Smoothies and Juicing basics

To preface this, I'll simply say that I'm not a doctor, nutritionalist or food expert, but I do pride myself on being able to tell fad from fact, diet from detox, and real info from internet hype. So take what what you want from these posts and keep in mind - you should not radically change your diet without consulting a professional. So for the first post I'll tell you all about what I have discovered. Smoothies are fantastic, they taste great and - if you mix the proper ingredients should give your body low calorie nutrition that is more easily digestible. I've been experimenting with making a variety of smoothies for a few months now, and here is my favourite recipe:

With the Blueberries added will be a more purpleish tone
than the pink tone shown above.  The Blueberries add an
element of antioxidants and blending or crushing them allows
our bodies to digest them and absorb their nutrients better
than whole blueberries.  Some fruits are more difficult to
digest than others, blueberries being one of them

- 2 cups of fresh strawberries
- 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries
- 2 bananas
- 2 tablespoons of pure honey
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional for flavour)
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- a dozen ice cubes crushed
- 1 cup of yogurt - any fruit flavour or plain
- 1 cup of water or fruit juice
- 1/4 teaspoon of ginger and same amount of cinnammon
- slices of lemon, lime or Kiwi.


Crush the ice first, then add honey, spices, vanilla, some fruit, all liquid, balance of fruit, yogurt. If you are using a blender, mix, add, mix, add until it is nice and smooth. Depending on your type of blender and it's power, you may need to add an additional 1/2 cup of water or juice. Blend well and serve. Garnish with a slice of lemon, lime or Kiwi. If you are all adults and it's party night, this goes great with a mix of vodka. No more than 3-4 oz. is enough for the entire mixture. Again, depending on your blender or smoothie maker you can adjust the quantities in the same proportions.

More recipes, smoothie products, and information can be found at: http://www.healthysmoothiesandjuicers.com