Powerhouse Smoothies

Powerhouse Almond Milk smoothie

Day one of the elimination diet went well, albeit with a few moments of lightheartedness and a foggy brain.  I drank more than a half gallon of water infused with fruit, mint and basil.  I weaned myself down to maybe a cup of coffee.  The first day's breakfast quinoa porridge was satisfying.  The pre-packed lunch I made was genius.  A roasted sweet potato with olive oil, salt and pepper; crispy roasted brussel sprouts, steamed broccoli and string beans.  For an extra jolt of protein I ate a handful of almonds.  Throughout the day I nibbled on gluten-free, rice and seed crackers (No sugar! No wheat! Low Sodium!), fruit salad, carrots and celery.  It was one of the first clean eating days I've had in years.


Today I started out with a half of a cup of coffee with a splash of almond milk.  I whizzed up a smoothie for today's breakfast, inspired by the ripening avocados I have - too many so I need to think of clever ways to eat them that are not on toast (sigh...toast!)  I've been drinking fruit and yogurt smoothies a lot lately.  It wasn't difficult to remove the yogurt and skim milk.  As a matter of fact, I couldn't' taste the difference.  Most days I toss in whatever frozen fruit I have on hand.  I froze a few bags of fresh New Jersey peaches last summer, so I'm enjoying those still.

Thank goodness for my Magic Bullet Blender.  Three years later and the thing is still going strong.
All the items were frozen: I packed in chopped peaches, chopped spinach, blueberries, half a ripe avocado and a smattering of golden flax seeds - for fiber mostly.  To this I added in half a cup of unsweetened almond milk.

You have to shake the mixture or stir it a few times to get it going and you may need to splash in more of the almond (or coconut) milk to get this blended.  Taste and adjust to your likening.  It may need a dash of agave syrup or a tablespoon of pure applebutter to balance the sweetness against the spinach tannin and the buttery avocado.  The flax seeds give this a nutty texture.

A well-made smoothie should be filling and not sugary.  I generally feel full until it's time for lunch and I don't feel a blood-sugar spike because I balance the fruit with proteins.  To speed the process of these, you can premake the fruit/veggie component and then add it the the blender with the milk to puree.  I find that having chopped frozen fruit works best - it keeps the drink cold and thick, more of a milkshake like drink than a puree.