I’ve been refining this smoothie over the last few months. I make a few changes daily so it doesn’t get too monotonous but these are the core ingredients:
For milk I generally use almond milk, with sometimes oat milk or coconut water as a backup.
For fruit I use a few tbs of raspberries or maybe an apple or a pear.
1-2 tbs Protein powder. I use the Garden of Life Raw Protein. This incorporates different sprouted grains, so it’s a live food and fully organic. In my opinion the best quality protein powder you can buy, I get mine from Iherb.
1 – 2 tbs Bee pollen. This is a cool addition, it’s 25% protein, but it basically acts as the multivitamin for the smoothie. It’s a complete food, that you could nearly live off if you were to only live off one food. As Gabriel Cousen’s mentions, it’s considered to have the most Ojas of all the foods. Ojas is a word used in Ayurveda. It represents vitality and immunity. I put this in a coffee grinder before it’s blended.
1-2 tbs Caccao beans. Caccao is the highest source of magnesium that you’ll be able to find, as well as having lots of anti-oxidants. It it is known to put some pressure on the adrenals, but there are other ingredients in this smoothie that more than compensate for that. This gets ground before blending.
1-2 tbs Maca powder. The Maca has a balancing effect on the endocrine system due to unique alkaloids it contains, it is the main ingredient that nourishes the adrenals protecting against the caccao.
Flax-seeds & Chia seeds. Both very high in Omega 3’s and contain a wide variety of minerals. Chia was orignally used by the Aztecs. Messengers would favor it, due to the endurance benefits they gained. These are ground before blending.
1-2 tbs Coconut oil. This has many qualities. It increases the conversion rate from short chain to long chain of the Omega 3’s in the flaxseeds/chia seeds. It is high in lauric acid, which detoxifies the liver. The fat content also helps to slow down the assimilation of the fruits, lowering the insulin response from the glucose in the fruits.
1 tsp of Cinnamon powder. This is great for taste, but really it’s value lies in that it mimics insulin. Many people that have high GI diets develop insulin resistance, which places them at risk of diabetes. Cinnamon contains certain polyphenols that actually increases insulin sensitivity. This will lower the effect of the fructose from the fruits within the smoothie and help protect against insulin resistance.
1 tsp of Carob powder. This improves the taste, it’s high in anti-oxidants as well as insoluble fibres.
Some other ingredients I mix in occasionally:
1-2 tbs Activated almonds. Activated means they’ve been soaked then dehydrated. This makes them a ‘living food’ as the enzyme inhibitors within the nut are removed. These enzyme inhibitors can bind up your digestive enzymes and mess with digestion. This is ground before blending.
1-2 tbs of Mesquite powder, this has a caramelly taste. It contains lots of calcium and magnesium. This was traditionally used as a staple by native Americans.
This smoothie actually doesn’t take that long to make, probably a bit over 5 minutes. But believe me it’s more than worthwhile putting something like this together. After eating this in the morning, all your nutritional requirements are set for the day, it’s packed with protein, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. It means for the rest of the day you don’t need to worry about obtaining certain nutrients.
This smoothie contains more nutrients than many people would get in a few days! It is digested very easily, with little energy spent by the body assimilating it. I’m happy with the taste, with most of the sweetness provided by the fruits but if you have a sweet tooth you could add some stevia. You’ll feel a lot of vitality, I’ll be very interested to hear anyone that tries this out and how their body responds to it.