More reasons to drink homemade smoothies

When you drink a homemade smoothie, you can be sure what ingredients you have to best improve your health, without the added sugar from a smoothie cafes that use ice cream or sherbets, or the disintegration of nutrients from ones sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.

Most of us don't get enough servings of fruits and veggies in our diet - which why I encourage my nutrition/weight loss students to focus on to get the fiber from fruits and veggies to help flatten their belly from the inside out! Now, I'm excited to share with you more reasons why smoothies can give you ENERGY -- at the cellular level, besides the usual vitamins and antioxidants you might already know about.

Now, I was reading about CoQ10 for getting energy to mitochondria and found that it has an anti-aging buddy PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone) that can help build new mitochondria. For the nerds out there, you can click on the Journal link below and I dare you to try to say the full words PQQ and CoQ10 correctly as fast as you can. So from here on, because it's a tongue-twister for me, we'll just refer to it as P-Q-Q. For everyone else, just know that CoQ10 is great for your heart and tissues (helps decrease my chances of bleeding gums when flossing), and PQQ studies can help improve brain function (especially important for those who have family history of Alzheimers, Parkinsons or dementia etc).

So for those with low attention span, I'll give you some recipe ideas here that will help get the energy boosting foods on the PQQ common foods list from the Biochem Journal now.

I promise that uncooked spinach in a smoothie does not have a flavor or the hairy teeth effect of some cooked spinach. Also, using frozen fruit allows you to get the cool taste for a summer smoothie without adding ice or sugary sorbets.

Kiwi Energy smoothie (If you don't mind seedy taste from the kiwis)
1 generous handful of spinach, 2 peeled and cut-up kiwis, 1 cup frozen organic blueberries (berries are less expensive frozen!), 1 tbls coconut oil, 4-8 oz of coconut water or almond milk (place first 5 ingredients to blend) then stir in 1 tbl of chia seeds for added fiber and omega-3. Optional flavors to add: fresh mint leaves. Optional to boost digestive health: blend in flavorless aloe powder (1 packet). You can omit coconut oil (good fats!) if you don't like coconut taste.

Banana Fanatics smoothie (for those who want the creamy tropical taste or don't like seeds)
1 generous handful of spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh papaya, 1/2 a medium apple, 1 tbls coconut oil, 4-8 oz of coconut water or almond milk. Blend these 6 ingredients. If you like seeds texture, then add 1tbl of chia seeds for added fiber and omega-3. Optional to boost digestive health: blend in flavorless aloe powder (1 packet). If you like cinnamon, sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon (healthy blood sugar support without added sweet calories) into your smoothie for a hint of banana bread flavor.

Savory side dish energy boost
Slice up sweet potatoes and carrots, mix in bowl with crushed garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Roast in oven or sautee in pan on medium-low until desired texture. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley when root veggies are ready. This is good to make in a big batch because once made, they sit well in the fridge for quick snacking or adding as a side to a quick meal.

Secrets of strawberries

A good friend of mine got me addicted to Harry's Berries when I first moved to LA and I'm a devoted follower ever since. You see, I've been spoiled and can't eat any commercial strawberries anymore, especially not the big genetically modified ones. Conventional strawberries have high pesticide load and please remember to buy organic for this fruit (See the "Dirty Dozen" list from the Environmental Working Group). Other strawberries just don't have the fragrance and texture of home-grown strawberries I remember from my youth, and Harry's Berries is just as good as a home-grown strawberry because they fresh-pick it that morning before it comes to market!

As much as I love the Hollywood Farmer's market on Sunday, it's sometimes too large (I can get easily distracted by all the stands) and too much competition to get to the market early enough before it's sold out. So if you can squeak in a weekday morning farmer's market run, I do better by getting to the Monday West Hollywood market (click on the link to find out where you can get Harry's Berries near you in LA area), and the secret to getting your hands on these strawberries is getting there just after 9am (to get parking and avoid street cleaning between 8am-9am on Fountain) and you need to get there before 11:30am (it's usually when they sell out). Please say hi to Alex who greets you at the stand. If you want recipes, they have a few recipes on their website, but I can't bear to modify these beauteous tasty strawberries. I think they are perfect in their raw beauty.

And if you're in search of more summer fruits, please check out the Nicholas Family Farms stand at Larchmont Market, where you can get plums, grapes, peaches and more. You can ask Penny or one of her daughters what their favorite fruit of the week is so that you can find out what is at the peak of the season. California cherries have a short season, but I found organic cherries at Vons supermarket this past week. The bonus of finding great strawberries and summer fruit is that I don't really need dessert when I have a tasty supply of yummy fruit packed full of antioxidants waiting for me. Do you have some other great finds? Please share! Happy hunting for summer fruits!

Pumpkin Cranberry Protein/Fiber Cookie Recipe

Not the sexiest recipe title, but it sure makes you feel better about eating a dessert item with the extra protein and fiber!

The trick to swapping out some of the white flour, is to get good unbleached parchment paper so that your cookies hold their shape and don't go *splat*! ! I've had my share of mishaps in my multi-year experimentation with improving the nutrient density of yummy baked goods, so you get pleasure for your palette and nutrition for your body!

Supplies: Cookie sheets, unbleached parchment paper (not wax paper)

Ingredients

1/2 c butter, softened (unsalted preferred)
3/4 c white sugar (decreased sugar than other recipes)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg (free-range omega-3 fortified eggs are recommended)
1 c organic pumpkin puree
2 c gluten-free baking flour (if this is not available, change the recipe to be 2 c all purpose flour)
1 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free preferred)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (kosher preferred)
1/2 cup protein/fiber powder
1 c dried cranberries (unsweetened is preferred, but more difficult to find)
1 tsp ground cinnamon (great anti-inflammatory!)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbl orange or lemon zest (optional)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional, highly recommended--great source of Omega-3 fats)

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 375 F. Do NOT grease cookie sheets. Line with unbleached parchment paper.
2) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter + sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, egg, and pumpkin. This is your wet mixture.
3) Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and protein powder. Stir dry ingredients by hand with a spatula into the wet mixture. (tip: do not over-mix.) Stir in cranberries and orange zest and walnuts. If you like extra crunchy walnuts, save the walnuts for later.
4) Drop by tablespoons onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Make a size that is on the smaller side, for better portion-control and for cuteness. Yes, presentation matters! For crunchy walnut topping, sprinkle and press walnuts on top of cookies.
5) Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy after cooling on racks. Let cool completely so that the crunch on the outside is there, otherwise it gets more soft due to pumpkin moisture. Store in airtight containers or plastic bags.
Gift them to friends and colleagues so that they are eaten fresh within 2-3 days (so YOU can enjoy but you are not eating them all!)
If you want to save the dough, wrap in a log with plastic wrap, then in a freezer storage bag so that you can heat up a few cookies in the toaster oven as a weeknight post-dinner treat.