If you’ve joined the blog recently either at the Go Green Expo in Auckland, or over the past few weeks, then welcome! You’ll now be receiving a little note from me once a week (or fortnightly if Mila is keeping me up…). Be Good Organics is all about sharing delicious healthy plant-based recipes, to help you incorporate more plant-based whole foods into your life. My hope is that you’ll be able to reap the same incredible health benefits that I have, and also feel great about the positive spin-off effects you’re having on animals and our environment. You can read more about my story and how I started Be Good Organics here, and visit our online store where we stock all of my favourite plant-based foods, skin care and other goodies here.
But onto this week’s recipe (or recipes as the case may be). At the expo last weekend we were giving out samples of two very tasty yet easy to make smoothies. A number of you asked us for the recipes, so I’m sharing them with you in today’s post. The first is a lovely Pear and Mint Smoothie, packed full of greens, vitamins and minerals. It uses pear instead of banana as its fruit base, which makes it super light and refreshing, almost like a juice.
The second meanwhile is a Cacao Superfoods Smoothie, incorporating raw cacao with some of my favourite South American superfoods – mesquite, maca and lucuma. With a base of banana and rice milk it’s creamy and luxurious, making it an ideal afternoon tea pick me up.
The Goodness of Greens
Each of these smoothies use two of my favourite products from our store, a supergreens powder called Good Green Stuff, and a cacao superfoods blend called Superfood Smoothie. The greens powder contains over 75 ingredients including Spirulina, Chlorella, Wheatgrass, Barley Leaf, Brocolli, Rosehip, Spinach, Goji Berry, Hawthorn, Kelp, Flaxseed, Slippery Elm, Burdock Root, Dandelion, Gotu Kola and Ginseng… to name a few. (If you want to read a full list of Good Green Stuff’s ingredients click here). I don’t take many supplements as such, as am a big advocate of getting your vitamins and minerals from whole foods, but this is one thing I add to my diet to fill any nutritional gaps I might have.
Much of our soils globally have been depleted of essential vitamins and minerals over the past 40 years, due to mass monoculture and pesticide use. Unfortunately this means that unless you’re eating 100% organic (which would be great of course, but not always possible), you are likely consuming less vitamins and minerals than our grandparents were from the exact same foods. In addition, many people suffer from absorption issues due to ill health or stress, which means even if you’re consuming enough calcium for example, your digestive system may not be absorbing it efficiently (which enables it to travel to and be utilised by your cells). Good Green Stuff is sweetened slightly with natural stevia, so unlike other greens powders, you can drink it on its own with just water. I have however blended it up into this easy smoothie with the freshness of pear and mint which tastes amazing.
Cacao, Maca, Mesquite & Lucuma = Chocolate Superfood Deliciousness
Everyone loves a good dose of chocolate, and this second chocolatey smoothie is a lovely energising way to have it. Cacao is one of my favourite superfoods, because not only does it taste great, it’s also a fantastic source of iron, antioxidants, magnesium, and is a natural mood elevator and anti-depressant. You can read more about the fabulous benefits of cacao in a previous post I wrote here. The Superfood Smoothie mix I use in this smoothie combines cacao with three other South American superfoods – maca, mesquite and lucuma.
Maca is a natural hormone balancer and a great source of sustainable energy. It contains high amounts of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, all the essential amino acids to make a complete protein (maca has an impressive 14% protein content), and nearly 60 phytochemicals. Maca also contains unique alkaloids that stimulate the hypothalamus and pituitary master glands in the brain, which serve to control our entire hormonal endocrine system.
Mesquite meanwhile is also a fabulous natural wholefoods source of protein, at 16%. It also contains significant quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc. Per 100g, mesquite has an impressive five times the iron of beef, five times the calcium of cow’s milk, and 30% more magnesium than fish. Flavour-wise think nutty and rustic with a hint of caramel.
Lucuma is another superfood from Peru, which looks like a nashi pear crossed with a mango. It can be used as a natural low GI sweetener in baking or desserts, is rich in antioxidants, and is full of vitamins, minerals and fibre. It has a creamy citrus-like flavour with a hint of maple syrup and sweet potato/kumara.
Each of the following recipes make two serves, but I often double it and pour the rest into a sealed glass bottle in the fridge for the next day – you can also pop it in the freezer for a few days time (just remember to leave the lid on very loosely before freezing or your jar might break).
If you want to share you Pear & Mint and Cacao Superfood Smoothies on Instagram, tag your pics with @begoodorganics and #begoodorganics. As always, I’ll be sharing the best ones on my Instagram and Facebook.
Have a wonderful weekend, and look forward to talking to you again soon!
PS If you like this recipe, I’d love you to share it on Pinterest (hover over any of the images and click Pin It), Instagram (regram or make your own), Facebook or Twitter (hit the buttons up top). Thank you!
Please note – if you are wanting to meet any of the specific dietary requirements below, please read my recipe notes.
Ingredients
- 1 large handful spinach OR kale/silverbeet
- 1 pear
- 1 c water OR coconut water
- 1 1/2 c ice
- 1 tbsp Good Green Stuff
- Handful of fresh mint
- 1/2 lemon flesh and juice
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until super smooth, adding more ice if you want a thicker slushier consistency.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- You can also use spirulina or other greens powder instead of the Good Green Stuff (though I highly recommend trying it if you haven’t already!).
- If using Good Green Stuff it is already sweetened with stevia and pineapple, therefore is best to use plain water. If using spirulina or another unsweetened greens powder use coconut water for sweetness.
Did You Make This?
Tag @begoodorganics
I can’t wait to see your creations!
Ingredients
- 1 banana frozen
- 1 c plant-based milk rice, almond, cashew, hazelnut, oat or soy
- 1 1/2 c ice
- 2 tbsp Superfood Smoothie
- 1 tbsp vanilla pea protein powder
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until super smooth, adding more ice if you want a thicker slushier consistency.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have the Superfood Smoothie blend (which you should totally get, by the way!) you can make your own with cacao powder, mesquite, maca and lucuma.
Did You Make This?
Tag @begoodorganics
I can’t wait to see your creations!
Sources:
Herbs and Natural Supplements – An Evidence-Based Guide (Braun, L., & Cohen, M.)
The Food Pharmacy (Carper, J.)
Healing With Wholefoods (Pitchford, P.)
