Smoothies 101: A Fresh Start to the Day

Wow! This is my very first blog entry. So, in honor of new beginnings, I thought I'd share with you the wonderfully delicious way I begin my day--smoothies. I can live on smoothies! They are a great way for me to get a lot of my nutrients for the day and receive a boost of energy to keep on going. They take less than 5 minutes to make and I'm not joking! When I used to walk to work each day, I was always running behind schedule...but I definitely had 5 mins to make my morning elixir! So here are the basics that I use most every time:

• Base Fruit (i like to use bananas or mangoes for a creamy base)
• Frozen Fruit (i like to use blueberries since they are super high in anti-oxidants)
• Liquid (you can use juice, soy or rice milk, or even water)
• Flax Seeds (they are a great source of omega 3 fatty acids essential for brain and other bodily functions)
• Greens (this is optional but I like to put a big handful of spinach because you can hardly taste the "green" flavor, and you get so many added benefits from this powerhouse food)
• Nutritional Boost (this is optional as well...you can use green powders or vitamin powers to add an extra "umph!")

Looks complicated? No way! Once you get the hang of it, it only takes minutes. Here is a very very basic recipe I have taught in past cooking classes. Blueberry Smoothie 1 banana (base) 1/2c frozen blueberries 1 cup (approx) soy milk 1 Tbsp flax seeds (optional) That's it! Some of you might be thinking, "She's crazy! I can't make that in 5 minutes!" Go ahead try it...and tell me what you think. Once you get the hang of this, you can begin to add other fruits, juices etc. But that's for another day... Now regarding where to get some of the other ingredients. If you live near a Trader Joe's (go ahead google it, and come right back) you can get lots of cheap frozen organic fruit. I have not found better prices than Trader Joe's. If you don't have one nearby, then stock up on frozen fruit from your local grocery store. I used to live near a grocery store which would have big sales on frozen fruit every few months. I filled my whole cart with frozen blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and peaches. I am sure that everyone around me thought I was crazy, but hey, that's the price you've gotta pay sometimes! You can also get soy milk from your local grocery store's dairy section. Soy milk can take some getting used to, but I fell in love with it the first day I tried it. (I cradled my first box of Eden Soy on the bus home from high school 15 years ago!...I couldn't stop reading the packaging...no honestly this is true!...I know I'm a dork! ) So, try it with an open mind. Silk soy milk, is the most popular brand out there, but try some different brands until you find the one you love. (it's just like buying any brand of cereal, some you hate and some you love) The other ingredients like flax seeds and nutritional powders can be found most grocery stores, but I usually get mine at Whole Foods. Contact me if you want a list of the products I use. Oh, and you'll of course need a blender. Now, you can buy one from Target for $20, but I suggest investing in a much better quality blender. I've gone through many cheap blenders that have burnt out on me. I don't want that to happen to you. I'm not going to scare you away by telling you how much I spent on my new blender, but I'll definitely talk about it more in an advanced smoothie making post. My last piece of advice is: be creative! You can not go wrong with smoothies...trust me on this one! My husband makes smoothies all the time for midday snacks...and he learned pretty quickly how to get good it. I'll stop writing now so that you can run out and get your ingredients for your morning smoothie. Please tell me how it goes. I'd love to know! Oh and one more thing (I can go on and on about this stuff!) here is a video of Dr. Gregor making a flax smoothie and explaining the medical benefits of some of the ingredients I've recommended. Happy drinking to y'all!