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Recipe, vegan home

Fantastic well balanced plant-based smoothies

Objective evaluation

Smoothies have risen in popularity do to their convenience and supreme tastiness (yes we’re going with that super scientific term).

A couple of things they do right:

  • increase vegetable and fruit consumption
  • easy way to add a meal in your day
  • easy digestion (especially after certain surgery or sickness)
  • increase water intake
  • easier way to ingest new or not as delicious foods
  • easy way to add spices, seeds and herbs to your diet

What do they lack:

  • structure – When we blend foods we take away their structure, break larger molecules of fiber, which affects digestion, and makes for less prebiotics in our diet.

Foods are valued depending on what you compare them to

Therefore even though consuming ingredients in their whole non blended form may be preferable, because of their inherent structure, that breaks down far less when we chew rather than blend. If we compare blended foods to not eating those foods at all, or eating much less of them, of course the smoothie makes for a great option.

Basic smoothie blueprint:

  • water and/or plant milk
  • fruit
  • veggies
  • spices
  • herbs
  • seeds and/or nuts
  • grains
  • legumes
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Variety is king (sorry Charles) and that is why we give you here the very general basics for creating a balanced plant-based smoothie.

Because we want you to feel free to play with the ingredients and make a new version as often as possible, here is the blueprint to make it easier.

Basic balanced plant-based smoothies blueprint

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 10 Minutes
Servings: 2 People
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Ingredients

smoothie
  • 1 cup berries of choice
  • 1 - 2 cups other fruit of choice
  • 2 cups green leafy vegetables
  • 1-2 tablespoons of flaxseed *
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons of other seeds and/or nuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 cup oats
  • 2 cups water **
  • 1/2 cup legumes ***
  • other herbs and spices of choice
extras
  • plant protein powder
  • dates or sweetener of choice
  • other vegetables fresh or cooked
  • peper and ginger
  • other herbs of choice

Instructions

1. To the smoothie maker add the water and all the ingredients, starting with the ones you want to be the most blended (the least flavorful ones, like the leafy greens, other vegetables and seeds or nuts) and the spices and herb on top of them.
2. Withhold adding the sweeter ingredients (berries, other fruit) so as to blend them the least.
3. Add dates or sweetener bit by bit, as you taste along.
4. Add water (or milk, juice) if too thick and not blending.
5. The less you blend the ingredienst the better it is for your digestion.
6. If at all possible, there should still be particles to chew on in your smoothie.
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*chia seeds work great too

**you can use orange juice or a plant milk of your choice instead, it will make it sweeter and more flavorful.

***white beans work best for sweet smothies.