My Morning Smoothie

Some years back, while doing some health research on the benefits of Zeaxanthin and Lutien, I was somewhat amused to find so many “cure-all” type advertisements for health supplements. Distracted by the many so-called “authorities” on health and nutrition, it seemed as if each promoter had the secret to optimum health… well, that is if you bought a bottle of their product to ingest each day. One thing they all seemed to have in common was that the health supplement was made out of a rare fruit (one I never heard of) that grew only in remote regions on our planet… and only when the sun shown on it a certain way… well, you get where I am coming from.

Deciding to take a more practical approach to my quest for keeping myself healthy as I skate through life, I started researching nutrients in foods and food preparation. It just seems that if one can incorporate good nutrition into a daily routine it would go a long way towards laying groundwork for a healthy life. Enough servings of fresh fruits and vegetables seem to be the thing my diet is lacking. I could bet that for most of us there is a lot of room for improvement in this department.

The introduction of my morning smoothie ritual became sort of a spiraling thought process, a means to incorporate more uncooked fruits and vegetables into my daily diet. My Smoothies became more of a practice than a recipe; always relying on whatever the fruit basket offered that needed using that particular day. Since fresh fruit is not always available, I came to rely on my freezer and I started what I now call a “smoothie bin.”

Green Smoothies have become ever so popular for concentrating the diet with nutrient rich super foods. Tasting my Brother’s own recipe (chock full of parsley, celery and tons of fresh ginger) left me not really wanting to start each day off in this manner, a little too much “kick” for my own gently waking from sleep hours. However, adding some spinach to my Berry Smoothie, I found there really was not difference to the taste!

 I quickly learned that fresh sliced carrots added to my smoothie bin would easily liquefy when previously frozen and that they actually add some sweetness to my recipe! Kale and Spinach and Beet Greens started finding their way into my smoothie bin… grapes and bits of oranges, etc… When I slice the cauliflower for grilling and bits of little flowerets fall off, you guessed it, into my smoothie bin they go.

The ingredients in my smoothies evolve along with the food choices that are stored in my smoothie bin. Every morning, into the blender goes fresh fruit that is sitting in my fruit basket, frozen ingredients from my smoothie bin, milk (almond milk is my fav!) and a little fruit juice or yogurt. I find no need to add sweeteners, using this method, but would recommend a teaspoon of pure Maple Syrup to those who do.

Exploring different methods and recipes brings so many more ideas to what I choose to eat and how my choices affect my health and daily performance. Please add your own ideas and recipes in the comments section of this post … it is a process, and a journey we are all on, despite our different demographics!

Ingredients from my frozen smoothie bin before blending