The Carrot Cake Smoothie

This week I took a smoothie suggestion from a fellow classmate and blogger. This Carrot Cake smoothie was healthy, delicious and a perfect match for my blog.

The recipe was discovered on Pinterest from a website called rightathome.com. Although they’re many different ways to create a smoothie like this one, the recipe I found seems to be the simplest and easiest to make.

It includes carrot juice, pineapple, cinnamon, low fat plain yogurt, honey, and ice cubes.

This was the first time I ever used carrot juice and trying it on its own wasn’t my favorite. However, blended together with the other ingredients I happened to enjoy it.  Carrot juice gives you more than the amount of vitamin A you need. Vitamin A is not only good for your vision; it helps support your immune system, your inflammatory system and your bone health.

Pineapple is low in calories, has a good source of dietary fiber and Vitamin C. As well, contains a variety of essential B Vitamins.

This smoothie is perfect for carrot cake lovers. It has a similar taste but this way you won’t be getting all the carbs you usually get from the delicious dessert.  

See the full recipe here and enjoy!

Pineapple Mango Green Smoothie

It’s time to announce that the green-smoothies fad has officially made its way to my blog. If you haven’t made a green smoothie before, don’t worry, the Pineapple Mango Green Smoothie may have a strange colour but I promise it tastes delicious.

I got this recipe from Café Zupas, which like most smoothies has you blend all the ingredients together at once. My first green smoothie wasn’t a good one. The leafy chunks overpowered the fruity flavor, not necessarily the experience I wanted.

Nevertheless, when making this smoothie, I blended the spinach and almond milk together before adding the fruit. This helps with increasing the smoothness in this green drink.

Together, mango and pineapple give an irresistible tropical taste and contain more than the right amount of Vitamin C people need. These fruits will also provide you with dietary fiber and Vitamin A.

The spinach is what makes this smoothie green; it is full of health benefits and a main part of why this smoothie contains a variety of essential nutrients. It is perfect for cardiovascular health, antioxidant health, and even stress relief.

I love simplegreensmoothies.com, they have tons of valuable tips and recipes to making awesome green smoothies. If you need more help on how to make the perfect green smoothie, click here for five tips to get you started.

If you haven’t gotten on the green smoothie bandwagon yet, try this recipe and I’m sure you’ll be hooked.

Get my version of the recipe here, and enjoy!

Kiwi Strawberry Smoothie

Considering that it is Valentines Day, if I am enjoying a smoothie this week, it better be pink.

Since strawberries, kiwis and bananas turn out to be a match made in heaven, I figured what better smoothie to make than the Kiwi Strawberry Smoothie.  I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. It’s easy to make, tastes delicious and includes ingredients that are not only common but also easy to find.

 

Kiwis are full of Vitamin C and Vitamin K, both essential nutrients for everyone’s body. It’s helps with maintaining good blood pressure and fighting illnesses.

Strawberries also provide you with an excellent source of Vitamin C. On top of that, research proves that this fruit helps with the prevention of memory loss and strengthening of bones.

Bananas are the final main ingredient for this delicious and healthy smoothie. In my opinion, I believe banana is one of those ingredients that help with adding the ‘smooth’ in smoothie.  This potassium filled fruit aids with having a healthy heart. A high source of Vitamin B6, and fibers are other nutrients bananas provide.

To make this recipe my own, I added a bit of mint leaves. The added mint flavor gave the smoothie a fresher taste and made it a healthier drink. Mint is also a good source of several essential minerals, including magnesium, copper, iron, potassium, and calcium.

See the full recipe here and have a Happy Valentines Day.

Stress Reducing Cool Berry Smoothie

It’s that time of year again, school is getting busier and students are starting to get a case of something most humans are familiar with… stress.

There are multiple ways to relieve stress and believe it or not, eating healthy can be one of them. Numerous foods have a relaxing effect on your body, and the smoothie I made this week include some of those stress-fighting foods.

The Stress Reducing Cool Berry Smoothie includes lettuce (I used kale and spinach), cucumber, blueberries, and coconut water. 

Each ingredient has a factor that aids in relaxing the body. To start off, blueberries are high in vitamin C, which is known for its effect of fighting stress. Cucumbers are excellent for cleansing your skin, and help avoid those surprise breakouts that come when stressed. Coconut water contains several minerals and a variety of B-vitamins. There is research that proves several B-vitamins play a crucial role in lowering anxiety, depression and stress.

Now the one thing I would suggest is if you don’t like the taste of blueberries, I wouldn’t try this. Personally, I love blueberries, so I thoroughly enjoyed this smoothie. However, you can always switch the blueberries with other berries high in Vitamin C.

Once again I added some chia seeds and matcha powder for additional nutrients.

Get the full recipe here, relax and enjoy!