For a moment, I’m going to follow the New Year’s resolution media trends and talk healthy. Now, I know this seems an anomaly among all of these blogs about baking, brittle and bacon (oh, yes…it’s coming), but truth be told, AWS strives hard to be a healthy person. I entertain my indulgences, but do not subsist on them. Man cannot live by donuts alone – I know, I tried (more on this later). My life and my health require that I keep things in balance, so while it is a treat and a thrill to create, bake and eat all manner of goodies, I walk the line between the rich and decadent and the just plain good-for-you. All can be delicious. So, from time to time, if you will permit me, I will put my tippy-toe on the self-health soapbox.
I want to explore for a moment the notion of being “full.†Now, fullness, to me, means being satisfied, but I had long held the belief that this satisfaction – in terms of eating – has to come from quantity and not always quality. You are full after eating a load of food, say, after a Thanksgiving dinner where you have ladled heavily on your plate heaps of turkey, dressing and potatoes. Yes, quality is there and you are full with satisfaction — and the fact that you have managed to occupy every square inch of your digestive system.
Yet it has recently dawned on me (late, perhaps, and if you have come to this concept much earlier, feel free to say “Duh!†as you read this) that one can become full – satisfied – without eating a ton of food, if what you have eaten satisfies all your nutritional needs. Imagine the body sighing with relief and not wanting more because all necessary vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber have entered it – in a drink! Now, before I start to sound like a snake oil salesman, I’m not selling a thing here. I’m merely sharing something I learned about this past summer that has been my breakfast nearly every day since early August.
The drink comes courtesy actress and athlete Nia Peeples, whom I’ve admired since her dancing days on the TV show “Fame.†Peeples has recently started a wellness website called “Nia’s Elements of Life” , where she offers advice, insight and inspiration on all manner of topics, including fitness and nutrition. Very few of us can hope to achieve Peeples’ level of agility of athleticism (if you’ve ever watched her lay waste to someone on “Walker, Texas Ranger,†you’ll know what I mean), but we can all be inspired to push ourselves a little beyond what we think we are capable. Why not strive for better health…especially when you can do it simply by taking little steps to get there?
The idea of a nutrition-packed drink for breakfast had long intrigued me. I find breakfast a bit of a quandary. What do you have to eat in the morning if you are a) not all that hungry; b) short on time or inclination to cook or make anything; c) in need of something that will get you going without weighing you down.
Don’t get me wrong – breakfast is one of my favorite meals, the breakfast full of eggs or waffles (or both), bacon, etc., etc., but who does that every day (besides my parents, and they don’t even do it every day anymore, alternating by having hot cereal mornings between plates of free-range eggs…more on this later).
I’ve seen a lot of recipes for morning smoothies, but Peeples’ version seemed the most complete for a number of reasons. Loaded with nutrition, she promised that it would keep you full for hours since the body’s needs are being met by all the drink ingredients.
So this drink contains the best of all worlds, and can be tailored to suit one’s individual needs, wants and tastes. If you’ll indulge me, I’m going to take a moment and give a brief explanation for each ingredient here.
For the version I like, I use hemp milk (and have also used no- or low-sugar fruit juice or water to make the drink a little thinner). Hemp milk is made from hemp seeds and is very high in omega-3 fatty acids, the good fat that helps the blood. It’s also high in calcium, Vitamin D and B12. If you cannot find hemp milk, you can also use almond milk, rice milk or soy milk.
I have taken Peeples recommendation of mixing in a nutritional supplement called Dr. Schulze’s SuperFood Plus, that is made from dried algae, seaweed, barley and wheat grasses, rosehips and more. It is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C and a number of B vitamins, and claims to do a number of wonders, including detoxify the blood, bolster the immune system and balance the appetite. It looks and smells a little like fish food, but worked into the drink, it is undetectable. You can order the supplement through Amazon.com. It seems pricey, but a little goes a long way. — one jar can last over three months. The drink can also be made without the supplement and still be nutritious and delicious.
For the fruit elements, I break up a banana into the drink for flavor, sweetness, texture and potassium. I also use mixed frozen berries (any combination will do or just use frozen blueberries if you like) – berries are loaded with Vitamin C and antioxidants. I have recently discovered frozen pineapple and incorporated that into the drink. Pineapple contains a high amount of Vitamin C, but also digestive enzymes that help the body process and absorb nutrients. There’s a reason the bicyclists at the Tour de France are served pineapple with every meal!
Here’s an intriguing ingredient – nut butter. Peeples explains the fat in the nut butter helps the body absorb nutrients (fat molecules tend to attach to these nutrients and carry them home). I use almond butter (Blue Diamond makes a delicious version), but all sorts of nut butters are available now, including cashew and sunflower nut butter. Having discovered later in life that I get an itchy ear thing upon eating peanut butter (a possible mild allergy), I find these nut butters give me more options for not only the drink, but sandwiches and other treats.
I also learned about raw honey through Peeples’ drink recipe. Raw, organic honey is a wonder ingredient, packed with everything from protein to pollens credited with helping alleviate allergies. The good stuff gets taken out of honey when it is processed, so raw is the way to go if you can find it. Here is another magical thing about raw honey – it raises your blood sugar much more slowly than processed honey, sugar or other sweeteners, giving it a lower number on the glycemic index, a rating scale indicating how quickly a food raises your blood sugar. The more slowly and evenly a food raises one’s blood sugar, the better reaction our bodies have to it. A number of 50 or lower is considered a low-glycemic food. Raw honey ranks 30, whereas the same amount of regular refined table sugar is ranked at 80. You can find out more about sugars on the glycemic index at http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/blog/healthy-sugar-alternatives.php. To learn more about the glycemic index, go to http://www.glycemicindex.com
Now, probably the strangest ingredient in the drink: fresh spinach. Don’t be squeamish, it doesn’t make the drink Army green or taste like salad. The spinach blends in so subtly you won’t know it’s there (it won’t even stick in your teeth), but your body will — it packs a nutritional bonanza of calcium, iron, lutein and more. Now spinach is not easily absorbed by the body, thus the nut butter to help with that. Experts have claimed that a good fat – like an olive oil dressing – in tandem with greens will help your body take on all the value they contain.
All the ingredients are blended to make a thick, fruity shake. Like any good recipe, all the elements meld together so well that they are not individually detectable, although that nut butter lends a richness that is probably my favorite aspect to this concoction (of course, the fat would be my favorite). You can adapt the drink to your tastes, using more or less of certain ingredients, incorporating flavorings (Peeples suggests some vanilla extract) or adding a sweetener (natural is better) to suit your palate. All in all, the drink is very tasty, very satisfying. And I tend to feel full with an even level of energy through midday. My body seems to breathe a sigh of relief when I drink it, and my mind is at peace knowing I did something good to start my day.
Cheers for 2011! Do something good for yourself every day. And try something new…you may be surprised at what opens up for you.
The Good Morning Drink
(Adapted from niaselementsoflife.com)
Serves 1
1 cup non-dairy milk, such as hemp milk, soy milk or almond milk
1 teaspoon raw organic honey
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon nut butter (almond, cashew, sunflower)
1 tablespoon Dr. Schulze’s SuperFood Plus supplement
1/2 cup frozen berries, such as a combo of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries (and frozen pineapple, if you like)
1 cup fresh raw baby spinach leaves
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a tall glass. Enjoy!