Posts Tagged ‘smoothie’

Bananacavo Energy Smoothie

March 24th, 2010

Let’s say you’re an athlete. You’re not a professional by any means, but you get out there a few times a week and really build up a sweat. Maybe you run, maybe you play a team sport, or maybe you just hit the weights and give your muscles a good thrashing.

Regardless, you come home happy but tired. You’ve left it all out on the court or the path or the gym floor, and you have no energy left. You know you should eat something, but man, it’s tempting to just flop down in the chair and relax. Who wants to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen preparing a tasty snack at that point?

So, maybe you reach for one of those chocolate bars that tosses a bit of protein into the mix and calls itself an “energy bar”. Sure, you get some fuel for your system, and it’s easy, but is it really what you want to put into your body? What if I told you there was a simple and easy snack that would take less than three minutes to prepare, but would give you an amazing amount of energy, help repair those overworked muscles, and taste great to boot?

That, my friends, is the beauty of the Bananacavo Energy Smoothie. Not only does it have a great name, it has a taste to match, and benefits beyond your expectations.

First of all, let’s go through the ingredients…

First, you have bananas. If you have seen a marathon or even run in one, you know that pretty much the only solid food they hand out at the water stations are bananas. Not only are they nice and mushy (so very easy to eat), but they are full of all sorts of things that a hard-working runner needs – right now. There is a ton of potassium in bananas, and potassium goes straight to your poor muscles, helping to break down the pockets of lactic acid that build up in your overworked muscles.

That lactic acid is what brings the pain, so bananas are like aspirin for your legs on a long run, and you’ll be thankful for it later. But on top of that, bananas contain natural sugars that help to fuel your body right now, rather than later. The mushy texture means that those sugars are digested quicker, and are available to your body faster. All good things, when you’re working that hard.

The other main ingredient in this smoothie is avocado. This fleshy green fruit might not be your first choice to pair with bananas, but the fats contained within are truly beneficial to the hard working body. These healthy fats are essential to maintaining proper health, and besides, they taste great.

To make the Bananacado Energy Smoothie, combine a whole, peeled banana with a half of the flesh of an average sized avocado in a blender. To complete the mix, add in a cup of cold water, the juice of half of an orange, a pinch of salt and a handful of previously soaked and softened almonds. Blend until smooth, and consume immediately.

I guarantee you, you’ve never tasted anything like this before, and once you go Bananacado, you’ll never go back.

Raw Food Smoothie Recipes

March 23rd, 2010

iStock_000003025292SmallIf 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.

Energy Boosting Raw Foods

March 18th, 2010

When people think about foods that can give them a boost of energy, they don’t often think about non-processed and uncooked foods. You can blame the media if you like – there are no ads out there on television telling you about the benefits of blueberries, but there are plenty of advertisements to tell you about the newest blueberry-flavored energy drinks, with all the nutrients and benefits of real blueberries in every bottle.

Don’t you sometimes stop to wonder – if the ingredients are so good, why don’t we just skip all the other stuff, and eat the good stuff, without all the sugar and extra stuff that we don’t need? Here are three of the most heavily advertised energy-boosting items of the day, and a raw food alternative that will give you the same benefits, but with the added bonus of nothing else added after the fact.

Number one on most people’s stimulant list is the simple cup of coffee. Despite all the negatives associated with caffeine, many people still flock to this hot beverage every morning. Some studies have shown that the effects of caffeine may be more psychosomatic than actual, and we may just believe that coffee works, which makes caffeine seem all the more potent.

But if you want to avoid the boiling bean juice, and still want to get that jolt when you wake up, consider giving your body a burst of cold instead of hot. A glass of water can have the same invigorating effect as caffeine, without the chemicals, and it’s ready to serve much quicker. But don’t let that be your whole breakfast. Caffeine is to the body as nitrous oxide (or NOS) is to a race car’s engine: it gives a quick hit of power that burns out almost immediately and it can do real damage to the system. Instead, give your body a tank full of good fuel, and you’ll drive all day.

Another go-to food item for people looking for extra energy is that thinly disguised chocolate bar that they call an “energy bar”. Again, most of the energy comes from refined and processed sugars – hardly good fuel, but it does burn quick and bright. Instead of these heavy hitters, consider a handful of raw almonds. These nuts are just as portable as that chocolate bar, and will give you the calories your body needs to burn in order to operate, as well as some essential fats to help your body function.

The third item on this list resides on the ever-growing shelf of energy drinks. These caffeinated, sugar-enriched, chemical concoctions are full of all sorts of powerful but unhealthy additives, and in the long run, you are far better off going with a natural “energy drink” – the fresh fruit smoothie. They taste a thousand times better, give you much needed vitamins, and some natural sugars to burn in your engine. And compared to the high prices on the shelves, a smoothie will cost you pennies on the energy drink dollar.

Bouncing Back From a Weekend of Binge Eating

March 1st, 2010

If you were like me and millions of other people around the world, you may have been watching the Canada-USA Olympic gold medal hockey game yesterday.

For some reason, these big sporting events don’t bring out the best in our dietary habits. Whether it be the olympics, the super bowl, the world cup final, or any other big sporting event, we tend to let go and eat whatever we want.

You know…

The beer, the pizza, the wings, and on and on.

Well, I didn’t really have all of that this past weekend – aside from the pizza – but if you have ever found yourself in a similar position where you’ve just totally let yourself go with your healthy eating, then I’ve got one thing to say…

Move on!

Don’ dwell on the fact that you didn’t eat as “perfectly” as you’d like. Just remember that today is a new day and that means a fresh start.

You can’t change what happened yesterday but you can change what you put in your mouth today.

So don’t worry about being perfect all the time. It’s just not possible. Do your best in any given situation and if you “fall down” then just get right back up and move on.

It’s all about momentum so the goal is to put an end to the “bad” momentum (ie. unhealthy or binge eating) and kick-start your new day with a healthy smoothie or juice or something else that will revitalize your body.

Once you do so, you’ll have gotten the ball rolling in the right direction and be on track for a healthier day!

If you need help, then click on the banner below to grab a copy of my Eating for Energy system….

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Eating for Energy Reviews

January 28th, 2010

book_cover_webHere are 5 recent Eating for Energy reviews from some of our happy readers…

“Yuri, your book really helped me understand WHY I was doing some of what I had decided to do. That made it a lot easier to follow through! Also, I like the balance of your advice, including that one doesn’t have to follow 100% of the diet 100% of the time. Balance is very important, imo!

Thanks so much for your help Yuri!”

- Pamela Houck

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“The numerous healthy and delicious recipies in Eating for Energy have greatly helped me get in better shape. I exercise often, but found it difficult to find enough healthy food options to add to my diet until I consulted Eating for Energy. Also, learning about digestive enzymes and probiotics was helpful. I never used to take digestive enzymes or probiotics, but now I take probiotics every night and digestive enzymes after heavy meals. I’ve noticed a great improvement in my digestion and consistency in my bowel movements. The smoothie recipies are my favorite part of the book. I found that smoothies are the best way for me to incorporate vegetables into my diet, which I rarely used to do. Thanks for all the great information Yuri.”

- Nehal Shah

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“One thing I really love is to see you have organized the 12 weeks meal plans for someone like me who want to change to eat raw food with lot of energy….this made me very happy customer because I had challenge in putting the meals together for each week. This is a good starting basic foundation for me to develop a way of Eating for Energy until I learn to do on my own meal plan. I love to see the layout for each week meals that save me time to organize them…. and I love the way the food taste that make my body happy especially Mariana Sauce for Zucchini as pasta. The things you have written made perfect sense about the relationship with food and body actually save my time to figure out in term of which food to buy healthy food. Thank you Yuri! You know your stuff! : )

- Robyn Brooks

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“Love the recipies , still working towards my 80 percent raw diet, but already over all big improvement, even my family notice the leaness of my body. Noticable skin approvement, not bad for a 48 yr old. Thumbs up.”

- Sam Farmer

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“Hi Yuri, the facts speak for themselves! Since purchasing Eating for Energy less than 2 months ago I have subscribed to your program and not only lost 5 kgs but I am now at my lowest weight in 20 years and have the energy levels of a 20 yo!! (I’m 41).

The great thing about Eating for Energy is that the recipes are so simple and incredibly tasty – I certainly don’t feel like I am missing out on any food experiences. In fact, I am appreciating the flavours in my food more than ever!

I’d always known which foods I should be eating more of but you’ve made it easy for me to finally do it through the variety of recipes and food ideas in your book.

Thank you so much Yuri – my family and I feel like we owe you so much! Best regards,”

- Geraint Gearon
Bangkok, Thailand

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