The Creamy Green Smoothie with Apple and Mint
Serves: 1
If you're feeling a bit shy in the smoothie department, you really mustn't; practise makes perfect, or close enough. I find my best creations come from leftovers in my fridge actually, as per the recipe below.
My smoothie tips for the day:
- If you don't often use cucumber in your smoothies, you should give it a whirl. Cucumber adds a lovely freshness to your concoctions without an overbearing flavour - plus it's raw and that's a very special treat for your body
- Typically half a banana is all the natural sweetness I need in my smoothies
- Where possible try and include those highly nutritious ingredients that you may not otherwise factor into your diet regularly, such as fresh or powdered turmeric. Turmeric is a fantastic anti-inflammatory, in fact some say it can work as well as anti-inflammatory medication, without the nasty side effects. It is said to fight cold and flu, to aid indigestion and weight loss and may even help ward off alzheimer's and help prevent certain cancers with it's anti-tumor effect.
- Try and get at least a small handful of raw green leaves into your smoothie on occasion - high in iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium, and most notably Vitamin K. Very few of us meet the recommended intake of 3 cups of dark leafy green vegetables per week, this is a great way to ensure you are not missing out on all that goodness.
You'll need:
130g coconut water (or more if you like a runnier smoothie), we use Natural Raw C
1/2 cucumber
1/2 apple
1/3 avocado
1 big handful baby or english spinach
1 handful mint
1 heaped teaspoon yacon syrup
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1cm slice fresh turmeric (or a pinch of powder)
Throw all ingredients into a high powered blender and whizz until smooth and creamy.
We use the Yacon Syrup from Loving Earth - you can buy it online or in a health food store. You can read more about this natural sweetener here. Who has tried it? And how do you use it in your kitchen?
