Green Smoothie

Only a couple of days before St. Patrick’s Day and we’re kind of sticking to our holiday theme and we’re going to look at healthy green smoothie recipes for this week’s post. As you remember, we did a heart healthy food list for Valentine’s Day.

Green smoothies are an ever popular trend. Some are very simple and some have lots of ingredients in them but they all are super healthy. Take a look and see our green smoothie guide that can help you create a drink to feel healthy and to help celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

Simple Green Smoothie:

So a green smoothie has a basic outline. You want to add milk/liquid, greens, fruit, protein, and seeds. If you’re making a big batch of green smoothie, follow this rule, 2 cups of greens, 2 cups of liquids, 3 cups of fruit plus whatever add ons you want.

First of all, a green smoothie wouldn’t be green without the greens so some possible greens that you can use are...spinach, kale, lettuce, Swiss chard, bok choy, collards, dandelion, carrot top, celery, or beet greens. Feel free to use just one kind of green or mix it up and use a couple different types.

Next you’ll need to choose a liquid to add to the smoothie. You can use water, but for an extra bit of flavour try... dairy milk (1%, 2%, skim), soy milk, almond milk, coconut water, cashew milk, rice milk, oat milk, coconut milk, or cold brewed green tea.

Now add some fruit. Frozen bananas are always good to use but also try adding in some other fruit as well. Good fruit to add to your smoothie are mangos, pineapple, berries, peaches avocados, oranges, grapefruits, pears, apples, and grapes.

Finally add in some extras if you want. Some examples of extras are... your favourite protein powder, matcha green tea powder, flax, quinoa, chia seeds, honey, and other seeds.

Here is a recipe for a small batch of green smoothie...

1 ½ cups of milk (you choose what kind)

2 cups of frozen spinach

1 frozen banana

1 cup of fruit, your choice (good ideas are...mango, pineapple, berries, peaches, citrus fruit, green apple)

A scoop of your favourite protein powder

Blend all the ingredients together and drink. You can freeze this smoothie in individual containers so if you’re in a hurry you can pull it out and let it defrost in the morning.

Things to do with Coconut Oil

Coconut Cove by Essie

Coconut Cove is the name of our nail polish this week and we thought that we’d explore the uses for coconut oil. Coconut oil is a multi-purpose item. You can cook with it and also use it on your body and in your body to keep it healthy. We’re going to break the blog down into three sections this week, food uses, internal uses, and topical uses.

First of all here are some types of coconut oil:

They break coconut oil down into 6 types, depending on what you use them for. There is pure, refined, virgin, organic, fractionated, and extra virgin. I read that if you plan on ingesting the oil then refined is best but if you just use topical on your skin and hair then unrefined is alright.

Internal Uses:

I’ve read that coconut oil helps with digestions, hormones, and it helps keep support your immune system. Here are some other health benefits:

It heals infections inside and out

Strengthens the immune system

Helps get rid of yeast infections

Relieves stress

Helps soothes itches

Can help with acne

Helps with cradle cap

Can help get rid of varicose veins

Aids in the relief of pancreatitis symptoms

Helps with calcium absorption

When used topically

Rub inside your nose to help with allergy symptoms

Helps improve gum and mouth health

Speeds sunburn healing

Can help arthritis symptoms

If you take internally, it may help with cold and flu symptoms.

 

Topical Uses:

Coconut oil is a great moisturizer that is why you will find in many makeup products, hair products, soaps, sunscreens, medicinal creams, and lotions that you may use. Here are some topical coconut oil uses...

Makeup remover

Moisturizer especially if you have dry cracked skin prone to psoriasis and eczema

Facial cleanser

Dark spot lightener

Massage on stretch marks and cellulite to help fade over time

Lip balm

Massage oil

Use as a shaving oil or for after shaving

Make a sugar or salt scrub with it

Use in a homemade diaper cream

Brush your teeth with it

Make your own deodorant with it

Rub it on your cuticles

Use it as a hair conditioner

Use it to calm down the frizz in your hair

Food Uses:

 

Coconut oil can also be used in all kinds of recipes. Either in a recipe of it's own, or as a substitute for butter or other oils. Here are some different food uses we have come across:

Coffee Creamer

Smoothies

Soups

Granola

Cookies

Pies

Brownies

Spiced Popcorn

Fried Chicken

Quinoa

Cupcakes

Chili

Waffles

Roasted Vegetables

Oat Bars

Date Bars

Muffins