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| Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie |
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup sweet potatoes
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1.5 frozen bananas
- 1tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp raw blue agave
- 2 tsp mesquite powder
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
Makes (about) 25 ozs.
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Put ingredients in the Vitamix Blender and blend. Yep, it's just that simple!
This tastes just like you're sipping on sweet potato pie icecream. If you love sweet potato pie, you'll love this!
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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 (which is best received from the sun) 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.
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.
Sweet Potato: Although their
names
are commonly used interchangeably, sweet potatoes and yams are not the
same vegetable. They're not even in the same family. Sweet potatoes are
native to the Americas, while yams are grown in Africa and Asia. Yams
are large, starchy roots that can weigh as much as 100 lbs. Although
they're smaller in size, sweet potatoes provide more nutrition than
yams.
One
medium baked sweet potato, which is approximately five inches long and
two inches in diameter, contains about 103 calories...this is probably
one of the few times you will ever hear me make mention of calories, as I
simply don't believe in them. It supplies a
little over 2 grams of protein and has almost no fat. Its carbohydrate
content is almost 24 grams, with nearly 4 grams of dietary fiber. A
1-cup serving of steamed sweet potato leaves contains approximately 22
calories and almost no fat. This serving has about 1.5 grams of protein
and nearly 5 grams of carbohydrates, with a little over 1 gram of
dietary fiber. Sweet
potatoes are excellent sources of vitamins A and C. A medium-sized
sweet potato supplies about three times your dietary reference intake
(DRI) of vitamin A and approximately a third of your DRI for vitamin C. A
medium-sized sweet potato also supplies about four percent of your DRI
for calcium and iron. Sweet potato leaves are good sources of vitamins
A, K and folate. Because boiling can leach out some of these nutrients,
it’s best to use other methods to cook these leaves, including steaming
them.
Coconut Oil: For years it was a common
misconception that this oil was not good for you and was even bad for the
heart. However, studies have shown that people who have switched to coconut oil
have had less occurrences of heart disease. This is because it contains a large
quantity of saturated fats (don't let that scare you, because unlike most
oils, coconut oil does not sit in your system, it quickly moves out taking bad
fat with it.) Nevertheless, coconut oil contains about 50% lauric acid,
which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol
levels and high blood pressure. Additional benefits include weight loss,
controlling diabetes, curing kidney and gall bladder issues, treating
pancreatic issues, providing easy digestion, healing stomach issues, and
boosting immunity. It's even good for the teeth, as it has a good amount of
calcium.
Raw Blue Agave: According to Dr Ray Sahelian, bestselling author of, Mind Boosters and The Stevia Cookbook,
there are several hundred species of the agave plant. Agave has been
cultivated for centuries, first by the Native American population and
then in Europe, when agave plants were brought back by the Spaniards and
Portugese in the 17th century. Agave contains saponins and fructans. According to Dr. Sahelian,
saponins, which are found on quinoa and many plant roots, including
ginseng, have anti-inflammatory and immune system-boosting properties,
including antimicrobial capability. In fact, the Aztecs used agave syrup
to treat wounds because of its antibacterial properties. Inulin is a type of fructan or fiber that has many health benefits.
Studies suggest that inulin can be effective in weight loss because of
its low impact on blood sugar (that's right! this is a great sugar substitute for those with diabetes) and its ability to increase satiety and
decrease appetite. Inulin is also associated with lowering cholesterol,
reducing the risk of certain cancers, and increasing the absorption of
nutrients, such as isoflavones, calcium and magnesium. In addition, Dr Sahelian says fructans are not destroyed in the stomach
and may be a delivery system for drugs to treat colon diseases such as
ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease.
Mesquite Powder: This powder has a molasses/carmel type of taste to it. In desert areas of the Americas, mesquite seed pods have long been used
as a food source by the indigenous peoples, who traditionally ground
them into a powder to be used as a flour or processed into a sweetener, a
sweet beverage, or a fermented alcoholic drink. Today, mesquite powder
is proving to be a versatile food with a high nutritional and flavor
value. Mesquite is also highly effective in balancing blood sugar. Because its
sugar is in the form of fructose, which does not require insulin for
metabolism, mesquite helps maintain a constant blood sugar level for a
sustained period of time. It supports the diet of diabetics, and helps
maintain a healthy insulin system in others. Because mesquite powder is ground from the entire pod, including the seed, it is high in protein (11–17%). It is also rich in: Lysine, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, Zinc, Dietary fiber. Mesquite is highly effective in balancing blood sugar. For thousands of
years, Native Americans in the Southwest and Mexico relied on mesquite
as a food staple, and there was no diabetes in those communities. Today,
as the people have moved away from their native foods and become less
active, diabetes and obesity have skyrocketed. Fifty percent of the Pima
and Tohono O'odham people over the age of 35 reportedly suffer from
diabetes, and it is believed that the removal of mesquite from their
diets is one of the main causes. Because its sugar is in the form of fructose, which does not require
insulin for metabolism, mesquite helps maintain a constant blood sugar
level for a sustained period of time. With a glycemic index of 25 and a
high percentage (25%) of dietary fiber, it digests more slowly than many
grains, preventing sharp rises and falls in blood sugar. Mesquite thus
supports the diet of diabetics, and helps maintain a healthy insulin
system in others. Mesquite powder has social and ecological as well as nutritional value.
Nutmeg: Medically, nutmeg has strong antibacterial properties. It is
effective in killing a number of cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth. Like cloves, nutmeg contains eugenol, a compound that may benefit the heart. Myristicin found in nutmeg has been shown to inhibit an enzyme in
the brain that contributes to Alzheimer’s disease and is used to improve
memory. It is used in small dosages to reduce flatulence [excessive stomach or intestinal gas], aid digestion and improve appetite. In Arabic countries, nutmeg is valued as an aphrodisiac (substance believed to increase sexual desire). Nutmeg can help to combat asthma. It is also used to relax muscles. Nutmeg contains 10 per cent essential oil which is a colourless or
light yellow liquid. The oil is obtained by the steam distillation of
ground nutmeg. Besides being used in toothpastes, cough syrups, perfumes
and cosmetic industry, externally nutmeg oil is mixed with almond oil
and is used to relieve rheumatic pain. Nutmeg oil is used to treat toothaches. Drops of essential oil are
put on cotton swab and applied to the gums around an aching tooth,
sometimes also used to control bad breath. Drops of nutmeg oil can also be mixed with honey to treat nausea, gastroenteritis, chronic diarrhoea and indigestion. In homoeopathy, nutmeg is used to treat anxiety and depression. In Chinese medicine, it is used to treat impotence and liver disease.
Cinnamon: is an
excellent source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron,
zinc, and magnesium. Iron is required for cellular metabolism as a
co-factor and in RBC's production. Potassium is an important component
of cell and
body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure.
Manganese and copper used by the body as co-factors for the
antioxidant enzyme,
superoxide
dismutase. It also contains very good
amounts of vitamin A, niacin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine. The spice is also very
good source of flavonoid phenolic anti-oxidants such as carotenes,
zeaxanthin, lutein and cryptoxanthins.
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