I Heart Wednesday - The Morning Smoothie

Well...it's 1:26 on Thursday morning, but I'm doing my best.

Each morning Havah and I enjoy a fruit smoothie. We try to make it as yummy as possible, but keep still keep it simple.

Starting your morning with fruit, even if it is just a piece of fruit means that you are filling your body with alcaline forming, vitamin rich food.

My smoothie is a bit different each morning. I keep several key things in the fridge to make it a success.

Frozen:

Mango

Pineapple

Left Over Bananas

Organic Peaches

Organic Berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, etc.)

Any ripe fruit that was about to go bad on the counter

100% juice (my personal preference is anything but apple or grape - they don't always taste or combine well with what I'm making)

Raw Almonds (usually soaked)

Any combination of two to all of the the above gets tossed into my vitamix and blended on high for about a minute. I use half juice and half water when I'm adding the liquid. Frozen fruit can often not be as sweet as you would expect because they flavor doesn't really come alive until things are at room temperature. A room temperature fruit smoothie just seems kind of gross. Adding the juice will increase the sweet flavor. Using half juice and half water means I'm not overloading myself with sugar that my body can't handle.

I always toss in a handful of raw, soaked almonds. This adds some protein and will help keep my blood sugar stable for hours to come. Raw almonds are the only alcaline forming nut. They also add a yogurt like taste to the smoothie.

The berries and peaches are organic because they have a very high pesticide residue even after washing them. Pesticides are there to ward off and kill bugs. Definitely not something that you want to put in your body on a regular basis. In past years I have not been such a stickler for organic fruit, but since we are consuming it daily and in high quantity it is becoming a higher priority. Honestly, when I use conventional berries Havah tends to keep a diaper rash and her skin isn't as soft.

I price hunt of frozen fruit as it can be expensive if you buy it all at Whole Foods. Here in KC I find the best prices are at Price Chopper, Costco and I get the organic stuff from our food cooperative or Whole Foods.

I could make this every morning, but at least once a week I feel the need to change things up.

Now for something completely different.

The Beloved Coconut Shake

1 young Thai coconut (sean likes his coconuts like his women...just ask him)

1/2 cup raw soaked almonds

2 T of natural sweetener (maple syrup, dates, honey or agave - risky i know)

1 T of vanilla extract (though sometimes I like more)

1/2 c ice

Open that young Thai coconut and pour in all the water - freezing the meat or adding a bit for some extra good fat. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. This makes the most amazing morning shake. Packed with tons of nutrition, good fat and electrolytes.

It is pretty easy to get creative with this. We often add:

orange zest (think cream sickle)

cinnamon

cacao - risky again!

coffee grounds

So enjoy your mornings! Make a great smoothie. It doesn't require much but a blender and a few minutes. There's no worrying about fruit going bad on your counter and your kids will love it.