Summer is the time for Christmas parties, BBQ’s with friends, socialising and having a great time with your community. As we tend to indulge a little during this time of the year, many of us can feel a little worse for wear as a result, and some of us gain a couple of kilos, which usually becomes permanent. Salads and smoothies are an easy addition to the diet when it is hot and they can really give your nutrition status a big boost.
By creating and consuming colourful and diverse salads and adding green leafy vegetables to smoothies, you can protect your body from the harmful effects of alcohol and reduce some of the bloat and weight gain that may occur as the result of indulgence. A nice big hit of phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals.
To help you achieve this, I thought I would share some of my favourite smoothie and salad recipes, to help keep you on track with your health goals over the party season.
Kale and Strawberry Salad
Ingredients – Salad
A handful of almonds, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 bunch of kale
Half a punnet of strawberries, sliced
4 radishes, sliced thinly with a mandolin
Ingredients – Dressing
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of honey
Sea salt and Pepper
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Line a baking tray with baking paper
Evenly place the almonds over the baking tray
Evenly place small chunks of the coconut oil over the almonds
Bake in oven for 10 minutes
To make the dressing, add all ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined
Remove the ribs from the kale and chop the kale finely and sprinkle with a small amount of sea salt.
Massage the kale until it is soft and changes colour.
Place the kale in a large bowl and pour over dressing. Toss well.
Add remaining ingredients (except almonds) and toss well.
Garnish with almonds.
Tip – allow the salad to sit for 15 minutes prior to serving for flavours to infuse
Mexican Fiesta Coleslaw
Ingredients:
Half a small white cabbage, finely sliced
Half a small red cabbage, finely sliced
10 radishes, sliced thin with a mandolin
2 carrots, finely sliced on a mandolin or grated
1 bunch of corriander, leaves only
2 green chilli, finely sliced and deseeded (optional)
1 red onion, finely sliced
3 limes, juiced
Sea salt to taste
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Method:
In a large salad bowl, place the cabbage, radish, carrot, coriander leaves, chilli if using, red onion. Add lime juice, salt and oil. Toss thoroughly.
Cinnamango Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup of macadamia milk (see above recipe)
1 cup of mango
1 tsp of vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups of tatsoi
1 tablespoon of chopped mint
Method:
Blend on high in your high speed blender for 1 minute of until smooth.
Chai spiced green smoothie
Ingredients:
1 tin of coconut cream
1 bunch of washed english spinach
3 bananas (optional – frozen)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon of ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
2 cups of coconut water
Method:
Combine in thermomix or high speed blender for 1 minute on 7, or until smooth.
Options:
Replace banana with other fruits such as kiwi, pineapple, apple, mango, passionfruit, frozen berries, or whatever else is in season.
Spinach can be replaced with any leafy green vegetable as per table above. Cucumbers are also a great addition.
Rainbow Warrior
Ingredients:
1 cup of purple kale
1 banana
1 avocado
1 chopped carrot
1 cup of strawberries
1 apple
1 cup of coconut water
Method:
Blend on high in your high speed blender for 1 minute of until smooth.
Banana-Berry Cream
Ingredients:
1 cup of Coconut Cream
2 Bananas
2 cups of spinach leaves
1 Cup of frozen blueberries
Half a cup of water
Method:
Blend on high in your high speed blender for 1 minute of until smooth.
Mango Mojito
Ingredients:
Half a cup of water
The juice of a lime
1 and a half cups of lettuce leaves
Half a cup of mint leaves
2 cups of frozen mango
Method:
Blend on high in your high speed blender for 1 minute of until smooth.
Chocolate Chai
Ingredients:
1 cup of macadamia milk (see above recipe)
6 dried figs
Half an avocado
2 cups of mild greens from above list
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
Quarter of a teaspoon of nutmeg
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence
Quarter of a teaspoon of ground clove
Quarter of a teaspoon of ground cardamon
Quarter of a cup of cacao nibs
Method:
Blend on high in your high speed blender for 1 minute of until smooth.
La Tropicana
Ingredients:
1 large handful of kale
1 cup of coconut water
1 cup of mixed diced pineapple and/or mango
1 passionfruit
1 banana
Method:
Blend on high in your high-speed blender for 1 minute or until smooth.
Also remember that I am here to help you shed any excess weight, support you with healthy detoxification and ensure you are feeling vital and energetic if you feel like you have lost a little of your shine.
Yours in health,
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