FREE FORM SMOOTHIE
Makes 2 quarts
INGREDIENTS
1 cup cauliflower rice
2 cups broccoli florets
6 beet leaves
1-2″ beet (according to your taste)
2 handfuls chard and kale greens
1″ piece fresh ginger
1″ piece fresh turmeric
A couple twists black pepper
2 Tablespoons raw walnuts
1 medium sweet apple (Fuji)
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
1 frozen banana
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
DIRECTIONS
In a high-powered blender, combine all ingredients and whirl until smooth.
VIDEO SHOW NOTES
Some days when it’s time to make a smoothie you simply have no inspiration or recipe to follow and you just use what you have on hand and get creative. I do this a lot! Nutritarian eating then turns into free-form formulas rather than rigid rules and it also becomes so much more enjoyable.
Using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix is preferable so that you don’t get chunks. We ended up making enough smoothie for two days worth here and when we have extra like this, I like to fill up the quart jars to the top, lid them and then just put them in the fridge. They keep for 24 to 48 hours depending on the ingredients and the freshness. I actually keep them for a couple of days. Often the taste will change and you might lose a little bit of nutritive value but you use stuff up from the fridge and you didn’t waste money – so that’s a win!
Today on hand in the refrigerator was cauliflower rice, a bag of broccoli, and some beautiful fresh beets. We used the leaves and some of the actual beet. Don’t use too much raw beet or the taste isn’t going to be as good. The chard and kale had gotten a little sad, but we washed the leaves anyway and used up what we could.
Once you’ve been making smoothies for a while you can basically eyeball the amounts. We filled up the blender half to three-quarters full of greens (or more!). A large amount of broccoli is going to make for a thick smoothie so that’s perfect if you’re making a smoothie bowl. If you want it thinner, add more water. We added some fresh ginger and turmeric, with a twist of freshly ground pepper. We do the pepper because it helps the body utilize the curcumin and the turmeric – making it a little more bioavailable. You learn what you like and what you don’t like and then add or subtract to your preference. At the beginning of my Eat to Live journey, I often added dates or extra banana – really, really ripe bananas to smoothies to add some sweetness. Nowadays, I don’t really have to do that anymore. You just learn and you grow and you find out what you like.
For the toppings for this smoothie, we used some kiwi and some shredded coconut. Having poured the smoothie into a bowl, add your favorite toppings, and enjoy a nice hearty, satisfying breakfast that you can eat with a spoon. Give this one a try. if you want to up the sweetness, just add some more fruits that you love. Adding some dates would be awesome.
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Let me know in the comments if you have any interesting smoothie combinations you’d like to share!
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