Thoughts on….health & fitness

Easy peasy lemon squeezy – Green Smoothies

Over the past year, I have developed a routine of having a green smoothie on an almost daily basis. I’ve recently had a few people ask me what I put in my smoothies so I thought I’d share some of my favourite recipes.

I can’t take all the credit for these delicious smoothies however. I joined a “30 day green smoothie challenge” about this time last year in which you were sent a different recipe everyday, along with shopping lists and facts on ingredients. Since then, I have developed quite a taste for strange vegetable and fruit concoctions.

What I’ve learnt about green smoothies..

It really doesn’t matter what you put in them! Just chuck in veggies and a piece of fruit, like an apple or pear for some sweetness.
Although I’ve used measurements in the below recipes, it’s not entirely necessary. Just go with the flow!
Green smoothies are great for a meal replacement. I mostly have mine with breakfast or morning tea at work.
Although I love to use coconut water because it adds some sweetness, you can just use regular, tap water.
I bought a Cuisinart Compact Blender Stainless Steel which came with a variety of different sized jars, including chopping cups (for making dips or chopping nuts, etc) and travel cups. The travel cups are great because you can make the smoothies to-go without even needing to pour it in to a different cup. Needless to say, I am very happy with my selection.
I use a blender as oppose to a juicer because, 1) juicers are hard to clean – who can be bothered? 2) the majority of nutrients comes from the peel of fruit and veg.
After completing my 30 day challenge, I continue to have green smoothies regularly as I feel fuller and healthier.
I love adding ginger and garlic for a kick. They’re incredibly good for you and help when you’re feeling under the weather.
Lastly, I find making smoothies is really fun, especially mixing different ingredients together!

So here’s my top 6 favourite smoothies. If you’re missing an ingredient, don’t worry about it. Experimenting is half the fun.

Let me know which ones you like best!

Bright Citrus Berry (my favourite)

1 cup blueberries
1 orange
1 cup spinach
1 handful parsley
1 cup coconut or regular water

Apple Cleanse

1 apple
2 cups spinach
1 handful basil
1 lime
1 cup coconut water

Alison’s regular

1/4 Cucumber
1 Celery stick
1 Apple
1 Lime
Handful of Spinach
Cup of Coconut water

Healing Detox Smoothie

1 banana
½ cucumber
1 rib celery
1 handful parsley
1 knuckle ginger
1 cup coconut or regular water

Berry Green Smoothie

1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
2 cups greens of choice
1 handful mint
1 cup coconut water

Young & Raw Smoothie

2 cups mango – fresh or frozen
1 lime
4 leaves kale
1 inch knuckle ginger
1 cup coconut or regular water

The challenge is a great way to get healthy and explore new ingredients. If you’re interested in green smoothies and health foods generally, head on over to Young and Raw.

That’s it from me..
Sending you love, light & health, Alison

PS. some picture of ingredients that I already had in the house – might provide some inspiration!

Meet Cassia. She’s one of my best friends. We have a lot in common including breathy laughs, boring conversation starters (including window cleaning, cats and politics) and we both DO NOT find Jackass movies funny. Yep – you read it right (ground breaking, I know). We do have our differences, however. For example, Cassia is in the small percentage of Australians who have coeliac disease. I am in the large percentage that doesn’t.

FYI.
When people with coeliac disease consume gluten, an abnormal immune reaction occurs causing inflammation and damage to the small bowel lining. This impairs absorption of nutrients and can lead to a wide range of symptoms and medical complications¹(so I’ve been told..).

Aside from having some faint memories of stealing Cassia’s gluten-free pretzels at lunch time during school and them being strangely addictive, I’ve never really known too much about the disease. So I did some investigation!

The Facts.
One in 100 Australians have the disease.
80% of Australians remain undiagnosed.
Symptoms include lethargy, anaemia, nutrient deficiencies, loss of fertility, arthritis and type 1 diabetes.
People are generally born with the disease.

The Expo.
As Cassia is a member of the Coeliac Society (lol), we got discounted entry in to the Melbourne Gluten Free Expo so we had began the day on a high! We made a beeline for the hot jam doughnuts I had heard so much about, and they did not disappoint! They were delicious and didn’t taste much different from the regular kind, same with the bread samples. According to Cassia, these have made a big improvement compared to what they used to be. The chocolate eclairs however (aside from the cream of course) weren’t that great. Safe to say gluten-free pastry has a long way to go still. I also tried gluten free beer, brownies, cereal, pasta, chips and other various gluten free things that I didn’t even know usually contained gluten. It was all very educational, and most importantly tasty!

The Fad.
10% of Australians are currently following a strict or significantly reduced gluten diet.
This is 10 times greater than the total number of Australians thought to have coeliac disease.
The gluten-free industry is booming with a global market estimated to make US$4 billion over the next few years.

I am ALL about fads so I’m by no means hatin’ on anyone who’s adopted the gluten-free approach. Speaking to Cassia about this however, I did find it interesting that gluten-free diets aren’t actually recommended to everyone as there’s minimal evidence that people without the disease will get any benefits. I guess though with beautiful people like Gwyneth Paltrow endorsing gluten free diets, it’s bound to take off. As they say, each to their own.

It was a very fattening, interesting and delicious experience but I have to say I’m grateful I don’t have the disease. From what Cassia says, the food can still be a bit hit and miss and quite often expensive. But good on the gluten free society for being so cute and welcoming. And thanks to Cassia for showing me the ropes and letting me blog about her!