Category Archives: Recipes

Basic Green Smoothie Recipe

Posted on by Allen Stern

Here are my most simple basic green smoothie recipes which is perfect for beginners. After I posted my Green Smoothie Starter Guide a couple of weeks ago, one of the most popular questions I have received by email is, “hey Allen, what’s a simple green smoothie recipe to start with?” Well here are two recipes to get you started! And if you want a good variety of green smoothie recipes, check out my Smoothie a Day newsletter where I send a healthy smoothie each weekday.

Green smoothies are great for weight loss…I am living proof of that. When I started with green smoothies, I started with the basic green smoothie recipes below. I think it is important to start simple – similar to riding a bike. Start simple – then once you get to find your favorites, experiment with adding more “stuff” to the smoothies – from superfoods to green powders. My morning smoothies have lots of stuff in them these days but if I started with all of the things I use today, I am not sure I would have kept going because it may have seemed overwhelming. So start with a basic green smoothie recipe and then build upon it. As always if you have questions, shoot me an email at (allen-at-letstalkfitness-dot-com). YOU CAN DO THIS!

Basic Green Smoothie

Basic Green Smoothie Recipe
 

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This basic green smoothie uses peaches as the main ingredient.
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 1

Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups peaches (approximately 2 peaches) – I use frozen fruit
  • 6 ounces orange juice
  • 6 ounces water
  • 1 banana – fresh or frozen
  • 2-3 handfuls of spinach or as much as your blender will hold

Instructions
  1. Blend and enjoy!

You can also make this recipe using mango chunks instead of the peaches. Here is the alternate recipe:

Basic Green Smoothie Recipe – Mango Variation

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups mango chunks – I use frozen
  • 6 ounces orange juice
  • 6 ounces water
  • 1 banana – fresh or frozen
  • 2-3 handfuls of spinach or as much as your blender will hold

That’s it – super easy green smoothie! I promise that you will totally love the taste and if you drink it in the morning, you will be supercharged with energy to start your day. And if that isn’t enough, here is how you will feel after drinking a green smoothie…you will be smiling from ear to ear.

Related: This green smoothie ebook has 50 simple green smoothie recipes and is free if you have an Amazon prime account.

Basic Green Smoothie

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Triple Berry Superfood Green Smoothie

Posted on by Allen Stern

I can’t start my day without my green smoothie. It’s such a bad addiction that I have to carry my travel blender with me just so I can make my green smoothies in hotels during my business trips and vacations. And let’s not forget my Smoothie a Day Newsletter!

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite superfood smoothies. The superfoods are optional but they add tons of health power and don’t change the taste of the smoothies. If you are going to start with just one, I’d suggest either the acai or the chia. It’s important to note that when you add spinach or other greens to dark berry smoothies, the smoothie will become kind of an ugly color. I don’t mind it, but if you do, just put the smoothie in a cup you can’t see in. I promise it still tastes amazing. Since the color is not so pretty, the photo below is pre-spinach’ed.

Triple Berry Green Smoothie

Triple Berry Superfood Green Smoothie:

Ingredients:

  • one banana (can be frozen or fresh)
  • 1 cup strawberries
  • 1/2 cup raspberries
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • one teaspoon acai berry powder
  • 4 ounces apple juice
  • 6 ounces cold water
  • one tablespoon chia seeds (optional; if you add the chia seeds, make sure you consume the smoothie after blending because otherwise the chia grows like the chia pet and will make the smoothie a bit like pudding)
  • spinach (as much as you can fit in your blender – I used about 1/3 pound or 4 huge handfuls)

Directions: Blend until you reach your desired consistency :)

This recipe makes about 28-32oz of smoothie and I used my Blendtec blender to whip it up. I used organic spinach, organic superfoods and organic banana — the frozen berries were conventional.

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Roasted Butternut Squash and the Health Benefits of Cinnamon

Posted on by Allen Stern

Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe

When I visited my sister in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago, she asked if I would be willing to try a new vegetable. I think she was a bit shocked when I said yes. She told me that her selection was butternut squash. I said ok and hopped onto the plane looking forward to her dish as I am not sure when the last time I ate one of her (and my BIL) home-cooked meals. The meal consisted of a beer can roast chicken, a huge salad and her roasted butternut squash.

I really enjoyed the butternut squash! It’s super easy to prepare and is an awesome side dish. I think it will go great with my cinnamon sweet potato dish. I love cinnamon and both veggies have totally different textures so they would complement each other perfectly. I also think you could do this roasted butternut squash as a great party dish, just put each squash cube on a toothpick and let your guests have something very tasty and uber healthy!

My sister sent me the recipe and I had to make some adjustments because I don’t want artificial sweeteners in my recipes (sorry sis!). I also wanted to remove the butter she used and replace it with a pinch of EVOO. Lastly I wanted to cook the butternut squash for a shorter period of time as her cooking time made the squash very soft (sorry sis!). Below are both recipes so you can decide – naturally you should pick mine.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Before we get to the recipe, check out some of the awesome health benefits of cinnamon. I buy my cinnamon at Whole Foods in their bulk section but you can also buy it from Amazon and iHerb. They have a few varieties — the one I use most often is the organic “Korintje Cinnamon”. I’ve heard from several people recently that they put cinnamon in their green smoothies.

  • Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol. (source)
  • Several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar.
  • One study found that smelling cinnamon boosts cognitive function and memory.
  • And heck, it just tastes great!

Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe

Original Allen’s Healthier Version
Ingredients:

  • one pound butternut squash
  • cinnamon
  • Splenda packet
  • tiny bit of butter

Preparation:

  • Cube butternut squash (or buy it pre-cubed) and place in bowl
  • Sprinkle cinnamon to lightly cover the squash
  • Put butter and Splenda packet on the squash
  • Mix squash to make sure it is fully coated
  • Bake it at 400 for about 40 minutes
 Ingredients:

  • one pound butternut squash
  • cinnamon
  • Stevia packet (optional)
  • tiny dash of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

  • Cube butternut squash (or buy it pre-cubed) and place in bowl
  • Sprinkle cinnamon to lightly cover the squash
  • Put olive oil and stevia on the squash
  • Mix squash to make sure it is fully coated
  • Bake it at 400 for about 20 minutes

Serve and enjoy. Over the next few weeks I will be working on healthy alternatives to some of my old favorites. If you would like to be notified when I post new recipes, grab my feed or signup for email notification. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Roasted Butternut Squash

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Green Smoothie for Weight Loss

Posted on by Allen Stern

If you have been reading LTF, you know I love my green smoothies for weight loss. If this is your first time here, welcome! These smoothies have been one of the biggest techniques I have been using to see awesome weight loss since February. Not only do the green smoothies help me lose weight, they get my day started off right. It’s amazing how much energy the smoothies provide and how great they make me feel, both inside and outside.

If you are new to green smoothies, check out my newbie Green Smoothie Starter Guide. It answers lots of questions I’ve received about how to get started. Also, if you are looking for smoothie recipes, check out my Smoothie a Day newsletter. Each weekday you will receive a healthy smoothie recipe and on Friday is a dessert smoothie – still healthy but oh-sooo-good!

If you like smoothies, you should totally follow my Smoothie Board on Pinterest.

Please share this wonderful recipe:

With all of the apple snack craziness as of late, I’ve had a chance to speak with lots of parents and so far it seems like kids like green smoothies too. So the next time your child wants something awesome for breakfast, whip up a green smoothie and they will never want sugared cereal again!

Here’s my latest recipe which is an awesome green smoothie for weight loss. The key, I believe, is to start simple. All of the superfoods I’ve listed below are optional. I didn’t start out with green smoothies with lots of items – just a simple green smoothie with fruit and spinach. Then as you move along, keep trying new things in the smoothies. I’ve found that, so far, nothing I’ve added has changed the taste of the smoothies – but the superfoods really have given me added energy and new awesome feelings inside my body!

Green Smoothie for Weight Loss

Green Smoothie for Weight Loss Recipe
 

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Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 1

Ingredients
  • 1 cup frozen peaches
  • 1 cup frozen mango chunks
  • 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
  • 6 ounces orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed)
  • 6 ounces water
  • 3-4 handfuls spinach
  • 1 teaspoon raw maca powder
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon flax seeds

Instructions
  1. Blend and Enjoy!

I know the superfoods can be pricey. My suggestion is to go to Whole Foods and grab some of the chia and flax from their bulk department. You can get a small amount to try and see what you think before investing in a larger bag. I like Navitas Naturals brand and so far the best prices (and top notch customer service) on their stuff are either on Amazon or iHerb. If you use iHerb, use my gift code FUW360 to get $10 off your first order of $40 or more; or $5 orders less than $40. Definitely check both shops as the prices tend to change over time.

If you have any questions about green smoothies or need some motivation to get started, please shoot me an email at (allen-at-letstalkfitness-dot-com). I want all of us to be awesome together!

Get a fresh smoothie each morning with my Smoothie a Day newsletter!

The Most Awesome Raw Apple Snack

Posted on by Allen Stern

Awesome Raw Apple Snack

Today I would like to introduce you to the most awesome raw apple snack ever. First a disclaimer, I am not liable if you decide to eat this apple snack every day for the rest of your life. A huge bowl of this apple snack was eaten by a group in minutes – it really is that good. And the best part? It takes only 3 fruits and 2 minutes prep to make!

Please share this wonderful recipe:

What’s even better about this snack is the healthy nutrition! You are eating a full apple plus the amazing juice of an orange and lemon. Think of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and most of all…think of the children! This is a perfect after-school snack because it takes a minute to make and will give the kids an energy boost to do their homework and exercise.

Super New Update!***January 2013: Check out my brand new Apple Crisps recipe – it is SO addicting!

Update: Welcome new friends! If you like this apple recipe, you may wish to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter – thanks so much for stopping by! And don’t forget to signup for the new Smoothie a Day newsletter!

Update 2: Check out my totally new and detailed Green Smoothie FAQ & Starter Guide!

Raw Apple Snack

Raw Apple Snack Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 apples – select a sweet apple like Fuji or Gala (I used Fuji)
  • 1 medium orange
  • 1 medium lemon

Prep:

  • Juice lemon and orange into a small bowl
  • Slice the apple into thin slices (see image below)
  • Place slices into juice bowl and make sure the juice is all over the apple slices
  • Place bowl in fridge for 30minutes-2 hours

Remove from fridge, serve and enjoy! Warning: contents are addicting!

Optional: you can use a green apple in place of one of the other apples to give the plate some contrast for your guests. The green apples (e.g. granny smith) will make the snack even more tart and should explode of awesomeness when you and your guests enjoy!

Related: If you don’t want to cutup the apple with a knife, this Apple Slicer will do it in one step and it also removes the core.

KIDS LOVE THE APPLE SNACK! Check out my niece enjoying the apple snack on my visit to Charlotte last weekend.

Apple Snack For Kids

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