Smoothie Through Your Day

As you all know, yesterday, I was feeling really under the weather. I got myself well by lots of rest, liquids, and prayers!

One of the liquids I had: lots of smoothie!

I figured I should get as much easily digestible, hydrating liquids through my body as I could. So, smoothie it was!

In my smoothie:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup mixed berries
• 1 apple
• 2 cups spinach (will talk more on this below)
• 1/2 cup apple juice (organic)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (original)
• 1 tbsp. chia seeds
• 1 tbsp. raw cacao

Cacao from Lassens, chia seeds from Trader Joes. Note: I actually would buy my chia seeds from Lassens next time. I think you get much more for your money. The Bob’s Red Mill brand lasts forever!

Here’s a little on the goodness of each:

Chia Seeds

• Omega-3
• Dietary fiber
  • Seriously good fiber! Think of fiber as a broom for your intestines. This is super essential for good health
• Protein
• Omega-6

• More on chia seeds here!

Raw Cacao

• Flavanols
  • According to eHow.com, “According to a study by the American College of Cardiology and quoted in Sciencedaily.com, flavanols increase nitric oxide in blood of smokers and seems to reverse smoking related damage to blood vessels. In a Dutch study quoted by UABHealth.org, flavanols lowered blood pressure and reduced the chance of heart disease.”
• Polyphenols
  • These work to prevent cellular damage in the body, and are said to play an huge role in achieving optimal health and preventing disease (eHow.com)
• High in antioxidants
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Fiber
• Mayan superfood!
• Raw
• Vegan
• Organic
• 0g Sugar (yes, in chocolate!)

Okay, now for the spinach talk! See how much I put in there? There is probably equal parts everything else : spinach

I’ve been putting spinach in my smoothies for quite a while, so I can tolerate a lot. If you’re a “beginner” at putting spinach in your smoothies, or have never done it before, I would ease into it. Not that you can taste it too much, but I wouldn’t want someone putting 2 cups of spinach in their smoothie for the first time, and get totally turned off by it! Start with a few leaves. The next day, add a couple more. The next day, a few more. Ease into it so that you can gradually get to a good solid amount for you.

I love adding spinach to my smoothies because I know I’m getting super good nutrition from it!

About spinach

• Spinach is thought to help prevent and fight cancer, build strong bones, promote gastrointestinal health and discourage heart attacks, even if you already have cardiovascular issues. It is also a great source of vitamins C and K and is a documented anti-inflammatory agent, which means that it can sooth infected and inflamed parts of your body, like stomach ulcers. Some scientists even suspect that these properties help discourage age-related mental issues like Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia as well as more simple memory loss over time.

Yes, I drank two of these yesterday. And yes, I feel better today! I also allowed my body to rest. I took a nap, skipped the coffee (when you’re sick, you should be letting your body rest, not downing caffeine), and drank Emergen-C, high antioxidant smoothies, hot water with lemon, and took echinacea

I made this smoothie again this morning, and will be sipping on it throughout the afternoon. Yay to health, and knowing about the foods that you put into your body!

By the way, the rest of the smoothie is still in the blender, sittin’ pretty in the fridge. It saves well. Whenever you want more, just go grab another glad. This smoothie will probably make 3-4 glasses for me.

Another note, breakfast this morning was a bowl of pumpkin overnight oats, just like yesterday. Except this morning I couldn’t finish it. Still delicious though! And today I used maple/agave syrup instead of brown sugar. I like that agave doesn’t spike your blood sugar like regular sugar does.

Have a great day everyone!

Did you like reading the bit of info on the foods? Should I continue this little habit? 🙂