Smoothie Love

I'm a smoothie kind of gal. I'm all about nutrient bombing my food, and smoothies are one of the easiest ways to do that!  I'm also convinced smoothies are THE hangover cure.  You best believe these guys are in my belly every Saturday...Sunday...and ummm *cough Wednesday cough* morning.  Stop with the judging eyes!

After one particularly boozy Friday night in Charlotte, I got my life together the next morning and headed to Lauren's in hopes that this delish little guy would cure my vodka head.

The miracle ingredients are listed below:

• Organic Spinach (get as much of it as you can in there!)
• 1/2 Avocado
• Organic Frozen Blueberries, Mangoes, and Raspberries
• 4 oz. 50% Reduced Sugar OJ
• Flax Oil ( a tablespoon or so)
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 Banana
• Ice
• 1 Packet of Stevia
• 4 oz. Green Tea (I usually steep two tea bags and let it chill in the fridge)

To be honest, I don't measure the amount of fruit I put in.  I throw in enough to fill the entire blender.  If you're feeling rebellious, you can experiment with what fruits you enjoy most.  Sometimes, the blender is so full that I have to mix it down so that the concoction has room for more ridic ingredients.  


Does this smoothie not look ridicballs?!?!

Don't be fooled, I'm still wearing my clothes from the night before.

I understand it looks like mud.  Who cares? It tastes friggin' phenom. 

Get in my belly!

I want to give ya"ll a little disclaimer.  If you're used to smoothies from Jamba Juice or any of those other WHACK places, these smoothies will taste a bit different to you.  That's because they DON'T have artificial sugars or any other mystery ingredients.  You can also remove the green tea if you're not down with caffeine (ummm...who are you?!) or simply don't like the taste.  Nevertheless, WHOLE FOOD smoothies are amaze.       

All in all, If this smoothie doesn't rock your socks off then you are whack balls.

I'm interested in what your favorite ingredients are.  Have you found any magic ingredients I'm missing? 

 
Cheers!

Almond Milk Manifesto

An article I spotted on Food Babe’s Facebook page got me thinking. (Fair warning: you will see me reference Food Babe a lot – she is my idol and absolute fave blogger. Plus she lives here in Charlotte!)

http://www.cornucopia.org/2013/03/gut-wrenching-tell-fda-to-ban-carrageenan-common-food-ingredient-linked-to-intestinal-inflammation-bloating-irritable-bowel-syndrome-colitis-cancer-and-more/

So do I understand correctly? My organic almond milk might have a known carcinogen lurking inside?! WTF! I have been pretty smug lately for recently switching over to organic almond milk. The latte froth is to die for. Plus the more I learn about cow’s milk and the US dairy industry in general, the more disgustoballs it all seems. I’m lightly toying with the idea of giving up dairy for a while to see if it helps my skin, but just not mentally ready to make the leap. I hear that Whitewash is a fascinating read – I’ll let you know.

Anyways, almond milk seemed like a good baby step. When Dylan turns one, maybe I’ll start her on almond milk instead of cow juice – more research to come on that one. So upon further inspection of my Whole Foods 365 brand – I am safe on the carrageenan. Excellent. Here is a shopping guide for products sans carrageenan. However, what are the other ingredients up in this mug? Lets check a few:
  

• Tricalcium Phosphate: A safe mineral additive which adds calcium to my sexy latte.
• Potassium Citrate: Stabilizing food additive which adds potassium.
• Natural Flavors: Ummmm SHADESTER alert!!! This could be literally anything. It could be wombat sweat. Come on Whole Foods!!
• Gellan Gum: Produced from algae fermentation, and used as a thickening agent – has a similar affect to carrageenan (silky mouth feel) with less safety concerns
• Sunflower Lecithin: A fatty substance from sunflower seeds as an emulsifier – gives a creamy texture. Generally quite safe and non-GMO. (Unlike Soy Lecithin)
• Xanthan Gum: Food additive which adds a gel-like quality – derived from fermented corn. Seems pretty safe unless you are hyper-allergic.

So not terrible I guess…more additives than I might hope for, but still better than hormoney udder juice. Through this research, I found a few recipes for how to make your own almond milk, which seems like the best answer. Here and here are a couple good methods, but it simply seems to involved soaking, grinding, straining. Plus you get to use something called a nut milk bag. Bahahaha.

Share your thoughts – do you have a favorite almond milk? Do you prefer soy milk, other dairy alternatives?

PB2: A Revolution in Peanut Butter

My life has changed FOREVER.

My addiction to peanut butter is quite scary.  I've been known to beat, batter, and bruise anyone who comes within 10 feet of me and my PB.  Always stay away from a girl on a PB rampage.

However, peanut butter is notorious for being a calorie bomb.  A few (or 10) mindless spoonfuls later and you've dumped 500+ calories into your belly.  No Bueno.

Enter in PB2.  Peanut Butter with 45 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein per serving.  As a reference, the normal stuff has an average of 200 calories and 16 grams of fat per serving.  Is this real life?!  My mind is blown.

                           
                         

   
What's their secret?  The makers of PB2 first roast the peanuts and then they are pressed, removing 85% of the fat and the oils.  This creates a peanut butter "powder".  Just add water, and you've got low fat, low calorie PB.  Amazeballs.

The best part is that the makers of this product use no GMO's, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, dyes, or chemicals!  They are also huge advocates of supporting local farmers.  Can it get any better than this?  Check out this and other products at www.bellplantation.com

I personally found it at my local Whole Foods.  You can purchase it through their website or search for local retailers on their site as well.

For all you addicts out there like me, you're welcome!

Cheers.