Why I eat mostly plants and my top smoothie tips
Food is essential, and it can also be artful, fun, and an inspirational part of our day. In another life, I may have dabbled more in the culinary world. In this life, I am content cooking for my family and sharing a few of my favorites along the way.
I have ridden many waves of eating practices and dabbled in some passing fads. I became a vegetarian at 11 years old. Had a few vegan years. And have included fish and poultry on occasion. I never got into red meat and my body doesn’t seem to crave it. Over time, I have become mostly plant-based. And living in a small fishing community, I eat locally caught fish.
I find that eating real food provides me with the nutrients and natural medicine my body needs. Sometimes I am asked, ‘Well, if you don’t eat meat, what do you eat?’ Which strikes me as a somewhat silly question, no offense. When you don’t revolve your meals around me, you horizons are actually broadened, not diminished.
Over the next few weeks, I will dive into details of more recipes and meal ideas, concepts behind plant-based diets, and would love to hear your questions or comments.
Today, I want to talk smoothies.
One of the easiest ways to get nutrient dense foods into the start of your day, especially if you’re like me and don’t feel particularly hungry in the morning. I tried intermittent fasting and found my blood sugar levels and hormones did not like such a long break between meals.
So I make a smoothie (most) mornings.
I am careful not to make my smoothie with all fruits as this can cause an early morning sugar rush and subsequent insulin crash. A tropical mix of banana, mango, and pineapple is delicious, but also asking for trouble in normalizing your blood sugar throughout the day.
I do usually use a frozen banana for a creamy, thick base and am careful to balance that out with fiber and fats to metabolize the sugar.
Here are a few of my favorite smoothie add-ins:
raw cashews (I soak them in full fat coconut milk overnight to remove phytic acid that is in nuts that can cause digestive issues)
chia seeds (I usually soak these overnight along with my cashews)
kale or spinach (I can eat kale in almost every meal)
citrus juice (this helps to start the break down and release of nutrients in the greens you add)
moringa powder (a super food which grows native here in Panama but which you can get in powder form elsewhere. I am always recommending Animamundi, no I’m not sponsored. Super great for maintaining blood sugar levels and is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory plant)
fresh ginger (for a warming, digestive aid, anti-inflammatory, spicy kick)
From there, I will add a few other tasty fruits that I have fresh or frozen, like blueberries, strawberries, papaya, or avocado.
I also invested in a Vitamix recently. I good blender is smoothie game-changer! No longer drinking chimichurri textured smoothies makes my morning meal that much more enjoyable!
As always, thanks for reading and I am always open to hearing your ideas, comments, or questions.
With gratitude,
Loren