The Ultimate Detox Smoothie Bowl

Recipe and text from Gourmande In The Kitchen

 

While beets are probably not the first ingredient you think of for breakfast, given a chance they might just surprise you.  Their sweet earthy taste pairs well with the tartness and acidity of the berries not to mention that the deep garnet root, traditionally valued for its blood and liver cleansing properties, is a good source of folate and betaine.

Chances are you’ve probably heard of açaí (ah-sigh-ee) the berry of an Amazonian palm tree by now.  Native to the rain forests of South America, açaí berries have become quite famously known as a super-food.

The old adage that the more vibrant the colour of a fruit or vegetable the higher its nutritional value certainly holds true with this deep purple berry, rich in both anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids.  And while you can’t find fresh açaí berries the pulp is available in the frozen section of many grocery stores these days.

All blended together with a couple of Brazil nuts for added selenium, chia seeds to keep you full and coconut milk to add creaminess and healthy fat to help you absorb all those vitamins and you have yourself an easy make-ahead breakfast, snack, dessert (or whatever meal you choose) that’s a little sweet, a little tart and utterly refreshing.

This vibrant and detoxifying smoothie bowl is gluten-free, grain-free, vegetarian, vegan, raw and paleo-friendly.

Ingredients

For the bowl:
• 1 large medjool date*, pitted and soaked in warm water until soft (leave out if you would prefer a lower carb version)
• ½ cup/120ml coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon/12g chia seeds
• 1 or 2 brazil nuts
• 1 small raw beet, peeled and finely chopped (or grated if you don’t have a blender)
• ½ cup/75g frozen mixed berries (I like a blend of raspberries and blueberries)
• 100g frozen acai , run under warm water to thaw slightly

For the toppings:
• 1 tablespoon/5g unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 tablespoon/10g hemps seeds
• Sliced fresh fruit and berries

Instructions

1. Start by soaking the medjool date while you prepare peel and chop/grate the beet.
2. Place the coconut milk , chia seeds brazil nuts and drained soaked date in the blender and blend on high until smooth.
3. Add the chopped or grated beet, frozen mixed berries and slightly thawed acai packet. Blend on high, scraping down sides as necessary until thick and smooth.
4. Serve immediately in shallow bowls with toppings or as a smoothie in a tall glass. Alternatively you can prepare the bowl ahead of time the night before and keep the bowl covered without the topping in the fridge overnight.
 

Content and image sourced from Gourmande In The Kitchen

Are you nuts about chocolate? Then read this.

Why eat chocolate? Apart from the obvious. 

 

Cacao is chock-full of therapeutic benefits and could easily be considered one of nature’s best medicines.

• Cacao is considered a ‘super-antioxidant’ because it has such a high ORAC score (a measure of antioxidant content). The unprocessed raw cacao bean earns a higher ORAC score than acai berries, spinach or blueberries, and helps protect the heart, prevent cellular damage, and keep us looking and feeling younger. The darker the chocolate, the higher the antioxidant levels.
• Cacao contains oleic acid, which has been linked to lower cholesterol.
• Cacao contains high bioflavonoid levels that help regulate blood flow and pressure.
• Cacao is high in the mineral magnesium, which helps with calcium absorption, metabolism, and protein synthesis. It may also be useful in preventing and treating congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, and premenstrual syndrome.
• Cacao contains other essential minerals such as iron, copper, calcium, potassium, and zinc.

Our new Nutty Chocolate Smoothie, pictured above, is bursting with cacao goodness. For those of you who know our cleansing menu, it's our Calming Smoothie with an extra injection of chocolatey goodness. Almonds and chia add to the benefits of cacao with essential fatty acids and fibre for glowing skin, shiny hair and improved digestion.

Click here to order.
  

Content sourced from Move Nourish Believe: www.movenourishbelieve.com/nourish/pick-of-the-week-benefits-of-cacao

 

Acai. A smooth operator with serious beauty benefits.

Acai, we love it. For starters, there's a reason why this superfood has been coined the ‘Beauty Berry’. Containing more grams of regenerating protein than an egg, and packed full of anti-ageing and metabolism-boosting phyto-nutrients, this lovely berry improves your health and promotes real beauty from the inside out. 

Why Acai?

This little wonder:

• Combats premature ageing with the help of powerful antioxidants (namely anthocyanin)
• Boosts immunity and metabolic function
• Aids in muscle regeneration, promoting increased energy and stamina
• Improves blood circulation, assisting in a healthier heart
• Assists in removing toxins from your body

Beautifying Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

• Raw acai powder – 1 tsp
• Raw cacao powder – 1 tsp
• Mixed berries – a large handful (fresh or frozen)
• Medium ripe banana  – 1 whole
• Almond milk – 200 ml
• Water – 100ml

We like Loving Earth for our acai and cacao powders – they use only sustainable , fairly traded and high-quality organic ingredients. When choosing an almond milk, always go for unsweetened. Or if you have the time, make your own!

Preparation

1. Pop all ingredients in blender
2. Blend
3. Serve
4. Drink
5. Yum

If you fancy making our Beautifying Berry Smoothie but don't have all of the ingredients at your disposal, we have a lovely superfood hamper up for grabs from Loving Earth. Just head over to our Facebook page, like our post, and you could be in with a chance of winning some raw acai, goji, vanilla and cacao...

Our health AND beauty must-have...

This week, we're sharing with you our latest health AND beauty crush. We know it has been popular for a little while now but we like to wait for the hype to die down before we dish up our verdict.

Please welcome Coconut Oil to the list of UR favourites. Here's why...

Beauty Wonder

Coconut Oil is the a beauty multi-tasker like no other.

We like to use it as a:

• Hair mask

Tip: apply between first and second shampoo (to avoid greasy hair), cover hair with a warm towel, leave on for 20 minutes.

• Shaving oil

• Face wash (think Eve Lom on a budget) - so nourishing you don't even need a moisturiser afterwards!

• Make up remover - even safe for eyes

Tip: to remove eye make-up, massage coconut oil onto eyes gently, wet two cotton wool pads with warm water, gently wipe off... repeat until squeaky clean.

• Heel balm

• Cuticle balm

• Massage oil

• Body moisturiser

Super Food

Coconut Oil contains EFAs (that's essential fatty acids - great for hair, eyes, skin and cardiovascular health), it's also a fat that helps to burn fat, and it has the added bonus of combatting dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut) and candida, thus reducing bloating. Brilliant!

You can use it in food as a:

• Cooking oil - coconut oil can be heated to a high temperature!

• Baking oil

• Butter substitute - just spread and enjoy

• Smoothie supplement

So there you have it folks. Coconut Oil, a must in everyone's kitchen or bathroom cupboard.

Will the real superfoods please stand up?

When we think superfoods, we generally conjure up images of exotic berries, green and blue algae, weirdly-shaped mushrooms, and above all expensive price tags. Sadly, we get so caught up in the hype surrounding these unusual food items (not to deny their place, their health benefits are proven) that we forget some of the simpler superfoods that lie right in front of us.

Given that winter is fast approaching, and our seasonal menu is in full swing (we can’t get enough of the lentil and green soups at the UR HQ), we thought we’d share some of these everyday superfoods with you. Sounds like a contradiction in terms doesn’t it? It’s not. They may be all around us but these everyday superfoods hide a veritable plethora of nutrients and health benefits.

Check out these bad boys:

Asparagus

High in vitamins A, C and K, as well as folate and chlorophyll. The fibre in asparagus has a very mild laxative effect, and can benefit the gastrointestinal tract and colon when consumed regularly. This little green shoot also contains glutathione, a clever phytochemical that helps reduce the risk of cancer.

Broccoli

A member of the brassica family, broccoli is closely related to cabbage and cauliflower. It's high in vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, chlorophyll and fibre. Broccoli and the entire brassica family are also beneficial in preventing cancer.

Lentils

Containing eight of the nine essential amino acids, lentils are an excellent source of protein. These little legumes are high in vitamins A and C, folate, phosphorous, calcium, iron and fibre. They also help balance blood sugar and lower cholesterol.

And the good news is all of these little beauties are in our winter soups. Enjoy!

Super smoothie delight!

This week, we're dishing up a yummy recipe for a 'Super Smoothie' to keep you feeling... well 'super' all morning. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 200 ml milk alternative or organic milk
• 50 ml water (filtered if poss)
• 1/2 banana or 1 small banana
• Handful of mixed berries (frozen)
• 1 tsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp raw maca powder
• 1 tbsp LSA mix or chia seeds

Preparation

1. Throw ingredients in blender (throwing is more fun, we promise!)
2. Blend
3. Serve
4. Drink
5. Yum

Comments

• Milk alternatives: try almond, brown rice, millet, oat or soy milk
• Berries: we opt for frozen as they make your smoothie nice and chilled. No need to add ice!
• Maca powder: an energising superfood from the Incas; also a well known aphrodisiac! ;)
• LSA: Linseed, Sunflower and Almond mix (omega heaven)
• Chia: a super seed, packed full of vits, mins and omegas!

Glowing skin smoothie

In last week's blog, we gave you our five easy steps to clear, radiant skin:

1. Avoid skin aggravating foods

2. Maximise skin enhancing foods

3. A simple, effective skin care routine

4. Experiment with skin healing supplements

5. Try a juice cleanse

This week, we're dishing up a recipe for a yummy, skin-friendly smoothie to kick off your day.

Glowing skin smoothie:

• Almond, millet or brown rice milk
• ½ medium-sized banana
• Handful of mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 heaped tbsp of a superfood powder* of your choice
• 1 heaped tbsp of LSA (Linseed, Sunflower and Almond) powder
• Optional: Sun Warrior vegan protein powder

Superfood powders*:

• Green superfood powder – we like Vital Greens
• Acai powder – we like Rio Life
• Raw cacao powder – we like Loving Earth

For candida/dysbiosis (overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut) sufferers, swap the fruit (banana and berries) for egg yolk, cashews or avocado. Coconut oil and cinnamon are great bacteria-fighting smoothie boosters for candida – add natural vanilla extract to enhance flavour and/or manuka honey for sweetness (manuka honey doesn’t feed the bad bacteria in your gut).

Smoothies are a great breakfast option for individuals prone to breakouts or skin irritations, and for people with weak digestion or digestive disorders – they deliver a burst of vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients in a form that is super easy for your body to break down (most of the work has already been done by the blender) and draw goodness from straight away.

Enjoy! xx

Green is the new black

We’re loving our superfoods at the moment and supergreens are no exception. Just like berries, our greener friends are highly concentrated sources of energising vitamins and minerals, not to mention jam-packed full of antioxidants.

But why go green? You’re probably thinking you would rather stick to berries. We love berries, don’t get us wrong, but each superfood has its area of expertise. Master healers, the greener of our superfoods help nurture an alkaline environment for our body to achieve optimal health in (an acidic body is the ideal habitat for disease).

A glass of supercharged green juice is also the perfect detox partner, with the added bonus of being low in kilojoules – we like. From the almighty spirulina, to the popular wheat grass, there’s a greenie out there for everyone.

Here are some of our more unusual faves:

chlorophyll \ this green plant pigment has a structure similar to haemoglobin, with magnesium as its central atom. Packed full of alkalising vits and mins, chlorophyll even freshens your breath!

barley grass \ a forgotten wonder, barley grass is charged with vitamin C, beta-carotene, and minerals such as iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium. It contains 30x more vit B1 than milk!

aloe vera \ this supergreen is the queen of healing. Anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, aloe vera soothes the stomach lining and skin, promoting healthy circulation, immunity and digestion.

celery root \ also known as celeriac, this green superfood is loaded with alkalising phosphorous and potassium, and rich in vitamins C and K. Like celery, this little root is great for weight loss!

olive leaf \ packed full of antioxidants and phytonutrients, this leafy superfood is particularly rich in oleuropein – an antioxidant 5x as powerful as vit C and almost 2x as mighty as green tea!

Unlike their berry counterparts, supergreens don’t win in the taste department – the secret is in the mix.

Check out our blog for some great green juice and smoothie ideas. Time for a glass of green apple…

Get your superberry on

From the common strawberry, to the slightly more upmarket blueberry, all the way to the exotic and luxurious acai, we just can’t get enough of berries.

So what’s all the fuss about? Well for starters they’re deeelicious. They ward off infection and keep your immune system revving with bucketloads of vitamin C. As for the antioxidants in berries, they keep you looking beautiful by declaring war against ageing free radicals. Even better, these berries keep you thinking young – they ‘clean up’ your brain by removing toxins, boosting your memory and preventing mental decline.

Here are a few of our more luxurious faves:

acai \ this little amazonian is the king of berries. Royal purple and packed full of vitamins, minerals, omegas and more than sixteen antioxidants, the acai berry even helps shrink your waistline.

goji \ other wise known as the ‘wolfberry’, this red superfood was hailed as the fruit of longevity in Tibet and China. The goji berry contains 500 times more vitamin C than oranges!

noni \ this little berry has made its way from the Pacific islands packed full of antioxidants. Also knows as the ‘Indian mulberry’, the noni is rich in lignans, polyphenols and polysaccharides.

pomegranate \ this giant Persian berry is loaded with anthocyanins and polyphenols. Rumour has it pomegranate contains three times more antioxidants than green tea!

black cherry \ the last of our superberries is a powerful source of anti-inflammatory anthocyanins and sleep-promoting melatonin. It’s also nature’s richest source of vitamin C.

So get your berry on. They really are super, we think so anyway.