Thursday, February 12, 2009

Mmm...Delicious Smoothie


1 cup frozen organic mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
1 cup organic apple juice
1/4 cup raw organic wheat germ
2 tbsp organic ground flax meal

Blend it up!

Five reasons why you should have a smoothie for breakfast:

1. Two servings of fruit.
It's not easy to get five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. But it's really important. A smoothie is a great way to knock out two.

2. Fiber.
You've heard it's important to eat fiber. But do you know why? It helps maintain a healthy digestive system and colon, but fiber is also extremely important for heart health. And ground flax and raw wheat germ go a long way when it comes to proper pumping. They act as cleansers in your arteries, reducing plaque. So your good cholesterol goes up and your bad cholesterol goes down.

A woman my age needs about 25 grams of fiber a day. This smoothie provides about 13. (4 - wheat germ, 4 - ground flax, 5 - berries) That's half of what I need before I even get in the shower. But 25 grams is a lot. And if you think you're going to hit that by simply having a salad for lunch, you're wrong. So start early and track your grams during the day.

3. It's filling.
It seems like they wouldn't be, but smoothies will fill you up. The added grains really help to fight hunger.

4. It's a great way to kickstart your day.
If you don't eat breakfast, start. Your body needs nutrients to get going. Plus, berries are brainfood. Start feeding your brain and your body early and you'll feel more energetic throughout the day. In addition, a healthy breakfast revs up your metabolism so you keep burning more calories throughout the day.

5. Smoothies are cheap.
Bags of blueberries and mixed berries are about $3.00 each. Two will get me through a week of smoothies. Raw Wheat Germ runs about $2.00 and Organic ground flax meal is about $4.00. A bag of each will last about a month.

I'm no mathematician, but based on berry cost alone, you can eat breakfast for less than a $1 a day and also feel good about eating something healthy.

So, what do you think? Will you give smoothies a try?

Suzie

9 comments:

  1. I have lots of frozen blackberries from our "yard"! I'm going to try it!
    Can you use another juice? I'm not fond of applejuice or rather it is not fond of me!

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  2. Lucky you! You really know what is and isn't in your food when you grow it yourself. Blend up those backyard blackberries!

    And yes, you can use any kind of juice.

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  3. I've been making smoothies every morning for the past few years, and I agree they are an excellent way to start the day. I use a frozen banana as the base for my smoothie. (When my bananas start to get ripe, I slice them up and put each one in a Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer.) Bananas give the smoothie a nice thick consistency, and they are a great source of potassium.

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  4. We have banana smoothies a lot during the warmer months- they're almost a full meal (kind of a breakfast substitute). And healthy (except when I can't resist adding peanut butter). Regarding Sue's smoothie... I think "wheat germ" should be renamed to sound more appetizing.

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  5. I, too, have a smoothie almost every morning, but mine are green - a few handfuls of leafy greens go in on top of banana, froz mango, flax seed, pineapple juice and water. Love it!

    Evelyn, those blackberries are probably going to gove you one helluva seedy smoothy.

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  6. That flax meal is great for getting your omega-3's and it has some wicked cancer fighting "lignans" too. I agree with minimizing the blackberries. I'm not crazy about the seediness.

    Great recipe!

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  7. Oooh, I'm excited to try this. Smoothies usually turn me off since I don't like drinking bananas or fruity dairy. I'm not a big fan of apple juice but you didn't scare me away with that since it's easily replaced. I can't wait for breakfast!

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  8. I had a smoothie today. Love them! We have serviceberries that grow wild on our property, so I have a bunch of those frozen for smoothies. Huckleberries are really good too, but I can't ever freeze them because I eat them too fast.

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  9. LOL Suzanne -- you should be proud. Your blog here made me go out and buy wheat germ for my smoothies. :)

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