Tag: healthy smoothies
Healthy Smoothies with Goji Berries
January 28, 2015
A year or so ago I learned of a new berry called goji berries. Apparently they are poplular in Chinese medicine and considered to be a fruit of longevity. These little dried berries are a real superfood that can aid the immune system.
Blueberry Smoothie with Goji berries
The little bright red dried berries – pictured in the photo above – can be eaten by themselves, kind of like dried cranberries, or you can add them to other foods like a smoothie. That is how I prefer to have my goji berries – in a refreshing fruit smoothie.
The other superfood ingredient I have recently rediscovered and am using in my smoothies is chia seed gel. Chia seed gel is really simple to make. To make the gel you take about 2 Tbls of chia seeds or I use Spectrums ground chia seeds and then add about 3/4 to 1 cup of filtered water and stir, allow it to sit for 20 to 30 minutes and stir again – it should be a gel. I put mine in a mason jar and label it and date it – I usually use it within a week in my smoothies or even yogurt or oatmeal. I like adding this gel to my smoothies to thicken them a little and to provide extra fiber and antioxidants plus omega-3’s.
Today I am going to share a couple of my recent smoothie creations using goji berries and chia gel. To make these smoothies it is best to have a high speed, good quality blender, like a Ninja blender which is what I use.
The first one is Blueberry Goji – this one is super healthy with the blueberries and rhubarb plus the goji berries and the chia gel. This is great for breakfast or for a snack.
The other smoothie I recently made and love the taste of is Peaches n Cream Smoothie. This one is also great for breakfast or a snack – the frozen peaches make it really creamy along with the peaches n cream greek yogurt.
What kinds of smoothies do you like to make? Let me know in the comments – I am always looking for new smoothies to try.
Have a great day!
-Kimberlee
Green Smoothie Challenge January 2014
January 14, 2014
This is day fourteen of my green smoothie challenge for January. I believe I mentioned in one of my fitness posts a couple of weeks ago how I was participating in a challenge with my green smoothie group on facebook. The challenge is to have at least one green smoothie per day the whole month of January. I actually started mine on the 31st of December so I guess today would be my fifteenth day.
I will say that since we are now about half way through the challenge I am in a habit of having a green smoothie every morning. The green smoothies have not always been good – as I have tried out some of my own creative recipes and some were a success and others not so great. There was one I made with a cooked beet that looked so pretty and I just knew it was going to be awesome but it was hard to get that one down. It didn’t taste as good as it looked. It was a very large smoothie, too, and I was able to choke down about half and dumped the rest. I decided to cross that recipe off my list.
One of the recipes I created is very good. The smoothie is a pretty green color and it has a pleasant taste to it. I am calling it Tropical Green Smoothie. Here is the recipe:
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Another recipe that is sort of a stand by for me is to just blend the following ingredients for a simple green smoothie:
- handful of spinach
- 1 Tblsp peanut butter
- 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
- 1 Tblsp Spectrum Decadent Blend (optional)
- 3/4 c. regular almond milk
- 1/2 c. crushed ice
The recipe above is one I usually have at least once or twice a week. Adding the greens makes it a little more healthy but it does not have a pretty color – it tastes good to me though. Like a peanut butter and chocolate smoothie.
The benefits of having a green smoothie every day are noticeable to me. I seem to have more energy, brighter eyes and better skin tone. These are just some of the physical benefits I have noticed. I know that it is also doing great things internally as well.
What healthy changes are you trying to make this new year? Please click on Leave a Reply and tell me about them.
Have a great day!
Kimberlee