Easy Medicinal Morning Smoothie
Photo by Jan Sedivy @unsplash
More than just breakfast…
…or breaking your fast, your morning smoothie can be a vitality powerhouse, packed with phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and gut-healthy supplements.
You can easily make it ahead of time and take a thermos to work, especially if you want to stretch your fast a little longer, for easy sipping later as you work at your desk or go about your morning.
Here’s another plus: you can dump in extra supplements to super-charge your smoothie! Do you have problems swallowing capsules? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve choked on my vitamins. I know, ironic, right? So now I open the capsules and pour the healing powders right into my smoothie mixture.
Voila! You’ve got an amazing start to your day!
You’ll need a powerful blender for your medicinal smoothie. I have a vintage Vitamix that’s still going strong - one of the best investments I ever made. Here are some more options for good quality blenders.
Ready to rock 'n roll
Basic Medicinal Smoothie Template
GREENS ~ 1 - 2 handfuls for your daily dose of vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients - choose dark green leafies like spinach, kale, or chard
BERRIES ~ a handful of blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries for powerful antioxidant anthocyanins
PROTEIN POWDER ~ 1 scoop or as directed on package - to keep blood glucose from spiking and aid in satiety. I use plain, unsweetened grass-fed whey protein.
COLLAGEN ~ 1 scoop as directed to support gut health, joint and muscle recovery, and beauty (hair, skin, and nails). I always add vitamin C powder with collagen to enhance its absorption and use by the body.
ORGANIC VIRGIN COCONUT OIL ~ about a tablespoon for taste, texture and a daily dose of skin and gut-healthy fatty acids
A squeeze of lemon and a few gratings of ginger root make all the flavours POP!
LIQUID ~ you can use any nut milk you like here, but read labels and watch for added hydrogenated fats and extra carbs. To avoid this problem, I use canned full-fat organic coconut milk - about 1/2 cup - then filtered water to thin as desired.
BLEND & ENJOY!
Note: You can easily make your smoothie into a smoothie bowl by adding less liquid and pulsing your blender to keep it chunky. Then you can top it with nuts or fruit slices, and eat it with a spoon!
Options for boosting your smoothie
GREEN SUPERFOOD powder such as matcha green tea powder, barley grass juice powder, chlorella or spirulina to support liver detoxification
FRUIT, but not too much, as it adds to carb load for the day. Try a few chunks of frozen pineapple or mango. Yum!
PREBIOTIC FIBER such as sliced green banana or plantain for gut health
EXTRA SUPPLEMENTS depending on what you feel you need that day, or what your nutritionist or health care provider has recommended. Some of my fav’s are glutathione, glucosamine, magnesium, extra B vitamins, turmeric (always with black pepper), Reishi mushroom powder, and probiotics. Simply twist the capsules open and dump the contents into the blender. No more fear of choking!
Some days, you may be in the mood for a lighter, vegetable juice-type smoothie. In that case, use cucumber, celery, carrots, apples, beets, and herbs such as cilantro or parsley - whatever you have at hand - and leave out the coconut milk and add more water. Use avocado if you don’t have a banana on hand, or want to keep your smoothie less sweet and more green.
For all-important fiber, I have a slice of nut and seed bread with my smoothie, which I love for it’s denseness, flavour, and extra Omega-3 fatty acids. If you’d rather put fiber into your smoothie, just add chia, flax and/or hemp seeds to the mix.
Experiment and change things up often, so you get a range of micronutrients from a number of sources.
Keep it clean
Collagen powders are sourced from animals and marine life - be sure they are wild or pastured and grass-fed. Read labels so you’ll know you’re not adding toxins to your vitality smoothie.
Anything and everything you add should be UNSWEETENED.
Try to find organic ingredients, period. There’s no point in crafting a medicinal smoothie that’s filled with chemicals and pesticides.