Beyond the Jewelry-- Smoothies!

Besides creating really fun and colorful jewelry for YIKES! Studio, I enjoy creating and eating delicious, nutritious, and colorful foods. I have been posting from time to time a few of my smoothies on my Facebook page. Many people have told me they enjoy those posts and have questions about the ingredients used.

I also get many questions about my eating lifestyle, called Paleo. I'm always happy to answer questions if I can, and I'd like to share a few recipes and share some great smoothies and other healthy, delicious and beautiful foods that are part of my life!

So here we go with my smoothie of the day...

First, some General Smoothie Info

First of all, I would say that you will need a good blender. I use a tangerine colored (this is important 'cause I gotta have color!) Kitchen Aid blender. I love it. It's so pretty and always looks so nice in its nook in the kitchen. When I whip it out to blend up one of these smoothie babies it performs miraculously. It was a good buy at around $100 on Amazon. That is really all that you need beyond a cutting board, a good knife and some great fruits and veggies.

I often think of these smoothies as mainlining nutrition right into the body. They go down so easily and give me so much joy! And what's not to love about starting the day off with a huge serving of fruits and vegetables plus the really good fat found in coconut milk? Can't be a bad thing.

My smoothies most always include banana (which can be frozen ahead of time), 1/4 avocado, and 1/2 can organic coconut milk (I have this on automatic delivery from Amazon as I use so much of it). When I tell people about the avocado in a smoothie, they often think that their smoothie will taste like avocado (which often gets a "yuck" response)! The avocado imparts a creaminess and and in the smoothie, it has no flavor at all. It's a miracle booster in your smoothie.



Cantaloupe Salad Smoothie 
Yes, that's right-- cantaloupe and salad! Really, this is good. Okay, no... its beyond good, it is incredible!

First of all I start out with some baby spinach, a handful of parsley (which is good for the liver) and some red leaf lettuce. About a dinner salad's worth. I give the greens a spin in my greens washer, tear it all up and put in the blender.

Next I add about a cup of frozen Maine wild blueberries, about a cup of cut up cantaloupe, 1/4 avocado, 1 banana, 6 ice cubes (I like my smoothies very cold) 1/2 can coconut milk, and approximately 1 cup of water.

Blend! I start on the chop setting and work my way up through puree to liquidfy. If your blender isn't blending you may need to add some more water.

None of this is exact and you can configure your smoothie to however you like it. The possibilities are endless!

About a dinner salad's worth of cleaned spinach, parsley and red leaf lettuce

Blender loaded and ready to fire up. I use the Thai organic coconut milk

Creamy, delicious, and nutritious! Drink through a straw for maximum joy.