How to Eat Clean

I think there’s a lot wrong with the way people view juicing and smoothies these days. 

Everyone’s looking to eat clean and eat wholesome food, but sometimes, they’re going about it the wrong way.

Everywhere I look I see people talking about the health benefits of juicing but adding in all super sweet fruit turning what is a powerhouse of vitamins into a glycemic nightmare for most people, especially anyone who needs to watch their weight, their inflammatory response or blood sugar levels.

Instead, I always recommend people eliminate juicing and move to high speed blenders and their ability to bring the gut-loving benefits of fiber into a liquid meal.

Also I see so many recipes that are either a straight dessert loaded with tons of sugar and calories or I see something that tastes so awful there’s no way you would ever repeat the effort eat clean, if you were able to even finish the first glass that is.

Instead, I check in with my body to see what it is telling me on a daily basis

adapt my smoothies to fit.

Makes a whole lot more sense to me.

So especially for everyone out there who is waking up to how important your gut health is for your mental and physical health this is a great way to get fiber into the body so that it can help move all the other “stuff” through your system.

The base of my daily smoothie stays the same, but what I add, and how much I add varies so that it doesn’t get boring!  And it varies on how much fiber I need or which superfoods I need or are my knees hurting, for example.

I use the smoothies primarily as a meal replacement but could also be a snack to add antioxidants between meals instead of chips.

I finalize the flavouring for my taste.  I happen to love chocolate and raw organic cacao powder is actually a superfood. (Do not confuse the regular powdered cocoa in the supermarket as it’s been heat treated, the bulk of the antioxidants are now gone).  Some people are addicted to chocolate as I am so cacao powder goes in all of my smoothies.  So experiment with what tastes good to you and what makes your body feel good.  Then adapt quantities and superfoods you put into it.

The Ultimate Smoothie BASE

(Download pdf recipe here)

1-3 Celery sticks chopped

¼-1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1Tablespoon rice or pea protein powder (read the directions for your specific brand)

1 teaspoon raw organic cacao

½ teaspoon complete amino acids fruit flavoured

That’s it.  Add enough filtered water to cover and blend 2minutes

You will quickly learn how much you can add to your blender in the way of solids to get a consistency that you like.  A small Ninja blender won’t hold nearly as much as 2000 watt 2L blender.

Design the combinations that taste and feel good to you

I chop up the veggies into separate baggies and put in the freezer so it’s easy to keep things on hand for a quick breakfast, lunch or snack

Optional superfoods

¼ – ½ apple (adds great fiber for the gut and sweetness)

1/3 cucumber (great detox element)

Raw Carrots

Almond butter (or peanut butter)

Raw Beetroot (add as much as you can tolerate if cancer is a concern)

Broccoli sprouts (you’ll probably need to sprout your own, hard to come by in most places but the sulfurophane is actually increased when frozen)

1 Tablespoon collagen powder

Pure flavouring:

1 teaspoon instant coffee (decaf)

¼ teaspoon vanilla

Super spices

Cinnamon (try grinding your own, the flavour is infinitely better – great to help regulate blood sugar)

2 -4 cm raw ginger (peeled) great as anti-inflammatory

¼ teaspoon turmeric (goes great with ginger, apple, celery)

Coriander (for detox smoothie)

Parsely

½ lime with skin removed

Some of my Favourite Super Foods (pick 1 or 2 at a time)

1 teaspoon mushroom powder: reishi, chaga (the longevity mushroom), lions mane (brain health), turkey tail (cancer issues)

Maca

Chinese herbs: fo ti, ginseng, rhodiola

Ayurvedic: astragalus, ashwaganda

Be careful not to overdo the herbs more than your practitioner has prescribed for your body.

Often, I will make my first smoothie of the day a powerhouse blend, and if I decide to do a second smoothie instead of lunch, I switch up the ingredients or stick to my basic smoothie.

Download a pdf with the recipe here

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