Thursday, May 30, 2013

Smoothie Scientists and Giveaway


Yesterday we sent out our “Smoothie Support Group” newsletter tackling your most pressing smoothie issues: how to ensure your smoothie isn’t a gazillion calories, solutions for those of you who feel you rather eat versus drink your calories and the most common smoothie query “do I need a Vitamix?”

When I last posted about smoothie ingredients, one commenter said “You talk about things you put in your smoothies a lot and I have this image in my head of you with a zillion potions and powders, in a lab coat
Carolyn and I in front of Smoothie Central cabinet with all sorts of powders and mix-ins
That’s all Carolyn and I needed to read…enter your Smoothie Scientists in our labcoats. Here is our video debut (we’ll hone our skills, I promise) with our Thin Minty Smoothie.

6oz Harmless Harvest Coconut water
1 cup frozen blueberries (if you skip berries be sure to add ice cubes)
1 handful kale
1 scoop Sun Warrior Chocolate protein powder
¼ avocado
Organic Peppermint extract
pinch Himalayan salt
6 drops NuStevia

Cacao, if you’re not familiar with it, is what chocolate is made from. The powder or nibs are high in fiber (good to get things moving), it keeps LDL or bad cholesterol from doing nasty things, is a mood booster and a source of magnesium (most people are magnesium deficient).

Turmeric Carrot Smoothie with must-have Strawesome 
I love to “smooth” it’s true and have been playing around with my Turmeric Smoothie
 6oz ice water (or I tried with carrot juice too)
1 scoop Vanilla Sun Warrior
½ frozen banana
1 tsp. nut butter (used cashew butter)
Ice cubes
Cinnamon
¼ to ½ tsp. turmeric
NuStevia (used their lemon flavor)

Reasons everyone should add turmeric to your diet daily:
  • Weight loss- studies (yes on rodents but still) show turmeric added to diet resulted in less weight gain; less lower body fat, if you’re a “pear” turmeric is for you.
  • One double blind, placebo-controlled study found that turmeric reduced symptoms of bloating and gas in people suffering from indigestion (love well executed bloat study).
  • It is a natural liver detoxifier, important in the summer time with perhaps more cocktails consumed
  • Good for healthy skin and conditions such as psoriasis
  • It is a potent anti-inflammatory with zero side effects; therefore, it is a natural treatment for arthritis, soreness following exercise and nature's Advil
  • Prevents various forms of cancer from spreading, described as “turning off cancer cells”
I want to try turmeric in a smoothie with Socal Cleanse hemp protein (which made our protein powder Hall of Fame). It’s what we call our Monday morning protein- excellent for bloat or when PMS strikes. Socal has generously offered to give away a bag of their protein to one of our thirsty (we didn’t say bloated) readers.

To enter comment below and tell us where you stand on the smoothing spectrum (smoothie newbie or seasoned smoothie maker), what your favorite smoothie is and what type of blender you use. If you haven’t lost your smoothie v-card, what’s holding you back?

22 comments:

  1. i love this so much!!!!!!! I blend right in with you guys in your lab coats except you are doing something much more fun in your coats than I am.....I can't wait to try some of these.. especially the thin minty smoothie!! Perfect cause I'm melting in this weather today!!

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  2. Ah, come smooth with us Joanna. Perfect smoothie weather...let us know what you think.

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  3. Love the video!! I actually gave out a smoothie at work the other day, with avocado. People looked at me like I was crazy, but I literally forced them all to try it :) About 90% REALLY loved it! Muahaha, see!

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  4. what else was in your avosmooth? My son (the videographer) tried it and liked it (actually he found it minty) but otherwise liked.

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  5. I'd say I'm a smoothie veteran although I like to think of them as shakes. I always add xanthan gum to thicken them up because I like to eat them with a spoon :) I use an Oscar blender

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  6. you sound like a vet and I know smoothie isn't a word everyone likes. Xanthan gum, interesting, any favorite ingredients?

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  7. I love the video!! and learned a new thing. I used to add liquid last. Here is my crazy recipe (taken from an earlier post - I used all the ingredients)

    - Coconut water
    - Sun warrior protein
    - blueberries
    - 1/2 banana
    - Cacao
    - Ginger
    - Macha
    - Chia
    - E3Live
    - Ice

    Now I have to try adding tumeric too.

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  8. Amazing, I just made a smoothie this morning. It included: spinach, almond butter, hemp powder, 1 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 green apple and spirulina!

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  9. Really looking forward to making these smoothies! Quick question: are there any substitutes for the frozen banana in the Tumeric Smoothie recipe?

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  10. when I used carrot juice, I skipped banana. Carla, in our office used coconut water. You need some sweetness and frozen peaches and mango were both fails for me with turmeric. Let me know how it goes Tara.

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  11. nice kathy, I take E3 separately but that's a good combo. Funny (I know we tweeted about apples) I use apples in green juices but not smoothies, how is the taste? Which brand of powder?

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  12. ah the food processor, the one appliance I don't have (have a mini). I think winging it is ok if you follow a formula (healthy liquid, a protein, frozen fruit or fresh fruit and ice, a good fat and spices/extract I add a green whenever I can. If you have any smoothie hits check back and share. Thanks Amber.

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  13. leave it to the triathlete to add every ingredient I've ever mentioned was healthy except, where's the kale/spinach or microgreens Randi? Slacking.

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  14. These sound awesome! I love the idea of turmeric in a smoothie! I have an Oster blender I bought at Macy's during a 4th of July or Memorial Day sale a few years ago that does the job pretty well.

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  15. Fun video! I think you know I am not a smoothie virgin, but it's so hard to pick a favorite. I alternate b/w loving my kale frosty, apple pie smoothie, and PBJ smoothie, but would love to try your mint concoction-always forget about that addition!

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  16. Thanks for the recommendations!

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  17. have to go back and look at your kale frosty, you don't have many kitchen topics/areas you haven't delved into EA

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  18. try some combos and let us know the winners.

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  19. Dark Chocolate Cocoa powder for sure :) I think 95% of my shakes are chocolate flavored haha (correction**my blender is oster brand not oscar haha)

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  20. I had the thin mint smoothie at lunch, it was delicious! Will probably make it again for breakfast tomorrow :)

    Another one of my favorite smoothie recipes is:
    1/2 c frozen cherries
    1 Tab cocoa powder
    1 Tab almond butter
    1 cup almond milk (freshly made of course)
    1 scoop vanilla protein powder



    I love adding in a handful of greens too

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  21. Been making smoothies are years! I use a blendtec. Love all frozen fruit (bananas, blueberries, strawberries) oats, chia seeds, kale, protein powder, and cocoa powder


    katherinedibello (at) gmail (dot) com

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  22. I have to say that I'm a smoothie newbie. We have a basic blender where I make a very occasional fruit & yogurt smoothie. I'd love to expand my repertoire!

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