If the last smoothie that you had came from the mall, I have big news for you. While it might have been made fresh to order, and it might have contained all sorts of delicious fruits, it was probably about as healthy for you as a big, heaping bowl of chocolate ice cream – with whipped cream and sprinkles.
Yes, those smoothies from the fast-food joints are not smoothies that are going to do you any good. If you want a true smoothie – one made only from raw ingredients, and one that is going to make you feel great inside and out, then there is only one place to go – your own kitchen.
Not only will a smoothie made at home cost you pennies on the dollar as compared to what you can buy at the mall, you can control the contents in a way that will really benefit you.
For instance, let’s say it is early in the morning, but not early enough. You have five minutes to get out the door and head to work – no time to brew a cup of coffee, and certainly no time for a properly prepared breakfast.
You could stop somewhere and pick something up, but this recipe will take less time than even the most efficient drive-through window. All you need to do is toss a handful of leftover greens from last night’s dinner – be that spinach, kale or lettuce – into the blender, along with a cored apple, a drizzle of honey, and a cup of ice water. After less than a minute of blending, you have a great, healthy green smoothie that you can pour into a travel mug and enjoy on your way into work. It is nutritious, delicious, modifiable and incredibly easy. What more could you ask for in the morning?
But what if it’s not the morning? What if you’ve just come in from a hard workout, and you need to replace all the fuel you’ve just burned in your system?
You could grab a glass of pasteurized and otherwise dead milk, mixed with a dose of chocolate-flavored syrup. But why not replace the fuel with something of a higher octane than that?
Grab your trusty blender, and toss in a handful of your favorite fruits and berries, along with a few ice cubes, a cup of water and some nut milk – almond tends to work best for flavor, but go with whatever you prefer here. There are other milks available, including raw soy milks, so experiment a little, and find out what works best for you.
If you like a little more sweetness than the berries and fruit provides, add a bit of raw honey or agave syrup. Blend until smooth, and drink while it’s still cold. You’ll get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals, fluids to replace what you’ve sweated out, and some protein to help those tired muscles to recover. And you’ll do it without all the added processed sugar and the hard-to-process milk products that your regular smoothie stop will usually toss in.
Ahh, the humble salad. Long forced upon dieters as the only way to lose weight and sustain their good health, salads are usually sad affairs of roughly torn lettuce, topped with a few scant vegetables and drowned in a torrent of dressing.
“Dear Yuri,
