Juice It Up!!

I absolutely love juices and smoothies and it is one of the many things that helped me get back to my pre baby weight.  It's a quick and delicious way to get in your daily dose of fruits and vegetables.  They are very rich in fiber and perfect if you're not a big fan of veggies.  They work wonders as a natural detox and does an amazing job of cleansing your system.  It's also a great way to sneak veggies in your children's diet, my little one loves them!

You can pretty much throw anything in a smoothie and it's really easy to get creative with them. 

I have 4 main components in all of my smoothies:

1.) 3 veggies
2.) 3 fruits
3.) A liquid base (I often use fresh squeezed orange juice, seen below)
4.) Protein powder (my family swears by Vega) or super seeds (hemp, chia, flax)

Plant based goodness.  Been using this for 3 years and we are hooked!!

Fresh squeezed, simply amazeballs.

My Smoothie/Juice essentials:

1.) A good blender - I use a large blender for multiple servings and my Magic Bullet for single servings (also great for on-the-go as I literally blend and go).

2.) Plastic tumblers with straws - if you need to take your smoothie on the go, a plastic tumbler with a  lid and straw is very handy (seen in pictures below).

3.) Hand juicer - a simple hand juicer is sufficient for my smoothies as I only use it to juice a couple of oranges and lemons.  The one I use is the OXO brand citrus juicer (seen above) which I bought from Kitchen Therapy.  It's super handy as it has 2 sizes of juicers (thingy in the middle is reversible) and has a strainer to catch the seeds and pulp.  I would then take all the pulp and add it in the blender (extra fiber!!)

4.) Stainless steel straws - I just recently discovered these and they are amazeballs (seen in photos above and below).  I drink smoothies daily and these are very eco-friendly compared to using disposable straws.  These were also purchased from Kitchen Therapy, it's a 4 pack and it came with a cleaning brush.


Below are my daily faves!! (I apologize in advance for the lack of creativity in the names) 

Note: I don't use exact measurements for the ingredients so feel free to put as much or as little of everything, depending on the consistency you want and the number of servings.  I also use organic and vegan ingredients.

1.) GREEN

Veg: Spinach, cucumber, parsley, ginger, celery
Fruit: Apple, banana, lemon, shredded coconut
Base: Fresh squeezed orange juice or green tea
Seed: Ground flaxseed or hemp hearts



2.) TUTTI FRUITY

Veg: Spinach, cucumber, parsley

Fruit: Banana, mango, lemon, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

Base: Fresh squeezed orange juice, pineapple juice or almond milk

Seed: Chia seeds

Powder: Vega in Chocolate flavor (half the scoop)

 

3.) SALAD IN A CUP

Veg: Spinach, kale, cucumber, parsley, ginger, carrot, celery

Fruit: Banana (mostly to mask the flavours of the veggies)

Seed: Ground flaxseed or hemp hearts

Base: Green tea or squeezed lemon juice

Powder: Vega in Chocolate flavor (half the scoop)

 





The recipes I use are quite simple and common.  If you are a busy person and always on the go, these take me less than 10 minute to put together.  I also like to experiment with tropical fruits or whatever fruits are in season (mangoes, dragon fruit, pineapple, pears, etc.).  Whatever tickles your fancy, throw it in the blender!!

Enjoy and Happy Juicing!!

<3 Maria