Green Bliss Smoothie March 16, 2012

Green Bliss Smoothie
with pineapple, banana, and spinach

Ingredients

-3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks (unsweetened)
-1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
– 1/2 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
-3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze (or coconut, or soy milk)

Method

Combine ingredients in your blender. The frozen pineapple and spinach are key for the texture. For a thicker smoothie use a frozen banana half (use fresh instead for a “less-spoon-required” version). Blend until smooth. Make sure the spinach is well blended so you do not end up with noticeable pieces in your drink.

Flavor Profile

The sweet flavors of the pineapple and banana make this a perfect green smoothie for green smoothie beginners. Pineapple dominates the flavors in this blend. If the thought of frozen spinach in your drink sounds daunting you will be pleasantly surprised by the mild flavor of the leaves which can rarely be detected past the sweet fruit flavors.

Nutrition Highlights

Sip this for breakfast and you will be one serving (1/2 cup) closer to meeting your choosemyplate.gov minimum 2.5 recommended daily cups of vegetables and 2 servings closer (1 cup) to meeting your minimum daily recommended 2 cups of fruit! The drink is packed with Vitamin C (over 70% of the DV), Fiber (24% DV), Folate (36% DV), and Vitamin A (beta-carotene form from spinach).

Use a calcium-fortified almond milk (or soy) to reach nearly 1/3 of the DV for calcium.

C-Blast Tangy Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie November 10, 2011

Save jars to bring your smoothies to-go! Just twist on the lid and tote to class/the office for an energizing snack.

Make it a good morning (or afternoon pick-me-up) with this Vitamin-C rich Tangy Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie.

A single kiwi provides more than 100% DV for Vitamin-C!

 

 

C-Blast Tangy Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie
with fresh kiwi, chilled strawberries, & banana

Ingredients
Amounts vary (add to taste). 2 servings.

1 Whole Kiwi
Handful Frozen Strawberries
1/2 Ripe Banana
3 tbsp organic Greek or European plain yogurt
1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

Methods

1. Rinse kiwi. Slice kiwi in half and scoop out contents into blender. Discard skin.

2. Combine all other ingredients to taste. More liquid for a thinner drink, more frozen ingredients & less liquid for a thicker smoothie.

For a dairy-free version substitute yogurt with Amande dairy-free almond yogurt, or organic soy yogurt.

3. Blend until smooth. Serve freshly blended or keep chilled and store covered for up to 12 hours.

4. Chill out & enjoy!

The Dish on Vitamin C November 10, 2010

Red Bell Pepper is one of the best sources of vitamin C. Just 1/2 cup provides more than an entire day's worth of the average person's vitamin C needs (160% of the RDA).

Vitamin C: Cure for the Common Cold?

For years vitamin C has been revered for its supposed effects on preventing and curing the common cold. Despite what supplement producers try to suggest however, little evidence actually exists to prove this theory. In fact, recent findings suggest that, if anything, vitamin D may be the most helpful in preventing colds and flues.

It isn’t that vitamin C has no role in cold prevention/healing. Vitamin C is essential to enhancing immune function. It’s mostly the amount of vitamin C needed that is often mistaken. The RDA for most adult women is 75 mg/day and for adult men is 90 mg/day.  Once the RDA is reached, there aren’t significant benefits shown to taking a higher dose. Meeting the RDA for vitamin C daily may actually help reduce your risk of catching a cold and may reduce the duration (by about 1 day). Once you have the cold, however, taking a super dose of vitamin C has not been shown to provide any significant benefit.

Which of these foods is highest in vitamin C? While both oranges and red peppers are an excellent source of vitamin C, red peppers have about twice the vitamin C of an orange for the same size serving.

Best Food Sources: The best food sources of vitamin C are generally peppers, citrus fruits, and green vegetables. When you think of vitamin C, what’s the first food that comes to mind? For most people, it’s an orange. An orange is an excellent source of vitamin C, 1/2 cup of orange juice provides about 45 mg, nearly 75% of the RDA for women (about 50% the RDA for men).  Here are a few examples of vitamin C-rich foods you might not have guessed:

• Guava: 1/2 cup of guava provides over 225 mg, more than 300% of daily vitamin C RDA
• Red Bell Pepper: 1/2 cup provides over 100 mg, 160%  daily vitamin C RDA for women (over 100% for men)
• Kiwi: 1/2 cup provides about 80 mg, over 100% RDA for women and about 90% RDA for men
• Broccoli: 1/2 cup provides about 40 mg, more than 50% RDA for women and about 45% RDA for men