Avocado Super Smoothie Recipe

By Dr. Mercola

Smoothies are an easy way to add valuable nutrition to your diet when you’re short on time. But even if you have all the time in the world, smoothies are still an excellent choice, as you can throw together a complete balanced meal brimming with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and, if you try the recipe that follows, even healthy fats.

This avocado super smoothie recipe, which is adapted from one posted by the Little Epicurean,1 works great for breakfast (and is a far healthier choice than cereal, bagels, or pancakes). It can also fill in as a light lunch or a snack – the kind that will actually give you energy and “stick to your ribs” (not your hips), so you’re left satiated instead of starving five minutes later.

Perhaps best of all, every ingredient in this smoothie serves an important purpose nutritionally and, when you blend them all together, it’s absolutely delicious!

Avocado Super Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 whole avocado 1 cup of torn kale leaves, no stem ½ cup organic blueberries ½ cup fresh pineapple 1 cup of organic baby spinach ½ sliced cucumber 1 cup unsweetened coconut water

Method:

Pour coconut water into blender. Add the avocado, kale, blueberries, pineapple, spinach, and cucumber. Cover with lid and blend until smooth. Pour into two glasses and serve immediately.

What Makes the Avocado Super Smoothie So Healthy?

Avocado

Avocados, which are actually classified as a fruit, are low in fructose and rich in healthy monounsaturated fat (which is easily burned for energy), and research has confirmed the avocado's ability to benefit vascular function and heart health.

Avocados are also very high in potassium (more than twice the amount found in a banana) and will help balance your vitally important potassium-to-sodium ratio. Avocados also provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including fiber, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid. Besides eating them raw, you can use avocado as a fat substitute in recipes calling for butter or other oils.

Research has also found that avocados are helpful for regulating your blood sugar levels,2 and they might help improve lipid profiles, both in healthy individuals and in those with mild hypercholesterolemia (elevated cholesterol levels).3

Plus, by adding an avocado to your smoothie there’s a good chance it will help you absorb more of the antioxidants it contains. Due to avocados’ beneficial raw fat content, avocado enables your body to more efficiently absorb fat-soluble nutrients (such as alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein) in other foods eaten in conjunction.

One 2005 study found that adding avocado to salad allowed the volunteers to absorb three to five times more carotenoid antioxidant molecules.4

Another boon of avocados—they're one of the safest fruits you can buy conventionally grown, so you don't need to spend more for organic ones. Their thick skin protects the inner fruit from pesticides. Personally, I eat a whole avocado virtually every day.

Kale

Just one cup of kale will flood your body with disease-fighting vitamins K, A, and C, along with respectable amounts of manganese, copper, B vitamins, fiber, calcium, and potassium. With each serving of kale, you’ll also find more than 45 unique flavonoids, which have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.5

Kale is also a good source of cancer-fighting sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol. To date, kale has been found to lower the risk of at least five types of cancer, including bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate.6 The glucosinolates in kale and other cruciferous vegetables break down into products that help protect DNA from damage.7

Blueberries

Blueberries exert positive effects upon your lipid profile, reducing your risk for type 2 diabetes. And because of their bountiful antioxidants, blueberries are one of the best fruits to protect you from premature aging. Blueberries have also been shown to alleviate inflammatory intestinal conditions, such as ulcerative colitis.

Plus, berries contain concentrated amounts of the disease-fighting phytochemicals found to boost your immunity, prevent cancer, protect your heart, and prevent seasonal allergies. Berries are lower in sugar than many fruits, so they are less likely to destabilize your insulin levels yet will add a nice sweetness and flavor to this smoothie recipe.

Pineapple

Pineapple contains an enzyme, bromelain, which aids digestion, reduces inflammation and swelling and may have anti-cancer effects. Rich in antioxidants like vitamin C, pineapple also provides immune support and is an excellent source of manganese, thiamin, and riboflavin, which are important for energy production.

Spinach

Spinach is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, including folate, vitamin A, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, and selenium. Spinach also contains flavonoids that may help protect your body from free radicals, while offering anti-inflammatory benefits and antioxidant support. As reported by the George Mateljan Foundation:8

“While this mixture of conventional nutrients gives spinach a unique status in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory department, it is the unusual mixture of phytonutrients in spinach that ‘seals the deal’ in terms of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components.

In terms of flavonoids, spinach is a unique source of methylenedioxyflavonol glucuronides, and in terms of carotenoids, it’s difficult to find a more helpful source of lutein and zeaxanthin. The epoxyxanthophyll carotenoids neoxanthin and violaxanthin are also welcomed constituents of spinach leaves.”

Cucumber

With vitamin K, B vitamins, copper, potassium, vitamin C, and manganese, cucumbers can help you to avoid nutrient deficiencies that are widespread among those eating a typical American diet.

They contain an anti-inflammatory flavonol called fisetin that appears to play an important role in your brain health. Cucumbers also contain polyphenols called lignans, which may help to lower your risk of breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

Plus, cucumbers are made up of 95 percent water, making them an ideal hydrating and cooling food, and an excellent addition to smoothies (especially during the warmer months).

Coconut Water

Hawaiians call coconut water "noelani," which means "dew from the heavens." It is a clear, light, refreshing liquid (95 percent water) extracted from young, green coconuts that have not reached maturity. Coconut water is:

Rich in natural vitamins (especially the B vitamins), minerals, and trace elements (including zinc, selenium, iodine, sulfur, and manganese). Vitamins are necessary for the enzymatic reactions your cells need in order to function. Full of amino acids, organic acids, enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. Rich source of electrolytes and natural salts, especially potassium and magnesium. Light, low-calorie, and low in sugar but pleasantly sweet—contains about a fifth of the sugar of other fruit juices, like apple or grape juice, as well as containing a little fiber to moderate absorption. Rich in cytokinins, or plant hormones, which have anti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-thrombolytic effects in humans.

Coconut water also has an alkalizing effect on your body, which can help correct the cumulative effects of acidifying foods that make up most diets today. Fresh coconut water is also one of the richest natural sources of electrolytes and can be used to prevent dehydration from strenuous exercise, vomiting or diarrhea.

The Best Part About Smoothies: You Can Use Whatever Ingredients You Have On Hand

When making smoothies, you don’t have to stick exactly to the recipe. If you have raspberries instead of blueberries, for instance, or want to change it up by adding in some raw milk or kefir, you can do that. In fact, it’s a good idea to switch up your smoothie ingredients regularly to ensure you’re getting a wide variety of nutrients in your diet. Other healthy ingredients that work great in smoothies include:

Raw organic pastured eggs High-quality whey protein powder Coconut oil Coconut milk Organic psyllium (for added fiber) Seeds (try alternating between chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds)

For one of my favorite smoothies, I put a giant scoop of the banana Miracle Whey in a one-quart glass mason jar, and then I add two raw organic, free-range eggs. Then I add in some coconut milk. When combined with the banana-flavored whey, this mix imparts a heavenly flavor of coconut banana. Coconut is a great source of MCTs, which are medium chain triglycerides. MCTs are the best low-glycemic fuel for your muscles after exercise.

Thus, the coconut milk further enhances the fueling impact of Miracle Whey, which also contains MCTs. To increase the fiber content, I then add in a teaspoon or two of organic psyllium and, to top it all off, I add some seeds, such as chia seeds and pumpkin seeds. I prefer to blend this altogether using a hand mixer (for ease of cleanup), but you can also make it in a traditional blender. You can tailor your own smoothies to your own taste, using the fruits and vegetables you prefer, and adding coconut water, coconut milk, raw milk, raw yogurt, or kefir, for instance.

One important caveat: be careful to not overdo the fruit, especially if you are insulin or leptin resistant (are overweight, diabetic, hypertensive, or have high cholesterol). If this applies to you, I recommend limiting your fructose intake to a maximum of 15 grams of fructose per day from ALL sources, including whole fruit. You’re far better off making your own smoothies at home for this very reason, because many store-bought smoothies contain excessive amounts of fructose from fruit, and perhaps even added sugars on top of that, even though they’re advertised as healthy.

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7 Super Healthy Food Staples, and 7 Superfoods You May Not Know

By Dr. Mercola

Pre-packaged processed foods may be convenient, but if you seek to improve your health, cooking from scratch using fresh unprocessed ingredients is more or less non-negotiable.

Once you're eating non-adulterated foods—foods that are as close to their natural state as possible—then basically everything you eat is a "superfood." You need nutrients—all of them—and nutrients are found in abundance in fresh, raw foods.

Still, suggestions of specific items can be helpful to steer you in the right direction, so to help you get started, I've compiled two lists: one consisting of seven every-day nutritional powerhouses, plus another one with seven superfoods you may never have heard of—because eating healthy doesn't have to be monotonously boring!

1. Homemade Bone Broth

Homemade bone broth is as "staple" as it gets if you want to eat healthier. It's also a really cost effective way to improve your diet, as you can make use of leftover carcass bones that would otherwise be thrown away.

Bone broth helps "heal and seal" your gut, which is so important for optimal health and disease prevention, and it's also excellent for speeding up your recovery time when you're feeling under the weather. 

It contains plenty of healthy fat, along with important nutrients like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur, and trace minerals, as well as the broken down material from cartilage and tendons, including chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine.

One important caveat when making broth, whether you're using chicken or beef, is to make sure they're from organically-raised, pastured or grass-fed animals. For detailed instructions on how to make your own broth, please refer to my previous article: "Bone Broth—One of Your Most Healing Diet Staples."

2. Sprouted Seeds

Another easy and inexpensive way to optimize your nutrition is to add sprouted seeds to your vegetable juice and/or salad. They can easily be grown in your own kitchen, year-round, and are a great way to dip your toes in the water if you're considering growing your own food.

Sunflower seeds are one of my personal favorites, both in terms of flavor and nutritional punch. Once sunflower seeds are sprouted, their protein, vitamin, and mineral content will typically provide you with 30 times the nutrient content of organic vegetables!

Sprouts in general also contain valuable enzymes—up to 100 times more enzymes than raw fruits and vegetables—that allow your body to absorb and use the nutrients of other foods you eat.

For directions on growing seeds into sprouts, please see my previous article, "How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Spaces."  

We have kits to grow spouts in our store. Sprouts-as-medicine.com1 is another good source for things relating to sprouts: their health benefits, recipes, and how to grow your own.

3. Fermented Vegetables

Cultured or fermented foods have a very long history in virtually all native diets, and have always been highly prized for their health benefits. The culturing process produces beneficial microbes that are extremely important for your health as they help balance your intestinal flora, thereby boosting overall immune function.

Fermented foods are also excellent chelators and detox agents that can help rid your body of a wide variety of toxins, including heavy metals. Just one quarter to one half cup of fermented food, eaten with one to three meals per day, can have a dramatically beneficial impact on your health.

Fermenting your own vegetables is a lot simpler than you might think, and is the most inexpensive route. Wild fermentation is when you allow whatever is on the vegetable to naturally take hold and culture the food. Inoculating the food using a starter culture speeds up the fermentation process, however.

If you use a starter culture formulated to produce higher levels of vitamin K2 (which many are deficient in), you will also save money on supplements. (Vitamin K2 is particularly important if you're taking a vitamin D supplement.)

For instructions, and a more in-depth discussion of the health benefits of fermented veggies, please see my previous interview with Caroline Barringer.

4. Avocados

Avocados are an excellent source of healthy raw fat, which most Americans are seriously deficient in. They also provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including: fiber, potassium, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and folic acid.

In addition, avocados enable your body to more efficiently absorb fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein, in other foods eaten in conjunction with it.

Besides eating them raw, you can use avocado as fat substitute in recipes calling for butter or other oils. Another boon of avocados—they're one of the safest fruits you can buy conventionally-grown, so you don't need to spend more for organic ones. Their thick skin protects the inner fruit from pesticides.

5. Kale

Kale contains fiber and antioxidants, and is one of the best sources of vitamin A, which promotes eye and skin health and may help strengthen your immune system. A one-cup serving has almost as much vitamin C as an orange and as much calcium as a cup of milk. It's simply an excellent source of multiple vitamins and other nutrients, including:

Vitamin A Vitamin B Vitamin C Calcium Lutein (helps protect against macular degeneration) Zeaxanthin (helps protect against macular degeneration) Indole-3-carbinol (may protect against colon cancer) Iron Chlorophyll

6. Organic Coconut Oil

Besides being excellent for your thyroid and your metabolism, coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which is capable of destroying a number of different viruses, including influenza and measles. Its medium chain fatty acids (MCTs) also impart a number of health benefits, including raising your body's metabolism.

Coconut oil is easy on your digestive system and does not produce an insulin spike in your bloodstream, so for a quick energy boost, you could simply eat a spoonful of coconut oil, or add it to your food.

It's also the ideal choice for all types of cooking—in fact, it's the only oil stable enough to resist mild heat-induced damage. So, whenever you need an oil to cook or bake with, use coconut oil instead of butter, olive oil, vegetable oil, margarine, or any other type of oil called for in recipes.

Just make sure you choose an organic coconut oil that is unrefined, unbleached, made without heat processing or chemicals, and does not contain genetically engineered ingredients.  As an added boon, coconut oil has countless other uses besides cooking and eating; from topical beauty applications to first aid treatments, to general household cleaning.

7. Fresh Herbs

Herbs do more than add flavor; they're also densely packed with valuable nutrients, and many are well-known for having medicinal qualities as well. Turmeric is one example of a spice with potent and scientifically proven medicinal benefits—against cancer no less. Another less dramatic example is plain black pepper, which has been shown to increase the bioavailability of just about all other foods. As a general rule, you really can't go wrong when using herbs and spices and I recommend allowing your taste buds to dictate your choices when cooking.

Seven Superfoods You May Never Have Heard of

If your pantry is already stocked with these basics and/or you're looking to expand your culinary repertoire with some more adventurous fare, the following seven superfoods are ones you may never have heard of before. For a few more, see the featured article in Time magazine.2

Limequat Limequats are a hybrid cross between lime and kumquat, the latter of which is a sweet but tangy citrus with an edible peel. Limequats are in season between July and November, and contain plenty of fiber and vitamin C. Like the kumquat, they have an edible rind, so it's a good choice for spicing up dishes with a citrusy flavor. PomeloThe pomelo is yet another member of the citrus family that is typically overlooked. They look a bit like over-sized grapefruits, and the taste is similar too, although pomelos tend to be sweeter. To eat, remove the thick rind and membrane from each "slice." Just like other citrus fruits, you can eat it as is, or add to salad, salsa, marinades, or fresh juice, just to give you a few ideas. Hubbard squash Hubbard squash3 is in season during the winter, when it can be a welcome source of densely packed nutrients, including vitamins A, C, E and K, potassium, folic acid, iron, lutein, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus,  zeaxanthin, and plant-based omega-3. The featured article suggests pairing roasted Hubbard squash with kale, or adding it to stew. CeleriacCeleriac, aka turnip-rooted celery or celery root, is a root vegetable with a taste that resembles conventional celery. You can eat it either raw or cooked, and it's high in vitamins B6, C, and K, along with potassium and magnesium. Time magazine suggests grating some onto salad, along with beets, apples, and walnuts for a flavorful kick. TeffTeff, a tiny North African cereal grass grain, has been a staple of traditional Ethiopian cooking for thousands of years. Naturally gluten-free, teff is rich in calcium, manganese, iron, fiber, protein, B vitamins, zinc, and all eight essential amino acids. It has a mild, nutty flavor that lends itself well to a variety of dishes, including stews, pilaf, and baked goods. You could also add it on top of your salad. FenugreekFenugreek is a curry-scented plant, the seeds of which have traditionally been valued for their medicinal uses,4 which include the treatment of digestive problems, upset stomach, constipation, and gastritis, and much more.

Fresh fenugreek leaves can be eaten raw like a vegetable. You can also use them—either fresh or dried—to spice up various dishes. Fresh fenugreek leaves are often used in Indian curries. Fenugreek seeds are rich in minerals like iron, potassium, calcium, fiber, and choline, and can be sprouted for an added health kick. PurslanePurslane is a lemon-flavored edible weed that is popular in both Greek and Mexican cooking. Some compare the taste to watercress or spinach. It's rich in plant-based omega-3 fats, vitamins C and E, and pectin.  Young leaves and tender stem tips are generally preferred in terms of flavor and crunch, and make a tasty addition to salads and sandwiches. Take Control of Your Health with Real Food

The need for speed and convenience has resulted in a plethora of processed pre-packaged foods, but while generally less expensive, a processed food diet will typically lead to a downturn in health. Then when years of bad food choices take their toll on health, people want to feel better by tomorrow. They want to be at their ideal weight by next week. And as luck would have it, there is an endless supply of drugs and fake foods available promising to do just that.

Unfortunately, nearly all of these "magic pills" and diets can worsen your health even more in the long run. Ultimately, the simplest and most effective way to achieve good health and a long life is to focus on the nutrition you are putting in your body on a daily basis. Healthy foods not only provide you with life-giving nutrients and fuel for all your organs, they also help you keep an ideal weight.

If you're new to the idea of eating a diet based on whole foods, incorporating as many of the staples listed above as you can will get you off to a great start. For even more advice on how to eat right by focusing your diet on whole, unprocessed superfoods, see my nutrition plan. Once you've got the basics covered, start exploring and expanding your repertoire. There are so many flavors and textures out there—the likes of which you'll never come across in a microwave dinner!

Ideally, opt for organic and/or locally grown foods whenever possible. The following organizations can help you locate organic and locally produced foods, including many of those discussed above.

Local Harvest -- This Website will help you find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce and grass-fed meats. Eat Wild: With more than 1,400 pasture-based farms, Eatwild's Directory of Farms is one of the most comprehensive sources for pastured foods in the United States and Canada. Farmers' Markets -- A national listing of farmers' markets. Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals -- The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada. FoodRoutes -- The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you. ]]>

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