It’s officially mid-September and I realized I haven’t posted any recipes since August!
I have been thinking about this smoothie since last month, though, because the late summer veggies at the farmers’ market were particularly inspiring.
Update: I started school last week and I am now officially in training to become a holistic nutritionist. I am already learning so much, especially since I haven’t taken a science-related class in maybe 14 years. (Not really a necessity when you’re working in the world of marketing and PR.)
It’s important to understand if your digestion is working well, since the majority of us have something going on that’s keeping us from digesting the good stuff properly and eliminating the bad stuff in a timely manner. Fortunately, as we have discussed in class, beets give you a super-simple way of discovering if your body is moving food through the body properly. Then, of course, there’s the healing process. This smoothie will help you do the BEET TEST.
The beet test is incredibly simple. Basically, you put a bunch of beets into your body and then see how long it takes for them to come out the other end. Yep, I’m talking about poop in this post. Sorry, but everybody poops, and that poop tells us a lot about our bodies! It will be red once the beets make it all the way through.
I won’t talk all about the healing process today, but a few things you can do include:
Cleaning up your diet from processed foods (Hi!)
Drinking more water
Adding more fibre, including lots of fruits and veggies and things like ground flax, psyllium, or chia
Reducing stress through physical activity, meditation, or just remembering to take a few deep breaths each hour
Incorporating more fermented foods and/or talking to your healthcare professional about the right probiotic
Eating some protein at every meal, rather than a lot at once
I realize this beet-apple-kale combo is very similar to my beet-apple-kale salad, but why mess with what works?
All of the main ingredients happen to be highly anti-inflammatory, from the beets, apples, and kale, to the ginger and, of course, turmeric. Plus, this healing smoothie is packed with antioxidants and fibre. If your digestion has been suffering, this will probably be a helpful addition to your breakfast lineup. (You’ll just have to remember to remain calm when you see red the next day.)
I like to add in all of the optional additions in this recipe to make it a complete protein-filled breakfast. Feel free to pick the protein option that works best for you, whether it’s whole nuts/seeds or a clean protein powder.
Beet ‘n’ Greens Smoothie
Prep Time 5 mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Keyword: AIP, autoimmune paleo, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, green smoothie, greens, gut health, kale, leaky gut, nut-free, paleo, smoothie, vegan, vegetarian
Servings: 1
Ingredients
The basics
1 large or 2 small beets raw and peeled
½ green apple or other tart apple
½ cup kale removed from stems
1 stalk celery
1 cup coconut milk or milk of choice
1 cm fresh ginger or 1 tsp dried
1 cm fresh turmeric or 1 tsp dried
Pinch black pepper
Optional boosters
1 scoop protein powder this one is great or 1 Tb hemp seeds
1 tsp ground flaxseed
1 Tb collagen
Instructions
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.
If necessary, add some water until it combines.
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