If you have been around here before, you know that I believe smoothies have been the biggest contributor to my significant weight loss to-date. I drink a smoothie every morning and love the energy the smoothies give me and the weight loss benefits as well. If you are new to LTF, welcome! And don’t forget to signup for my Smoothie a Day newsletter – a fresh, healthy smoothie each weekday!
The superfood smoothie recipe I’d like to share today packs a ton of nutrition from the fruit and the superfoods. It’s important to note, if you don’t have the superfoods, you can still make this smoothie and it will still taste awesome. I know the superfoods are expensive so just put in whatever you have and/or can afford. I’ve got some tips on how to save money when buying the various superfoods later in this recipe post. You can also sub regular water for the coconut water.
Today’s smoothie includes the first time I’ve tried a blood orange. Looking at my Instagram feed, blood oranges are the talk of the town currently. If you don’t have access to blood oranges, you can use a regular orange or 3 clementines. I am often asked about substitutions on the Smoothie a Day newsletter and the answer is “Yes” – you should always feel free to swap out fruit or use what you have left over. Smoothies are totally flexible.
Each month I like to share several smoothies I shared on the Smoothie a Day newsletter I manage. This month we will take a look at the top 5 smoothies from the newsletter. These are the smoothies that had the highest interaction rates on the day the smoothie ran in the green smoothie newsletter.
Note: I removed all of my green smoothie recipes from the rankings so that I could feature other awesome smoothies. You can always find my smoothie recipes by clicking Recipes on the top menu.
Green Smoothie #1 – Lime and Coconut Green Smoothie
This lime and coconut green smoothie was by far the most popular smoothie in the newsletter the past month. It’s a simple smoothie to make and uses lime – something I know I need to get more of inside my body. Check out the smoothie on So Lets Hang Out.
Green Smoothie #2 – Spirulina Green Smoothie This smoothie comes from the awesome Penni Shelton who runs the Raw Food Rehab. This smoothie uses spirulina which is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there. I take some tabs of spirulina every day and really think they are helping with my overall health. Check out the recipe on Real Food Tulsa.
Do you like chocolate? Do you like rich and decadent drinks? Do you want to improve your health in one glass? I’d like to introduce you to my raw chocolate superfood smoothie recipe which is awesome for you and your sweetie to share for Valentine’s Day. Forget the fattening chocolate bars and candy, grab this smoothie instead and not only will you feed your need for chocolate, you and your sweetie will be doing going for your bodies! And make sure to check out the giveaway below for a chance to win awesome free stevia courtesy of NuNaturals.
I love all my smoothies — they have helped me lose a tremendous amount of weight in the last year and have also helped me feel great. Sometimes though, I want some chocolate. This chocolate superfood smoothie is perfect for an after-dinner snack.
This smoothie uses the superfoods of cacao, acai and chia. Check out some of the awesome health benefits of raw cacao powder – this chocolate packs taste and super-charged nutrition! (source)
Cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine, and black and green teas. In fact, it has up to four times the quantity of antioxidants found in green tea.
Raw cacao powder is a great source of magnesium, which is beneficial for heart health, good digestion, brain alertness, strong bones, and mental health.
A Harvard study focused on the Kuna Indians off the Caribbean coast of Panama who drink 5 cups of cacao every day, linking it to their lower rates of heart disease and hypertension.
And now the exciting giveaway!!
NuNaturals makes the stevia I like to use in my smoothies and juices. I like the quality of their products and that their stevia is alcohol-free. They have been nice enough to offer y’all a chance to win one of four packages. Each package will include
one bottle of their brand new chocolate stevia
AND
one bottle of either their lemon, orange or peppermint stevia.
How about a gluten free pasta recipe that will help with weight loss and feeling great? How about creating pasta using vegetables that tastes great? Seriously! Stick with me, it will be worth it, I promise!
I love(d) pasta for most of my life. I would eat about half a pound of pasta most nights without realizing what it was doing to my body. Or maybe I realized what the gluten, the carbs, the non-nutritious pasta was doing to my body. Last June I decided to remove pasta from my eating plan and wondered if it would help with my weight loss. And of course it did – you can read my first week experiences around how much better I felt, how much weight I lost and why this ugly thing called “candida” could be holding you back from losing weight and feeling good.
Make sure to check out my list of awesome lunch salad recipes – these salads will get your energy and your weight loss up!
There are other types of pasta made from grains like spelt that are better for you. But I decided that I would rather just remove the pasta completely. The great news is that I have a recipe for you today that you, your kids, your dinner guests might not even realize it’s not regular old spaghetti but is amazingly healthy!
One of the questions I am often asked on the Smoothie a Day newsletter is around if you can replace one vegetable or fruit for another. I just wanted to mention that with this recipe you can play around and try different combinations. I’ve found that the zucchini and cucumber seem to create the longest, most fun strands of spaghetti – one strand I picked out was over 3 feet long!! For example, in the photos you will see radishes around the outside – I’ve found that carrot works better and that’s what is in the recipe below.
Vegan Gluten Free Pasta Recipe
Prep time
Total time
Author: Allen Stern
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 large green zucchini
1 large cucumber
2 large roma tomatoes or 6 campari tomatoes
1 red pepper
2 large carrots
1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
any herbs you prefer (I used a dried italian blend)
Instructions
create the pasta from the zucchini and the cucumber
pat out the water from both vegetables
place pasta into a large bowl for tossing
create 1 inch strips from the tomatoes, carrots and the red pepper
toss the spaghetti with the veggie strips and herbs
top with the pesto sauce recipe below
garnish with lemon slices
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The pesto sauce recipe comes from Felicia at A Simply Raw Life. Felicia recommends using a food processor which I do not have so I used my small personal blender and it worked just fine. You will need:
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
I hope you enjoy this gluten free pasta recipe as much as I do. I made this dish on a live raw foods cookoff last week and so far I am in the lead in the voting!
Everything tastes better on a stick they say. Check out my super simple, very healthy frozen chocolate banana recipe and it’s on a stick!
I love bananas and I like chocolate. What about if we combine the two, add some superfood toppings and put it on a stick? Genius? Maybe not genius but it sure is delicious! Your kids and party guests will also love this sweet treat.
This recipe uses the superfoods of cacao powder, cacao nibs and goji berries. Raw cacao can have a slightly bitter taste (it’s not like a hershey bar) so you may want to play with the amount of stevia you use to make sure it comes out sweet. Over time I’ve found that I like the raw cacao close to direct from the bag but the recipe below is for someone just starting out with raw cacao and stevia.
Here is some interesting info about goji berries (source)…Goji berries contain natural anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal compounds. Their powerful antioxidant properties and polysaccharides help to boost the immune system. In traditional Chinese medicine, the goji is said to act on the Kidney and Liver meridians to help with lower back pain, dizziness and eyesight. There appear to be some issues with diabetic people eating goji berries so please make sure you do your own research and/or speak with your doctor before eating them. You can just make the cacao nibs covered versions as well.
Healthy Chocolate Banana on a Stick Recipe
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Allen Stern
Serves: 2
Ingredients
3 bananas
2-3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1-2 droppers liquid stevia
3 ounces water
handful of raw cacao nibs
handful of raw goji berries
Instructions
place stick into 2 bananas and place in freezer until soft frozen
place other banana, cacao powder, stevia, water into blender and blend until creamy – you want the chocolate sauce to be thick like Hershey syrup
Get a fresh smoothie each morning with my 
