Recipe - Power Packed Smoothies

I got introduced to juicing (especially vegetable juices and fruits and vegetable blends) through Julia Indichova of the Fertile Heart fame. Ever since then, I have invested in a powerful juicer that can pretty much swallow whole apples, beets and pretty much anything you throw at it and result in a wholesome juice with pulp on the side. My take on juicing and how it helps is a story I will save for another post though. Today, I wanted to share another idea for a wholesome nutritious drink which is called a Smoothie.

The dictionary definition of a smoothie is essentially a thick beverage of fruit pureed in a blender with ice and milk, yogurt or juice. My definition though is slightly different. I make several changes to this basic recipe to make it nutritious and power packed.

Here's how:

1. First I select a base. You can choose milk or yogurt or folks who are dairy intolerant can use water, coconut water or any other fresh un-sweetened fruit juice. 
2. Then I pick a fruit as the flavor of choice such as mangoes, apples, bananas, etc. My daughter especially loves mangoes so she enjoys what I call a "power packed mango milkshake" during summers.  
3. This is followed by adding a dose of nutrition through a green superfood such as wheatgerm or wheatgrass powder or spirulina powder or moringa leaf powder or barley grass powder etc.  
4. Then I add a boost of power by adding healthy seeds such as flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds or a blend of all of them. 
5. Last but not the least, in go nuts such as almonds or walnuts for extra power. 
6. I do not use any refined sugar. The smoothie is sweet enough on its own if you use fresh fruit juice as the base. For milk or yogurt based smoothies, I use only natural sweeteners if at all (such as palm sugar or stevia).
7. That's it - blend away and enjoy!

Here is a very nicely illustrated picture that helps keep these basics in mind. This one has green leaves incorporated into it and sounds very tempting. 

So tell us - will you or did you give this a try? Or do you have a secret nutritious recipe of your own? Please do share - we'd love to hear!