Drink your veggies

I HATE vegetables. I have the HARDEST time eating them. So if you are like me, a great way to supplement this is with juices and smoothies!

I recently found a green-smoothie that I knew was good for me, but I didn't like the taste so I varied it. For the past 2 weeks I have been drinking this EVERY morning .... so here it is! Enjoy!

BLUEBERRY DREAM

Ingredients:

Kale

Blueberries

Bananas

Dates

Coconut Water

Almond Milk

Optional Additions:

Coconut meat

Cinnamon

The main ingredient in this smoothie is kale. Now you might think this just looks like lettuce, so what exactly is kale and what are the benefits?

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale, as with broccoli, contains sulforaphane, a chemical with potent anti-cancer properties

One cup of kale contains nearly 20% of the RDA of dietary fiber, which promotes regular digestion, prevents constipation, lowers blood sugar and curbs overeating. 

Now the kale taste is too bitter for me so to cover this I added blueberries. If you dont add blueberries your smoothie will look something like this

Other additions to this smoothie are the bananas, dates, blueberries, almond milk and coconut water. 

The low caloric content of almond milk causes less of an impact on our totally daily consumption of food calories.  Every serving of pure almond milk contains 50% of our recommended daily value of Vitamin E. This powerful nutrient has antioxidant abilities in that it helps regulate Vitamin A use and availability.

Blue Berries, being very rich in anti oxidantslike Anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E,vitamin A, copper (a very effective immune builder and anti-bacterial), selenium, zinc, iron (promotes immunity by raising haemoglobin and oxygen concentration in blood) etc. boost up your immune system and prevent infections. Once your immunity is strong, you won’t catch colds, fever, pox and all such nasty viral and bacterial communicable diseases.

Bananas are good for your heart and nerves: Bananas contain a high dose of potassium - an essential ingredient to keep your heart and nervous system in good shape. Potassium is essential for proper muscle contraction and hence plays an important role in muscle-influenced activities

The fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which prevents dietary LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut. It is also a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon.

The high potassium and low sodium content of coconut water has a nutrient profile shown to help lower high blood pressure. However, this drink alone isn’t going to do the trick. Broader diet and lifestyle changes are needed to curb hypertension. And getting your nutrients from whole foods is usually a better idea anyway, to make sure you get all their health-boosting fiber and antioxidants

Enjoy!!!