Living with Unexpected Life Challenges,

Create the Life You Want to Live

Join to get FREE Weekly updates!


FREE eGuide - How To Help Your Friend During A Difficult Time.

Blueberry Almond Coconut Smoothie

November 5th, 2014 | by Pamela Simon | Comments Off on Blueberry Almond Coconut Smoothie


HB 12_3_14

 Feeling a little stuffed from your holiday meal? Here’s a smoothie that’s packed with some powerful, nutrient-dense food and will get your digestive tract working again.

It’s super tasty! My son and I drink this almost every morning for breakfast, but you can enjoy it any time of the day.

Best of all it gets a thumbs up from Chef Walter!

A few tips: make sure your coconut water is refrigerated & your bananas and blueberries are frozen.

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

16 oz. Coconut Water
2 heaping tablespoons almond butter
2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 teaspoons Spirulina powder
1/2 Scoop Vanilla Protein powder

Optional: see notes below

1 tablespoon Acai berry powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender until all ingredients are fully blended.

Be sure to read the labels of all your ingredients and avoid and products with added sugars!

ENJOY!

Nutritional Benefits:

Coconut Water:

Provides a good source of Potassium which is a major mineral and essential electrolyte that your body needs. It plays an important role in electrolyte regulation, nerve function, muscle control, and blood pressure.

Almond Butter:

Excellent source of protein and major minerals: potassium, calcium, iron and magnesium. Contains the essential fatty acid, omega-6. Essential fatty acids are necessary for brain function, as well as growth and development. Our body can’t make essential fatty acids so it’s imperative we get these good fats by making healthy food choices!

Blueberries:

Blueberries are awesome! Although they are a good source of vitamin C and fiber, the real claim to fame for blueberries are the flavonoids they contain. One particular flavonoid, anthocyanidins, is an exceptional antioxidant that researchers claim can protect the brain from oxidative stress and may help protect against Alzheimer’s.

Bananas:

Bananas have always been a favorite of mine and they are a great base for many smoothies. They are an excellent source of potassium and Vitamin B6. Bananas also contain Vitamin C, fiber, and magnesium. Bananas are also very soothing to the gastrointestinal tract and can promote regularity (woo hoo!).

Spirulina:

I love, love, love spirulina! Spirulina is a blue-green algae that provides a complete protein source, which means it contains all the essential amino acids typically found in animal protein. It is also a good source of Vitamin K, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium and Potassium, and a very good source of, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Iron, Copper and Manganese.

Protein Powder:

I know a lot of folks like to use protein powders and my only word of caution is to make sure yours contains whole ingredients and not derivatives such as soy protein isolate. The body can have a difficult time breaking down man-made ingredients. I choose a protein powder that is raw, gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free and made from pea and hemp protein.

I’ve listed the next two ingredients as optional:

Acai berry:

This is an awesome superfood but I’m listing it as optional because it is fairly expensive and not including it won’t have an effect on the taste. Acai berries contain a high level of anti-oxidants, they have been recognized as having a high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity), basically how well the antioxidants neutralize free radicals and they contain fiber to aid in digestion. They are high in essential fatty acids, omega-9 and omega-6, which help to maintain optimum levels of cholesterol. They contain B-Complex vitamins and vitamin K, and minerals such as: potassium, manganese, copper, iron, and magnesium

Coconut Oil:

I love the sweetness coconut oils adds to my smoothie, my son does not. So I pour his smoothie first then add ½ tablespoon of coconut oil into the blender, pulse it a couple times and then pour my smoothie.
Contrary to what some people might think, we need fat in our diet, especially to aide in the digestive process. But it really needs to be a healthy fat such as coconut oil. What differentiates coconut oil from many other oils is that it contains medium chain fatty acids which the body can absorb better. It also is known to have some antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties.

I hope you enjoy this smoothie!

Pam




If you liked this article, then share it!

Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter