Welcome to another Wellness Wednesday! For the month of February, I’ve made it my mission to go to yoga at least 5 days a week and I’ve now reached this sweet spot where I can hardly wait to go to the next class. Some people think yoga is just for relaxing and stretching and isn’t really a workout… wrong. Yoga is an incredible strength-training activity, it will make you sweat, and it will make you strong and lean, not to mention improve flexibility, balance and alleviate stress.
Whether you go to yoga in the morning or not, smoothies are a great way to start off your day. Packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, and healthy fats, smoothies are a super quick, super healthy breakfast.
So here are 5 simple ways to supercharge your smoothie:
1. Add cinnamon. This little spice not only improves the flavour, but adds a nice dose of antioxidants and fibre (yes, fibre!) to your smoothie. Cinnamon also helps to stabilize blood sugar.
2. Frozen fruit. Branch out from just frozen berries and bananas. Try freezing pineapples, mangoes, peaches, and nectarines.
3. Add “superfoods”. Chia seeds, hemp seeds, spirulina, maca, moringa powder, acai, and raw cacao are all rich sources of antioxidants, amino acids, fatty acids, and fibre, and help to alkalize the body.
4. Add healthy fats. Almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and brazil nuts are a few of my favourite additions. You can also add nut butters, coconut oil, or avocado.
5. Add tahini. Yes, I am in love with tahini! But if you think you don’t like it, try it in a smoothie with something sweet (e.g. fruit, honey, coconut). It’s not just for savoury dishes. And it is super packed with calcium, potassium, protein, and healthy fat.
This list really just scratches the surface of what can be added to a smoothie. I also like to add protein powder (made from plants is best, e.g. hemp seed protein powder). Sometimes I add homemade organic yogurt or almond milk. And if you have a powerful blender like a Vitamix
(mine is in Canada at the moment…oh how I miss my Vitamix!) go ahead and add kale, spinach, ginger (leave the skin on!), loads of ice, whatever you want! A strong blender will change your life (and your smoothies).
This is the smoothie I made this morning, featuring pineapple and tahini. So delicious.
Pineapple Banana Tahini Protein Shake
½ a frozen banana
a few chunks of pineapple (frozen if possible)
1 scoop of your favorite protein powder
1 Tbsp tahini
1 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp organic cocoa powder or cacao
Blend it all up with some water and enjoy!
