Articles in the fruit smoothies Category

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to enter Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for an 8 ounce bag of Raw Chia Seeds–thanks to NavitasNaturals.com for sponsoring–and don’t forget to check out my chocolate ice cubes!

Blended Blessings

I’ve mentioned a few times that my blender keeled over on me. It was sad. I was sad. But a new blender wasn’t in the budget so I’ve been a pouting, smoothie-less Raw Juice Girl for a while now. Pathetic, I know. LOL

I was on a real roll having awesome smoothies for breakfast, but I made due with substitutes:

• Green (Hemp) Overnight Breakfast Cookie
• Green Steel-Cut Oats
• Chocolate Hemp Shake
• Cashew Cookie LARABAR

Delicious, yes. A green smoothie? No!

So, imagine my out-of-this-world delight when my aunt donated her blender she never uses! Oh, believe me, I tried (and tried) to promote the health benefits of smoothies and convince her that she needed to keep her blender–she insisted on giving it to me anyway, reassuring me she never uses it and didn’t plan on it anytime soon….

Enter: the Osterizer 10-speed Blender

I took pictures of my blending adventures this morning, so you could enjoy the experience with me!

And, my goodness, this thing is a LOT more powerful than I thought it would be. It gobbled up the ice cubes like there was no tomorrow! Seriously! Eeeek! Bring on the smoothies, people!

Osterizer Blender

10 Speeds!

Sassafras Root Tea

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro 70

Chocolate Ice Cubes!

Green Hemp Smoothie

Wanna Taste?

YUM-O!!!!

Happy Hemp Smoothie

• 4 tablespoons of Hemp Pro 70 (from www.manitobaharvest.com)
• 1 cup Sassafras root tea (you could totally use Hemp Bliss milk instead)
• 1 banana
• 2 chocolate ice cubes
• 2 water ice cubes
• Freshly ground flax seeds (a little less than a tablespoon)
• A drizzle of agave syrup

And that’s what I had for breakfast this morning. Ah, a green smoothie. I can’t tell you how happy my mouth–and my tummy–were as I chugged that gorgeous, bubbly, hemp-ish, thick smoothie down. YUM!!!

I did forget one thing, though: spinach! Yikes!!! Sheesh, guess I’ll have to make another one.

If you’re just tuning in, be sure to check out Healing With (Raw) Juices’ latest contest for an 8 ounce bag of Raw Chia Seeds–thanks to NavitasNaturals.com for sponsoring!

Want to keep up with Raw Juice Girl’s adventures + more?  Subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll also receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and juice fasting tips and encouragement to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health–and more personal posts about stuff that’s going on in my life. I’ll also be making a recipe page where you’ll be able to easily locate recipes for raw juices, smoothies, and now dehydrator creations!

By

Michele L. Tune

January is a month for resolutions, dreams, promises – to ourselves and others – and a time to reflect on what the previous year held for us, as well as ponder where the new year will take us. Instead of making resolutions that are so hard to keep, why not set some goals you know you’ll actually attempt reaching? How can you do that? Let’s have a look at the following suggestions.

• Set short-term goals instead of focusing on the overall picture. Have 50 or 100 pounds to lose? Work on losing 10. That’s right. Just 10. If you focus on losing weight in 10 pound increments, you’re more likely to keep going when you reach an 8 pound weight loss. If you lose 8 pounds and keep dwelling on the fact you have 92 more to lose, you might get discouraged and give up. (For more tips on losing weight, read this article.)

• Work toward your new health regimen gradually. Don’t stop enjoying your favorite foods and drinks cold turkey. If you’re drinking 4 sodas a day, knock off one, then another – until you eventually only drink a soda on occasion, if at all. By easing into your new health regimen, you’ll find yourself being able to stick with it.

• Invest in a quality juicing machine so you can experiment with fresh, raw fruit and vegetable juices. Not only are these raw juices filled with living enzymes and vitamins that are beneficial to your health, they taste delicious! Also, be sure to check out: “Creating Juice Recipes for Weight Loss“.
  

• Not a fan of juice? What about creamy, rich smoothies? Look for a blender so you can make smoothies at home. They’re less expensive and you’re in control of the ingredients. (Check out these smoothie recipes.) You can also toss in ground flax seeds (for Omegas), powdered vitamins, or even nut butters for extra health benefits!

• Find a fun exercise – like rebounding.  Jumping on a mini trampoline – even for just a few short minutes a day – can help you achieve better health. You’ll be increasing your lung capacity, cleansing your lymph system, and will get those endorphins going. The best part of rebounding? It makes you feel like a kid again!

Don’t spend 2009 being sick and tired of being sick and tired. Take your life – and your health – back. Follow these tips and focus on the short-term, ease into your new health regimen, invest in a juicing machine (or blender) and add just a little exercise so you can be accomplishing your goals by this time next year. Hey, hopefully you’ll reach all your goals before then!

Be sure to subscribe to Healing with Juices’ Feed for free updates. You can get  free updates to your email as well (sign up here). You’ll receive inspiration, juice and smoothie recipes, and tips to help keep you motivated toward your ultimate health.

Here’s to life, health, and healing with juices (and smoothies!)

Copyright 2008 Healing with Juices

Posted Sunday, August 17, 2008

By

Michele L. Tune

Many people don’t realize skin problems can come from within. Instead of reaching for the telephone to order the magic chemical cocktail you’ve just watched on the latest infomercial, why not reach for fresh fruit and veggies and make yourself a juice?

I’m a big fan of juice fasting. I love how my skin looks and feels during and after (and I get compliments on my skin all the time), but you don’t have to juice fast for your skin to reap the natural benefits. Simply incorporate fresh juices with your meals.

Pick up an inexpensive juicing machine from your favorite store, flea market, or even a garage sale. If possible, shop your local farmer’s market for the fresh fruits and veggies you’ll be using to create the following delicious drinks.

Not only does the healthy extracted freshness tickle the taste buds, it also purifies your blood (which affects your skin’s appearance) and rejuvenates your complexion.

Here are a few simple recipes to begin with.

If you have a lot of breakouts, you may want to cleanse your blood.

For this, you’ll need:

• 3 sweet apples
• 8 strawberries

To enhance your complexion, you’ll want to use:

• 8 strawberries
• 2 bunches of grapes

And, to improve your skin overall, try mixing:

• 6 carrots
• ½ green bell pepper

You’ll love these sweet juices and your skin will, too!

Beauty Tip:

If you can tolerate doing without food for a couple of days, experiment with a cleansing juice fast. It’s a great way to detox from all the chemicals we come in contact with each day and unearth our natural beauty.

What are your thoughts on reaping beautiful benefits from raw juices? Do you ever think about beauty coming from within? Or do you focus on creams and potions externally only? Share with us in the comments!

Here’s to life, health, and healing with juices – and beauty!

Photo Credit(s): http://www.sxc.hu/

Powdered vitamins are a wonderful way to add even more nutrients to your smoothies or juices. I know I’ve written a lot about smoothies as I am building this site. (Really, you’re getting the juices from the veggies and fruits once you blend them up.) But there will be tons of information and recipes for raw juices (juiced in the juicing machine) soon. They’re a huge part of my life. I’m also pulling my thoughts together for an ebook with smoothie and juice recipes, tips, and health benefits. Feel free to comment and give feedback as to what you’d like to see included in the ebook.

I simply adore using my creativity to throw together tasty smoothies. This morning I was in the mood for blueberries and I didn’t want this one to be really thick. If you like your smoothies to have the consistency of a milkshake, you’ll want to add less liquid. For this one, I added a whole cup of herbal tea. You’d probably only want to add 1/2 to 3/4 cup or so. Just add a little at a time, stopping for taste tests, until you get it just right for you. In fact, the cup of tea made this smoothie a little too “runny” for me, so I added about 2 tablespoons of raw, unsweetened coconut and blended it just a little more. That thickened it up right away!

Blueberry-Banana Smoothie Recipe:

• 1 cup blueberries, frozen
• 1 banana, ripe
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw, unsweetened coconut
• 1 scoop All One powdered vitamin
• 1/2 to 1 cup herbal tea or almond milk for liquid
• Few ice cubes (I only used half of the ice shown in the photo)

This recipe is overflowing with health benefits! The ground flax seeds and raw, unsweetened coconut are loaded with fiber which help promote a healthy bowel. Having healthy bowel movements has been known to help prevent cancer and disease. Blueberries are small treasures bursting at the seams with antioxidants and they’ve been known to improve eyesight and fight cancer as well. You get tons of omegas from the ground flax seeds–a nutrient a lot of people are deficient in. Omegas help your hair, skin, and eyes. Have dry, itchy skin? Dry eyes? Unhealthy hair? Add the ground flax seeds to your smoothies! I try to get in as many as I can each day. That’s why I love incorporating the ground flax into my smoothies, steel cut oats, and any other ways I can think up.

It turned out to be a sweet beauty with just the right consistency I was going after and really filled me up. I love the “full feeling” I get from smoothies. It helps me not want to splurge on treats that are just empty calories and have no health benefits.

So, do you like your smoothies really thick or a sort of runny? Did you realize how many health benefits are in foods like raw, unsweetened coconut and ground flax seeds? Are you someone who has been living on donuts for breakfast but want to feel energized, healthy, and ready for the day–instead of bloated, groggy, constipated, and sleepy before you even start your day? Join in the comments!

And keep your eyes open. In the future I’ll be selling an ebook on this topic (at a fair price).

Here’s to life, health, and healing with (raw) juices!

I love this smoothie! It’s amazing. The flax really gives it a great flavor and by using the herbal tea in the place of milk, you’re really giving your body a healthy kick of antioxidants that will give you strength, flush your kidneys and bladder, and make you proud of yourself for incorporating healthful drinks into your daily regimen.

I felt like a smoothie today (like most every day) but this time I wanted something simple, filling, and not as thick as my normal smoothies are. So, I decided I’d just have banana and flax. I called it “Banana-Flax Filler Upper” because it really filled me up! I didn’t think it would be quite so volumous because I added more liquid than I usually do. I think the fiber from the flax had something to do with that.

Banana-Flax Filler Upper Fruit Smoothie Recipe:

• 2 bananas, broken into chunks and frozen
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 1 cup herbal tea (I used a blend I made myself from nettle leaf, yerbe mate, dandelion root, burdock root, and milk thistle seed)

Tip:

If you really prefer a richer taste, you could use rice, soy, or almond milk. I’m thinking almond milk would give this one the best taste. Also, if you’d like it to be really thick you should only add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the tea.

Have you tried the banana/flax combo? What did you use as your liquid? Do you ever add tea as your liquid in your smoothies? What’s your favorite smoothie? Would you rather have a fruit or veggie smoothie or a raw juice? Share with us in the comments. I can’t wait to read your answers!

Here’s to life, health, and healing with (raw) juices!