Hi Everyone,
I’m off on vacation for the next couple of weeks so no blog posts during my away time. But to let you know that I am ALWAYS thinking of you here is a quick yummy recipe for you to try while I am away.
Enjoy!
A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of a Great Smoothie (and I’ll Give You One to Try)
Let’s chat about smoothies shall we. Homemade smoothies can be an awesome addition to your diet as they give you the opportunity to add so many nutritious elements to your liquid meal. Now I did say homemade and this is for the simple fact that you as the creator will know exactly what has gone in to your creation. You must be careful of many store bought smoothies as they can be loaded with sugar coming at you in forms such as flavoured yogurts and fruit juices. This of course is to boost the taste.
When you make your own smoothie take the opportunity to add leafy greens such as kale or spinach, super foods such as Maca or goji berries and nuts and seeds such as chia, hemp and almonds. Doing this greatly adds to your fibre intake, your good fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates.
To get you started on the smoothie path I want to offer up to you my guide for a great smoothie:
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Pick Your Fruit
- Berries (Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries)
- Pineapple
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Pick Your Liquid
- Water
- Coconut Water
- Coconut Water Kefir
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk
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Pick Your Fat
- Coconut oil
- Nut butter
- Avocado
- Full fat coconut milk
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Choose Your Greens
- Spinach
- Kale or baby kale
- Swiss Chard (stems remove)
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Add your nutrient boosters
- Whey protein
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Hemp Hearts
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Choose a dynamic herb
- Ginger
- Turmeric
So now let’s load up your blender for optimal blending. Yes this does matter! Loading up your blender in the following order helps out your machine. It minimizes the pocket of air around the blade which would impede the food from being pulled back over it. Start with your liquids, then add your softer items like bananas, nut butters and leafy greens. Finally add your hard ingredients such as frozen berries, ice etc.
Be creative with your blends. I always recommend that my novice smoothiers keep a recipe journal of their ingredients to be able to drill down to what additions they like and dislike.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to your smoothie as long as you are incorporating good quality whole foods in your recipes.
Click on the recipe card for you free smoothie recipe!
What is a Low FODMAP Diet? Find out here and grab some FREE Low FODMAP Smoothie Recipes
The FODMAP diet is used to help alleviate gastro intestinal symptoms such as gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. The diet was developed at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These are all types of carbohydrate molecules that some people have trouble digesting and can cause the symptoms mentioned above. So high FODMAP foods are removed from the diet to see if they help alleviate these symptoms. What is almost counter intuitive though is that many of the offending foods, those high in FODMAPs, are healthy foods such as onions, garlic, asparagus, cauliflower and celery.
If symptoms are alleviated while on this diet the question becomes, why can’t these foods be digested and absorbed? One reason is the lack of enough good gut bacteria. So if you are following the FODMAP diet, it is also very important to improve your gut health as the ultimate goal is to be able to eat the high FODMAP foods with no distress. Many high FODMAP foods are prebiotic foods which are foods that feed our good gut bacteria. They are removed however to see if symptoms are alleviated. But there are many prebiotic foods that are allowed on the diet. While wheat is to be avoided, grains such as corn, brown rice and oats are allowed, as are potatoes and small amounts of corn. These contain resistant starch, an important prebiotic.
It is important to remember that the only reason to avoid these foods is to see if it helps you with symptoms. Follow the plan while working on your gut health. You may need to include specific supplements as well. When you feel better, try adding a food that you have been avoiding back in to your diet and see if it bothers you. If it doesn’t, then it does not need to be avoided any more. Continue in this manner with all of the foods that you have eliminated adding them back one at a time with several days in between.
To get you started with the low FODMAP diet I have a gift of health for you.
Click HERE or on the picture below to grab your FREE Low FODMAP Smoothie recipes.
Spotlight on Pineapple…With a Quick and Easy Recipe
Craving a tropical fruit on a hot sunny day? What could be better than a cool slice of sweet pineapple?!! Pineapples have an interesting appearance with their spiky tops and thick skin but underneath that intimidating demeanour lies a sweet, refreshing offering full of healthy goodness. The many benefits of pineapples include reducing inflammation, aiding digestion, improving eye health and boosting immunity and blood circulation. Pineapples are loaded with vitamin C and manganese and are a good source of dietary fibre. Pineapples are composed of many flowers whose individual fruitlets fuse together around a central core giving them their very unique appearance.
One of the challenges in pineapple world is figuring out which ones are ripe and which ones need more time to perfect their goodness. Here are 3 solid ways to help you choose the perfect one:
- Look at it. A delicious pineapple should look fresh, firm and not have any mould in its crevices. A ripe pineapple’s colour can be greenish or yellowish
- Pull out a green spike. It should give you a bit of resistance
- Smell it. The best place to do this is by its butt. It should have a sweet smell. If there is no sweetness to its smell at all it’s probably not good to go
Although you can find pineapple in the stores already in chunks and slices, talking the time to cut it up yourself will help to preserve more of its freshness. It’s really not that hard to do. First, using a sharp knife, cut off the spikey top. Then trim the butt so that it can stand up. Trim down the sides of the pineapple removing all of its skin. At this point the choice is yours on the type of cut. Rings or chunks. The tougher core in the middle is completely edible but not as tender as the rest.
Fresh is best but if you are looking for another way to eat it I have included a quick broiled pineapple recipe that is a great complement to many dishes.
Just click the menu icon for your recipe.
Enjoy!
Broiled Pineapple with Cinnamon
Spotlight on Snap Peas and a Stir Fry Recipe to Use Them In
Tis the season for Snap Peas. Sometimes called Sugar Snap Peas these crispy, crunchy and oh so tasty vegetables are an awesome snack that can go anywhere with you in a pinch.
Here’s the nutrient low down that these peas bring to the game:
- manganese
- vitamin A
- vitamin C
- vitamin K
- folate
- iron
And on top of this, Snap Peas contain about 4.5 grams of fibre and 5 grams of protein in each and every cup.
I have just enjoyed my first batch of the season. They were splendid raw but the next batch will go in to this yummy stir fry recipe below. Click on the recipe card to get your copy!
Pineapple Rainbow Stir Fry on Brown Rice Noodles