Oh yeah, eating healthy. Ok, so in theory, everyone should be getting 5 to 9 servings of veggies and fruits a day but can anyone honestly say they are going this? I will be the first to say no. The fact that I am not getting the appropriate amount of green stuff in my diet makes me upset because as a nurse, I should know better. Well, this is where spirulina powder comes in and saves the day.
What is this wondrous spirulina?
Spirulina is a blue-green algae that is ridiculously nutritious. It contains an insane amount of protein in its dry form (lets remember that we are talking about a PLANT here!). One tablespoon of this stuff has 320% of your daily value of beta carotene, 67% B12 and 22% Iron and calorically speaking, its only 25 calories a tablespoon. There are a lot of other nutritional benefits that are too lengthy to mention but google it. This stuff is touted to be a superfood and with these stats, I have got to say I agree.
I have been drinking my spirulina smoothie everyday for about 2 months now and I can honestly say I feel awesome. Recently, the runny nose made its way into my home and while my two sweet men were bogged down with a cold, I was dancing a jig because I was totally snuffle free. I have a crazy amount of energy when I have my smoothie because of the huge boost of B12 from the spirulina. And for all of you who are interested, spirulina is amazing in regulating you, if you know what I mean. You can set your clock to me is all I'm saying!
How does it taste?
Now that I have sung the praises of this stuff, I will give you that bad news. Spirulina taste like death warmed over. Actually, I take that back. Spirulina itself does not taste THAT bad but what kills me is the smell. As a child, I had a turtle name Harvey. Harvey lived off of freeze dried blood worms. Spirulina smells like blood worms. I guess we can thank the iron in spirulina for that. The first time I had spirulina, I had it mixed in a cup of water, no buffer, no chasers, just water. To recall the experience of drinking spirulina for the first time only brings back memories of pain and anger. Pain because I had to physically keep myself from getting sick and anger because I though I had just wasted $22 on a bottle if spirulina.
Some people online have described it as a grass clipping flavor. I would have to disagree. It taste bad and it smells putrid but I keep on truckin' because spiruulin is just that fantastic. I also made a really interesting discovery recently. My 20 month old son, Dadma, LOVES my spirilina smoothie. He chugs the smoothie like a frat boy romancing a beer. He literally starts crying when he finishs his cup because he wants seconds and I cut him off at one serving. Go figure, I guess Dadma doesn't mind the smell of blood worms. Anywho, for all of you who are adventurous enough to try something new and committed to introducing more good stuff into your diet, check out the smoothie below. I lifted it
online from Andy Hili and tweeked it. Its a great recipe and the taste won't kill you. To be honest, I have gotten use to the taste and smell and kind of look forward to pounding my smoothie everyday.
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| Cheers! |
32oz. jar of pineapple juice
2 bannanas
7oz. can of coconut milk (1/2 can, save the rest in the fridge for your next smoothie batch)
Juice of one lemon
4 tablespoons of Spirulina
Blend first four ingredients until everything is incorporated. Keeping the blender ON at low speed, remove the lid, add the Spirulina into the moving smoothie. If you spoon Spirulina powder into still fluid, it will clump and get gross. This recipe yields 4 servings. ***Be sure to also drink plenty of water as well, as it will aid in the absorption of the spirulina into your body.
2 bannanas
7oz. can of coconut milk (1/2 can, save the rest in the fridge for your next smoothie batch)
Juice of one lemon
4 tablespoons of Spirulina
Blend first four ingredients until everything is incorporated. Keeping the blender ON at low speed, remove the lid, add the Spirulina into the moving smoothie. If you spoon Spirulina powder into still fluid, it will clump and get gross. This recipe yields 4 servings. ***Be sure to also drink plenty of water as well, as it will aid in the absorption of the spirulina into your body.
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| All gone. |
