Sunday Morning Smoothie

Indulgent Green Smoothie Variation

My daily green smoothies are a simple blend of whole foods:  Leafy greens, fruits and/or vegetables, ice and water (sometimes coconut water).  On Sundays I mix it up by creating a very luscious creamy shake which is actually packed with nutrition.  I call these “LJ Green Fusion Shakes.”

The base of this smoothie is nut milk.  It is super simple to make your own.  Check out the video below to see how easily you can make your own nut and seed milk, loaded with Vitamin E, healthy fats, omega 3’s and other micronutrients.  With rampant food allergies and lactose intolerance in this country, nut and seed milks are a great alternative.  Especially if you would like to keep antibiotics and hormones out of your family’s diet, since these are the sad realities of our country’s dairy industry.

There are many nut and alternative milks on the market.  I am not a fan of the Silk brand but you can now find their soy and almond milk in mainstream supermarkets everywhere.  So Delicious has a nice line of coconut milk.  And in any health food store you will find a shelf filled with cartons filled with everything from oat to hemp milk.  While I always have a few of these on hand, these products have gone through processing and often have additives and sweeteners.  When I buy the packaged brands my preference is for vanilla-flavored, unsweetened — so that I can have control over what kind of sweetener to use.

Watch me making Nut Milk and a Vegan sandwich on the Daytime Show

To make nut or seed milk all you have to do is soak the nuts or seeds for 6-12 hours (nuts on the longer side as they have more antinutrients and enzyme inhibitors on the skin).  Cashews only require about 2 hours.  Note:  You can only make nut milk with raw nuts and seeds!  ALWAYS drain and rinse the nuts – don’t use the soak water to make the milk.  Using fresh water, blend the nuts or seeds – about one cup soaked nuts to 6-8 cups spring water — for about 2 minutes.  You can sweeten with dates or any sensible sweetener.  Then either pour the mixture into a sieve, cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (we have them on the site for sale).  It takes only moments and you have something fresh, pure and economical.  You’ll also impress your friends and family that you make your own nut milk!

Some of my favorite blends are:  Brazil nuts (makes a very rich, creamy milk); sesame seeds (loaded with calcium and plain yummy!) hazelnuts, hempseeds.

LJ’s Green Fusion Shake

A)  Start with 1-2 cups of nut or seed milk in your blender

B)  Add a scoop of protein powder (we use a hemp-based vegan one from Trader Joe’s)

C)  Add 4-5 pitted dates

D) Add a scoop of powdered greens, like barley grass or a blend like Green Vibrance or Field of Greens.

E)  Add a tablespoon or two of the sweetener of your choice (stevia, honey, maple syrup, agave, palm sugar etc.)

F) Optional:  Add a teaspoon or two of powdered green tea (matcha)  for a boost of powerful antioxidants and the flavor of green tea ice cream

G)  Optional:  Add a scoop of your favorite superfoods – such as chia seeds, ground flaxseed, lucuma, maca or mesquite or even some bee pollen

H)  Optional:  Add a tablespoon of tahini – this is sesame butter or almond butter.

I)  Optional:  Add a scoop of cacao nibs or cocoa powder

J)  Add plenty of ice and BLEND until frothy.

Guilt-free bliss!  Happy Sunday.