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| Basic Green Meal Smoothie |
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 frozen banana
Makes (about) 35-40 ozs
Put ingredients in the Vitamix Blender and blend.
This tastes like a green vanilla milkshake with a hint of banana. It does not have a strong coconut or banana flavor. Everything is perfectly blended and harmonizes well together. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite smoothies. It's simple, its delicious and helps you to remember...there are great things in simplicity. I use this as my basic smoothie and will make this for newbies who aren't really into the "green" smoothies and it always goes over well.
TIPS:
(1) Don't have coconut milk, use almond milk...but nothing tastes as great as coconut milk.
(2) Need more protein? Add some Hemp powder and watch this thicken up into a nuttier flavored green milkshake smoothie that's super-protein powered!
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Some Health Benefits
Coconut Milk: Coconut milk contains many vitamins,
minerals and electrolytes, including potassium, calcium and chloride.
The saturated fat in coconut is
made up of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids the body quickly
turns into energy instead of storing as fat. Therefore, even though it's
high in saturated fat, coconut can aid in weight loss. Half the
medium-chain fatty
acids in coconut milk are composed of lauric acid, which is anti-viral,
anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-fungal. Coconut milk can help
boost the immune system. Coconut milk is a dairy-free
alternative for those who are lactose intolerant, allergic to animal
milk, or for those like me with a plant based diet. It's also full of
vitamin D2, the plant based alternative to vitamin D and vitamin D3 that
is normally in animal products. This plant based drink is also
soy-free, gluten-free. Coconut milk is known to relieve the symptoms of
sore throats and ulcers.
Spinach: Spinach is store house for many
phyto-nutrients that have health promotional and disease
prevention properties. Very low in calories and
fats (100 g of raw leaves provide just 23 cal). It contains good
amount of soluble dietary fiber; no wonder greeny spinach is one of the
vegetable source recommended in cholesterol controlling and weight
reduction programs! Fresh 100 g of spinach
contains about 25% of daily intake of iron; one of the
richest among
green leafy vegetables. Iron is an important trace element required by
the body for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for
oxidation-reduction enzymes cytochrome-oxidases
during the cellular metabolism. Fresh leaves are rich
source of several vital anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin
C; and flavonoid poly
phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin
and beta-carotene.
Together these
compounds help act as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free
radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a healing role in
aging
and various disease processes.
Zea-xanthin, an important
dietary carotenoid, is selectively absorbed into the retinal macula
lutea
in the eyes where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective
light-filtering functions; thus helps protect from "age related macular
disease" (ARMD), especially in the elderly. Vitamin A is also required
for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin and is essential for
vision. Consumption of natural vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin A
and flavonoids
helps body protect from lung and oral cavity cancers. 100 g of Spinach provides
402% of daily vitamin-K requirements.
Vitamin K plays vital role in
strengthening bone mass by promoting osteotrophic (bone building)
activity in the bone. It also has established role in patients with
Alzheimer's disease by limiting neuronal damage in the brain. This greeny leafy
vegetable also contain good
amounts of many B-complex vitamins like vitamin- B6 (pyridoxine),
thiamin (vitamin B-1), riboflavin, folates and niacin. Folates
help prevent neural tube defects in the offspring. 100 g of farm
fresh spinach has 47% of daily recommended levels of vitamin C. Vitamin
C is a
powerful antioxidant which helps body develop resistance against
infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals. The leaves also contain
good amount of minerals like potassium,
manganese, magnesium, copper
and zinc. Potassium in an important component of cell and body fluids
that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese and
copper are used
by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme superoxide
dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red
blood cells.
Zinc is a co-factor in many enzymes that regulate growth and
development, sperm generation, digestion and nucleic acid synthesis. It is also rich source of
omega-3
fatty acids.
Banana:
Banana’s are loaded with potassium, a mineral that helps
within the protein synthesis and constructing of muscle groups. A diet plan
loaded in potassium is believed to trim down the menace of stroke and
hypertension. They are also full of Vitamin B6, which aids inside the
manufacturing of antibodies inside the immune method individually from red
blood development, protein metabolic process and operating with the central
nervous program. Bananas also have magnesium, which assists in recovering from
exhaustion. Together with B12 and potassium, they support the entire body to
enhance from your signs and symptoms associated towards the taking from
nicotine. Vitamins C is in bananas also and it assists to safeguard the human
body versus infections and remedy them too. This vitamin also delivers proof
vital inside the synthesis with the connective tissue, assimilation of iron as
well as the formation with the blood. Last, but not least banana’s contain
Fructoogliosaccharides (FOS), which acts as foods for your “good bacteria” or
perhaps a prebiotic inside the digestive method.
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