I recently purchased Smoothie Recipes for Optimum Health: 160+ of the World’s Healthiest and Quickest Meals edited by Kevin Gianni for some new recipe ideas, inspiration, and for some research I’m doing. Kevin Gianni is well known for his video blog The Renegade Health Show among other things such as Renegade Water Secrets: The Definitive Guide to Clean, Pure Water. Smoothie Recipes for Optimum Health contains contributed recipes by people like Ani Phyo, David Wolfe, Matt Monarch, Annmarie Gianni, Dr. Doug Graham, Brendan Brazier, Rhio, Dorit, Anthony Anderson, Craig Sommers, Valya Boutenko, Yasmin Gow, Brenda Cobb, Angela Stokes, Annet van Dorsser, and Nomi Shannon.
The first recipe I tried out of Smoothie Recipes for Optimum Health was the Berry Blueberry recipe contributed by Ani Phyo, author of Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen organic blueberries
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 3 dates
- 1/4 tsp vanilla bean powder
- 1 cup water
Directions
- Blend all the ingredients in a blender (preferably a high-power blender like a Vitamix)
- Serve and Enjoy!
Berry Blueberry smoothie recipe by Ani Phyo from Smoothie Recipes for Optimum Health, edited by Kevin Gianni.
I’m going to experiment with this recipe a bit by trying different nuts to replace the cashews (I know a lot of people who are allergic to cashews) and adjusting the amount of blueberries and dates. You might also consider soaking the dates and cashews a bit to soften them so that they blend better (this is more of an issue if you use a standard blender, rather than a high-powered blender like a Vitamix). Please share your modifications/improvements in the comments section below.
Hi Everyone
I’ve tried making the Berry Blueberry smoothie again but with the following modifications:
1. I added more than 1/2 cup of blueberries.
2. I didn’t add any vanilla.
3. I only used 2 dates instead of 3.
The result was still acceptable, but a little different. The vanilla really gives the smoothie a dessert-like quality in my mind.
Anyway, I wish everyone success, health, and happiness!
Your friend,
M.E.B.
marcusebarnes.com
The Yoga Near Me Blog
Very nice, simple recipe-I would recommend one modification from a health perspective-which is to use macadamia nuts instead. For such a small amount, the cost is relatively low, and the health benefit of eating a truly raw nut with no possibility of aflatoxin contamination is a real bonus.
Thank you for all your hard work Marcus!
Best,
Dylan
Hi Dylan, Everyone
I did think of using macadamia nuts, but I wanted to use up the cashews I have on hand for precisely the reason you state above without being wasteful. I’ll try them in the smoothie the next time I have all the ingredients on hand (out of blueberries tonight!). If someone beats me to it, please share what you think of the results. Another possibility that came to mind but which I haven’t tried out yet is using organic raw young Thai coconut meat to replace the nuts. Again, once I try this, I’ll make a quick report.
The USDA has a Fact Sheet on Molds on Foods for those not familiar with issues surrounding aflatoxin contamination, etc. If I come across better and more in depth resources, I’ll be sure to make a post about it.
Wishing everyone super-health and longevity!
Your friend,
M.E.B.
GraffitiNearMe
Two Brained
Hi Everyone,
I’ve tried replacing the cashews with macadamia nuts in the berry blueberry smoothie recipe. It was OK, but I found the macadamia nut flavour was too strong in relation to the other flavours. I’m sure the recipe could be adjusted to make up for this. Part of the problem might be that I was using frozen blueberries. Fresh blueberries usually have a more intense flavour than frozen berries. This may make all the difference when using macadamia nuts in the recipe rather than cashews.
I’m going to try replacing the cashews with some raw organic Thai young coconut meat. I’ll report on the results.
Have a beautiful day everyone!
Your friend,
M.E.B.
TheDictionary of Liff: graque
QuoteMachine
Hi Everyone,
I’ve tried replacing the cashews with some raw organic young Thai coconut meat. The result was OK. In the end, I still think the smoothie tastes better with the cashews over the macadamia nuts or young organic Thai coconut meat.
Other modifications/improvement suggestions are welcome!
All the best,
Your friend,
M.E.B.
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