I hope that the new year has so far been good to all of you who are working towards a better health and well-being. Through this blog, perhaps I can help you by suggesting a few simple food ideas to motivate you towards reaching your goals.
For many of us, ingesting our daily recommended value of fruits and vegetables is seemingly difficult because of the time constraints that are imposed by our busy lifestyles. Without having to ingest all sorts of vitamins tablets and supplements, an easy solution to the problem is to routinely of make a homemade fruit shake in the morning. It is a great and light breakfast that will provide you with basic sugars to meet your energy requirements early on in the day without overburdening your digestive system. The vitamins and enzymes will be better assimilated by your body as well.
Here are a few recipes to get you started...
With a blender and a few different kinds of fruit on hand, you can have your shake ready in just a few minutes. It is up to you to be creative and vary according to the mood of the day by trying new mixtures. Of course you may also replace an afternoon snack with one of these...try it out and discover how well will feel afterwards!
Here are a few recipes to get you started...
Anti-oxydant shake:
1/4 cup of cranberries
1/4 cup of organic mixed or each berries: raspberries, cherry, blueberries
1/2 cup unpasteurised organic apple cider (no sugar added)
1 banana (if you are concerned about the amount of calories you can always split it in half)
*Optional: 1 teaspoon of matcha green tea. I also personally add the remanding leaves of my green or Oolong tea to ingest the non water soluble properties
Purchase tip: Check your grocery stores around Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter time (technically, the times when people make cranberry sauce) for fresh cranberries. Buy a large quantity as you will be able to freeze them for up to a year and add them to your shakes all year long. Cranberries are not only a great source of anti-oxidants but they also contain anti-bacterial properties that can prevent urinary tract infections.
Protein shake:
1 banana
1/2 cup Almond or Organic soy beverage
1/4 cup strawberries
A few spoonful of hemp seeds or chia seeds
1 tablespoon of all natural nut butter
Chocolate shake
You can add the cocoa to the recipe above or follow this similar recipe:
1 banana
1 tablespoon of fair trade raw cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of all natural nut butter
1/2 cup Almond or Organic soy beverage.
2-3 dates
*Optional: Chia seeds
*For an additional spicy kick, try adding a small piece of ginger - which is a digestive aid
Green shake
A delicious way to eat your greens ! You will truly forget this had any vegetables in it thanks to the sweet taste of mango and banana.
Parsley is known for purifying the blood.
1 banana
1/2 cup Mango juice
1/2 cup of baby spinach
A hand full of fresh parsley
1 string of Kale, celery and/or cucumber
*Optional: 1 small carrot (cutting or grating the carrot prior to will make it easier to blend)
Gut friendly
If you do have trouble staying regular, this shake contains fiber laden ingredients.
2-3 Dried prunes
1/4 cup of raspberries
1 piece of aloe
1/2 cup unpasteurised organic apple cider
1 banana
*Optional: Ground flax seeds
Put it in a bottle and go!
Please remember:
If your goal is to get leaner, be careful however not to top off fruits after fruits into your blender as this can easily cause you to load up on the calories. Remember that too much of a good thing can be bad, this rule applies even for fruits !
If your goal is to get leaner, be careful however not to top off fruits after fruits into your blender as this can easily cause you to load up on the calories. Remember that too much of a good thing can be bad, this rule applies even for fruits !
Likewise, beware of the quantity of juice that you put into your shake. Have you ever pressed an orange? If so, you may have noticed that a single one will give you no more than 1/2 cup of juice. Therefore, a full glass of juice contains quite a bit of oranges, way more than your body would ingest by eating raw fruit alone. Not to mention that, many juices have added sugar which we would all be wise to stay away from !
By making the ingestion of fruit shakes a regular habit, you can be certain that it will contribute to the improvement of your health. I hope that you will enjoy experimenting with your own recipes !
