This Raw Power Smoothie is highly alkalizing, satiating and tastes really good!

(ingredients for my Raw Power Smoothie) 

For the past few weeks I’ve been enjoying a big raw-food smoothie every morning. It’s a great addition to my diet. What prompted me to start doing this? I met someone about a month ago, who has been vegan for 20+ years, and mostly raw for almost as long. He is full of energy and very strong and fit. I never would have guessed he was Vegan, let along mostly raw.

I took a peak in his fridge, and was amazed to find it pretty much empty. Just a lot of dates, goji berries, some greens and other veggies. I asked him what he eats on a typical day, and he let me in on his secret smoothie recipe. I’ve been taking Vega pretty regularly, but I must admit that this homemade recipe tastes better and satiates longer.

Prepared as below it is about 700 calories, with about 15-20 grams of fat (mostly from avocado) and 15-20 grams of protein. There is a lot of sugar in it, but it is from whole food sources so I am not concerned.

After eating this I can pretty much go all day without eating (if I had to, this is not my goal). Perhaps the biggest benefit is that I just feel better after drinking it.

While it will blend best in a Vitamix, I have been using a standard Osterizer blender (my Vitamix is on order) and it works fine (will be just a little chunky).

Here’s the magic formula:

• 1 small Banana
• 1 small Apple (or 1/2 a large apple)
• 1/2 an Avocado (this is where you get most of your good fats)
• 2 palm-fuls of Goji Berries (buy the softer ones if you have a choice)
• 3 large Medjool Dates (I buy the freshest looking ones I can find, with pits)
• 2 heaping tablespoons Raw Hemp Seed Powder (I like Manitoba Harvest Brand)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Ground Raw Flaxseed
• 1 heaping teaspoon Maca Root Powder (great for adrenal gland support - for athletes or those in high stress jobs)
• 2 heaping teaspoons Raw Cacao Nips (ridiculously high in antioxidants - use whole Cacao beans if you can find them)
• 12 ounces of water (roughly…I usually just cover the entire mixture with water in the blender)

Blend the entire mixture on high for about 2 minutes. It makes 20 ounces of smoothie (medium thickness). Drink slowly and enjoy!

I’m really into drinking juice right now. Not Juicy-Juice but the 100% all natural fresh squeezed variety. I’ll hit up Jamba Juice after yoga and down a power-sized (that’s 32 oz) of fresh made carrot juice, or perhaps even OJ with blueberries blended in (fresh squeezed again). I’ll typically have at least 1 of these a day, usually in the morning.

I’ll also stop by a local juice-bar and get a green drink a few days a week, made with kale, cucumber, parsley, celery and wheatgrass. These are much better for me (detoxifying), but don’t give me the energy that the Carrot juice provides. I’ll drink this in the afternoon.

The more of this juice I drink, the less garbage I crave. It’s funny how that works.

I also have much more energy than normal and have shed about 5 pounds of blubber (my bodyfat scale NEVER lies!).

Perhaps the biggest change is, I just feel really happy most of the time. Not all of the time (I’m not on medication…) but most of the time. The only other change in my life during the past 3 weeks has been dietary, so there must be something to it.

Oh yeah….I just ordered a Vitamix. They have a new model coming out in a few weeks and I am already on the wait-list.