Avocado Signature
By Cat, March 2015 (Source of photo, right, unknown)
My morning smoothies have changed over the years as I slowly replace processed ingredients (like protein powders) with fresh ingredients. This recipe, from Mercola’s website (1) takes the smoothie even further than my current morning smoothie, in this regard. There are no processed or powdered ingredients at all. I’m quite intrigued.
Last week I did a 5-day veggie juice fast followed by 4 days of breaking-the-fast. Avocado and kale are a big part of the breaking-the-fast, and I wished I’d known about this smoothie earlier. I’ll definitely make it a part of the next fast routine.
See also: 1. Beverages Menu;
Other sites: 1. Easy Healthy Smoothie blog: 15 Kale Smoothies that Actually Taste Great (3)
Avocado & Kale Smoothie
This recipe is (barely) adapted from Mercola, which in turn was adapted from Little Epicurean (2). The original Mercola version includes fresh (or frozen) pineapple, but I get sores all over the inside of my mouth when I eat fresh pineapple. Unfortunately, pineapple is the only food source of the enzyme bromelain which has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects.
I note that the Little Epicurean recipe uses only coconut water, avocado, kale, banana and lime juice, so to begin, I’d use a green or partly-green banana in place of the pineapple (the greener the banana, the more resistant starch, which is beneficial for insulin sensitivity and colon health).
My friend Jean used a yellow banana, and huckleberries instead of blueberries, and mixed greens instead of kale and spinach. She liked the flavor and consistency provided by the avocado.
Serves 2.
Recipe
- 1 whole avocado
- 1 cup of torn organic kale leaves, no stem
- 1 cup of organic baby spinach or torn chard
- ½ cup organic blueberries
- ½ green banana (3 – 3.5 oz) or ½ cup fresh pineapple
- ½ sliced cucumber (2 – 3″ section)
- 1 cup raw milk or unsweetened coconut water
- Wash then tear kale and chard leaves (if using); wash and add spinach leaves (if using). Cut avocado in half and separate from peel and pit; cut each half into 3 or 4 pieces. Wash blueberries, remove peel from banana (or cut pineapple into 1″ chunks), and slice cucumber.
- Pour milk or coconut water into blender. Add remaining ingredients. Cover with lid and blend until smooth. Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.
References
- Mercola recipe: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/03/22/avocado-smoothie-recipe.aspx
- Little Epicurean recipe: thelittleepicurean.com/2015/02/avocado-kale-smoothie.html
- Easy Healthy Smoothie recipes: easyhealthysmoothie.com/15-kale-smoothie-recipes/
