A lot of us know that our traditional Western diet ( ergo meat + dairy + processed foods) are not the best thing in the world for us. But it's hard to really get motivated, and it's hard to make a change. Because let's face it, food is delicious. The good news is that healthy food is really delicious too! We maybe can't have our cake and eat it too, but we can eat smoothies!
by Liz Richards (writer)

 

I have a secret obsession with Netflix documentaries about nutrition.

Right now, I’m glued to Forks Over Knives, a film that explores the relationship between processed foods and disease. It advocates using a plant-based, whole foods diet as a way to heal our bodies, maintain a healthy weight, and simply function more naturally.

Alongside my passion for nutrition-oriented documentaries, I’ve recently been forced to face my own dietary demons.

I’ve always been a little chubby, but I’ve never thought I was unhealthy. But over the last six to eight months I’ve had to deal with some unpleasant tummy troubles and I’ve been shuffled back and forth between the gastro and the allergist and the gastro again.

I finally got desperate enough to meet with a nutritionist who made me keep a food journal for two weeks before starting treatment – boy was that a wake-up call! For the past month, she’s helped me balance out what I eat and together we put a heavy emphasis on whole foods and a diet rich in produce.

I’m already feeling better! Sure, recovery is a long road ahead, but the difference is amazing.

But what I’m really excited about is my new favorite breakfast – smoothies!

I always assumed they were too much work and too much mess, but now that I’ve actually given it a shot, I can’t get enough!

My nutritionist gave me a smoothie recipe that’s so simple, but still so versatile that I have something different almost every day!

Here’s the recipe:

1 cup fruit

1 scoop plant-based protein powder (I use Garden of Life on her recommendation)

1 cup almond milk

As many greens and/or spices as you want. Really!

It’s so easy to mix and match – green apple smoothies with kale, strawberry smoothies cacao, blackberry smoothies, blueberry smoothies, even leftover butternut squash smoothies!

And then there was my favorite to date – the ultimate fall smoothie – pumpkin smoothie with cinnamon, honey, and chia seeds. Wow! It was the Great Pumpkin Smoothie, Charlie Brown!!

It’s easier than you think to get creative in the kitchen, even first thing in the morning! Right around the pumpkin smoothie success, I stuck the landing on a frozen pumpkin dessert: just bananas pumpkin, almond milk, and cinnamon frozen with some pecans and cacao thrown on top. Yum!

I’m having so much fun getting creative and finding new ways to feed my body in a way that is as delicious as it is nourishing and truly healthful.

It’s even more fun than Netflix! Honest!