needing a snack later in the evening. When I looked at what we had eaten yesterday I noticed that our fruit intake was a little light so I made up a healthy smoothie after dinner.
There are normally wild blueberries in our freezer so I added those for their reported ability to induce cancer cell suicide. Banana was included for its sweetness, thick texture and potassium.
One issue that many Americans have is their ratio of sodium to potassium tends to be too high. Americans consume far more salt that potassium and this elevates blood pressure and is thought to cause chronic inflammation. To correct this imbalance we watch our salt intake and eat as many fruit and vegetables as possible.
Brazil nuts were added for selenium. Selenium is known to prevent and possibly reverse cancer so I like to make certain we consume 200-300mcg per day. For more detailed information on selenium see this post. Freshly ground flaxseed was added for its omega 3 fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory. Wheat germ was included for the polysterols, which has been linked to a reduction in cancer. Cinnamon was included to help the body process the fruit sugar. Since sugar feeds cancer if adding a little cinnamon to fruit helps the body to process the natural sugar more quickly why not add it to our smoothies. Here is the fruit smoothie I made last night.
Banana, Wild Blueberry and Citrus Smoothie
Serves 3 (a double for the hubby and a single for me)
Ingredients:
1 banana, peeled
1 cup wild blueberries, frozen
3 Brazil nuts
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoon golden flaxseed, freshly ground
2 tangerines, peeled and seeded
½ inch fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup water (or as much as your blender needs to process the ingredients until smooth)
Directions:
Place everything in your blender and process until smooth.
Nutritional Information:
Amount Per Serving
Calories - 161.15
Calories From Fat (35%) - 56.89
Total Fat - 6.68g
Saturated Fat - 1.16g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 6.65mg
Potassium - 233.43mg
Total Carbohydrates - 23.44g
Fiber - 4.22g
Sugar - 4.99g
Protein - 4.19g
Comments:
This smoothie tastes of fruit. The Vitamix blended the drink so the nut, wheat germ and flaxseed were completely incorporated into the drink. No specific fruit flavor dominated the smoothie. Each serving of this smoothie contains approximately 100mcg of selenium.
Unrelated Note:
Today is starting like the rest of the weekend with us moving slowing. Dan is still sleeping so I think this is going to be a lazy Sunday. Maybe that means I can get some of the backlog of recipes posted.
For now I am off to do a little yoga before the hubby wakes up. I will be back as soon as possible with a recipe or two. I hope you all have a wonderful day.
Dear Alicia, love ur Healthy smoothie. Everybody loves smoothies in our house. I mostly make banana and blueberry smoothie. But ur list of ingredients makes me try ur version. Also good luck with ur backlog of recipes. I too have so many in my draft folder waiting to see the light of day..Hoping I too can post a few b4 we go into 2010..oh well wishful thinking. Hoping you had a wonderful holiday as well. We had a great time with family and friends..
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to have to invest in a Vitamix, I feel like I'm abusing my blender.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever added chia seeds to your smoothies? they are a great superfood addition, I use it daily.
Dolly,
ReplyDeleteThanks! :) For years I made fruit only smoothies but then decided to try adding a little more nutrition and .... since you can't tell it is in there I just kept doing it. I like to take any opportunity to add nutrition where ever I can.
Sounds like your recipes are in better shape than mine. Mine are scribbled on papper so I have a bit of work to do before I can post them.
Our holiday has been fabulous so far. Glad you hear yours has been good too.
Alicia
Molly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I do use chia seeds and hemp seeds but tend to save them for other applications. Both the chia and hempseeds are much more expensive than the organic flax so that is partly why I use flax in my smoothies. We drink so many smoothies we go through a 24 ounce bag of flaxseeds each month.
We destroyed 5 reasonably good blenders (like KitchenAid and Cuisinart) in under 5 years before we broked down and bought the Vitamix. We have had it at least 4 years and it is showing no sign of wear. I use it multiple times everyday and frequently with frozen fruit. I highly recommend the Vitamix. We bought ours at Costco and saved about $100 by doing that.
Alicia
lazy days are nice!
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sometimes you just need a lazy weekend to recharge.
talk to you later,
Alicia
That is some color...beautiful.
ReplyDeleteRose,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love purple!
Alicia
This smoothie looks fantastic! I love all the fruit you used, and I love purple too:)
ReplyDeleteOraphan,
ReplyDeleteThanks! Purple is my favorite color, which the hubby claims is why I like purple smoothies. I do think the addition of wild blueberries makes a beautiful smoothie that is also healthy.
Alicia
I can't get motivated to make smoothies in the winter, which is too bad. I love them so much. Maybe next week I'll get back into the swing of things.
ReplyDeleteBrigid,
ReplyDeleteWe don't crave cold food in the winter either. I make smoothies only because I know they are good for us. Without smoothies we tend not to eat enough fruit during the winter.
Alicia