Foodviki: smoothies

Energizing Smoothie Recipe - Chocolate Almond Berry Butter Smoothie Recipe

December 06, 2016

Detox Water Recipes to Flush Your Liver

November 02, 2016

Warm Lemon Water – One of the simplest and most effective ways to detox and boost metabolism every single day is by drinking warm lemon water in the morning before breakfast. This is an ancient Ayurvedic detox tradition that boosts the immune system, aids weight loss and improves digestion.

Watermelon Detox Water – This one couldn’t be simpler to create, and is there anything more refreshing than watermelon on a hot day when you’re feeling low on sugar? All you need is watermelon and water! The watermelon infuses the water, and when that happens, it creates a beautiful, subtle sweet smell and taste.

Slim Down Detox Water – Detox water has become one of the most popular forms of detoxifying beverages, and there’s nothing more bloat-reducing and cleansing for the body! This water is full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals for an optimal health, immune and metabolism boost. Cucumbers are natural diuretics that will help your body release water; lemons and limes loosen toxins in your digestive tract and the grapefruits are high in enzymes that burn fat.

Apple Spice Detox Water – The apple, cinnamon and star anise in this water taste delicious, and also looks stunning! It is a great detox water to help digest after perhaps indulging in too much comfort food. Cinnamon is extremely healthy for the heart and brain, and it also speeds up metabolism and helps regulate blood sugar. Anise is a very powerful spice that helps with digestion and insomnia.

Water (aka Sassy Water) – Cucumbers are one of the most hydrating vegetables because they’re mostly made up of water. Many detox programs include cucumbers on them for this very reason, and adding them to your water pulls out their minerals so you’re getting an added benefit. Mix in the lemon juice and you’re getting the cleansing effect of citric acid and helping to clear out the digestive system. The mint makes things taste fresh and crisp, and goes nicely with the lemon and cucumber while providing additional nutrients and benefits.

Strawberry Kiwi Detox Water – This sweet, delicious detox water is great if you feel like a subtle sugar fix, but want to keep it natural, refreshing and hydrating. It has some fantastic detoxifying benefits from the lemon, as well as a mega boost of vital nutrients, powerful vitamins and essential minerals from the kiwifruit and strawberries.

Frozen Fruit Infused Hydrating Water – This is a great idea if you don’t have time to keep your fridge or fruit bowl stocked with fresh fruit. Keep berries in the freezer and simply rinse them to defrost before infusing them in water. This recipe suggests lemon, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples and cucumber, which each have a number of detoxifying qualities, essential micro-nutrients and immune boosting vitamins. Of course, you can pick and choose your berries of choice depending on what’s in the freezer!

Citrus Detox Water – This refreshing mix of citrus fruits with cucumbers and mint leaves creates a powerful infusion of vitamins that will have your body feeling a little bit lighter by the end of the day! Grapefruit is not as common as lemon and lime when it comes to citrus detoxing fruits, but it is just as beneficial, with plenty of vitamin C, potassium, lycopene, calcium and phosphorus.

Apple Cinnamon Detox Water (as seen on Dr. Oz) – This is also referred to as the Zero Calorie detox water because it contains nearly zero calories. There are calories from the apple, but they’re pretty negligible. You’re probably used to seeing the zero on a bottle of water when it comes all the categories on the Nutrition Information label, like calories, fat, and sodium, and this would clock in pretty close. The cinnamon it contains is going to help stimulate your internal organs to cleanse themselves, while the apple is providing you with its all natural source of vitamins and minerals. Way better than just drinking regular water and a helpful boost to any detox program.

Jillian Michaels Detox Water – You are probably familiar with Jillian Michaels if you’ve ever seen an episode of The Biggest Loser. She also promotes her own line of workout programs and diet books. Here she’s endorsed a particular detox water recipe that uses cranberry juice, lemon juice, and dandelion tea all mixed together with a lot of water. The end result is that it’s also supposed to also help you lose weight. This can really be said for anything that has a detoxifying effect, since getting back to our more natural and clean state will have the byproduct of weight loss if we’ve moved toward a heavier state.

Strawberry Detox Water – Strawberries are a great way to add a familiar and preferred flavor to most anything, and in this case it can make your water taste better while also providing antioxidants and added vitamins and minerals to your body. This particular recipe includes watermelon and rosemary as well. This makes it a great detox recipe to use in the summer when it’s easier to build up a sweat, and it’s only natural to have the taste of strawberries and watermelon. It will help to make your detoxing efforts more enjoyable and seem like less of a chore.

Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Water – Apple cider vinegar is a handy detoxing aid and it’s good to keep a bottle of it in the cupboard. You can instantly improve the quality of a glass of water by adding a bit of ACV to it, but in this case they’re showing you how to make a detoxifying drink from it. They’re also including lemons, cucumbers, and mint, a popular combination you’ve seen elsewhere on our list, but the use of apple cider vinegar gives it additional properties and benefits that you won’t want to miss, and that will only amplify the detoxing process.

Lemon and Cayenne Pepper Detox – The most important part of the Master Cleanse is where you stop eating regular foods and rely only on a concoction made of organic lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. This is supposed to spur the body into detox mode, with the lack of food helping to give the digestive system a break and make sure that you’re entirely cleared out. We’ve gone into detail about what you need to do in order to complete the Master Cleanse, so if you do decide on it be sure to check our guide for the best chance of success.

Foods

Effective Healthy Weight Gain with Smoothies

June 26, 2016

It may be hard for most of us to imagine, but some people have real, often medical, reasons to gain weight. Smoothies are versatile enough to be used to lose weight, maintain weight, and even gain weight. With the right recipe, with thoughtful planning, and with carefully-chosen healthful ingredients you can use smoothies as a route to steady weight gain.

Why Weight Gain?

There are a lot of valid reasons to gain weight. For some people it may be a sport or for the sake of appearance. Maybe you’re naturally thin and lack muscle tone. There is nothing wrong with wanting to bulk up a little so that you fill out, are stronger, and can compete in certain types of sports that interest you or perform better in athletics in which you already participate.

Some people need to gain weight for medical reasons. If you have been sick or hospitalized for a long time, you may need to put weight back on. You may also have a medical condition, such as hypothyroidism, that makes you lose weight unintentionally. Other conditions can cause you to lose your appetite, which in turn causes you to lose weight because you have no interest in eating. Cancer, liver disease, heart failure, HIV, kidney failure, and certain medications all can cause reduced appetite.

The Healthy Way to Gain Weight

It can be tempting to use the need to gain weight as an excuse to eat anything and everything that tempts you, but there is a right way and a wrong way to put on extra pounds. Eating junk foods and those rich in unhealthy fats and added sugars will help you gain weight, but not in a healthful way.

You need to eat foods that are calorie-dense, but also nutrient-dense.

Avoid foods that are high in empty calories, like deep fried foods, sugary snacks, and processed snacks. Eat healthful foods in greater quantities. Supplement your normal foods with healthful, high-calorie snacks like nuts and seeds, dried fruits, avocado, full-fat yogurt, and whole grains.

If you are gaining weight for medical reasons, start with your doctor’s advice, or that of a nutritionist or dietitian. Find out how many calories you should consume every day and start counting them. The more calories you consume, the more weight you will put on.

If you are gaining weight to put on more muscle mass or to perform better at athletics, you need to be especially conscious of eating more protein. As you boost your calorie intake add dairy products, nuts, seeds, eggs, and other protein-rich foods.

Smoothies for Weight Gain

Smoothies are a perfect dietary addition if you need to gain weight. If you have no appetite, or if you have digestive problems due to a medical condition, a smoothie will be easier to handle than whole foods. Even if you don’t have a problem with eating more, a smoothie is still a great way to get more calories into your diet every day. Here are some ingredients to start stocking up on for your high-calorie smoothies:

Nuts and nut butters. The healthy fats found in nuts are nutritious and high in calories. Just one tablespoon of nut butter has between 90 and 110 calories. Put whole nuts into your smoothie and blend them in, or use natural nut butters, including peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower seed butter.
Seeds. Seeds, like nuts, are rich in healthy fats and high in calories. You can add a number of seeds to your smoothie without adding much flavor. They can also provide extra nutrients. Flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds are all good choices and will add protein, fat and calories. If you use flax seeds, be sure to grind them up in a food processor first.
Avocado. Avocados are also rich in healthy unsaturated fats that include a lot of calories. They are also great in smoothies because they give any recipe a smooth and creamy texture. The flavor of fresh avocado is mild and unobtrusive. It blends well into any type of smoothie recipe.
Coconut oil. The oil made from coconuts is almost entirely made up of fats, which are calorie-dense. Coconut oil is also a potent superfood. It helps to lower bad cholesterol levels while raising good cholesterol. It has antibiotic properties, and it may even protect against developing Alzheimer’s disease. Maybe best of all, coconut oil tastes great, especially in fruity or chocolaty smoothies. Make sure you look for virgin coconut oil.
Dried fruits. You might normally reach for fresh fruits for nutritional reasons, but if you want more calories per ounce in your smoothie, go with dried fruits. Dried fruits are high in natural fruit sugars and in calories. Fresh and frozen fruits contain water, which contributes no calories to your smoothies. Make sure you pick dried fruits that have no added, refined sugar.
Oats. Carbohydrates from whole grains are high in calories and fiber as well as vitamins and minerals. Oats are a good choice for smoothies because they blend well. Put raw oats into the blender first to chop them up, then add the rest of your smoothie ingredients.
Milk and Yogurt. Unless you have a lactose intolerance, full-fat dairy products are great for adding weight because they are rich in fat and protein. Raw milk has historically been used to pack on the pounds. If you don’t have access to raw milk, opt for whole milk. Yogurt, again full-fat varieties, blend well in most smoothies and are high in good calories.
Protein Powders. Protein supplements and gelatin are an easy way to boost the amount of protein in your smoothies.

Remember that your goal, in addition to putting on pounds, should be to eat nutritious and healthful foods. Avoid processed foods and those that are high in calories simply because of added sugar.

If you’re wondering about raw eggs, a classic staple of old-school bodybuilding, I don’t feel comfortable recommending them. The risks of salmonella contamination are too great. However, if you have access to eggs from local, pastured chickens, I don’t see a problem.

Making your High-Calorie Smoothie

Smoothies are great vehicles for bulking up on calories because you can more easily drink your extra food intake than eat it. You will feel less full and bloated when you consume your calories in liquid, smoothie form than if you tried to eat all solid foods. Here are a couple of recipes to get you started:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie Recipe

1 cup raw milk
1/2 avocado
3 tablespoons organic peanut butter
1 tablespoon cacao powder
1/2 tablespoon cacao nibs (optional)
1 serving Sun Warrior chocolate protein powder or your preferred protein
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey to sweeten

Nutrition Information

Calories: 798
Fat: 51g
Protein: 44g
Carbohydrates: 51g
Fiber: 12g
Sugar: 30g
Vitamin A: 6% RDA
Vitamin C: 17% RDA
Calcium: 36% RDA
Iron: 37% RDA

Natural Protein Smoothie Recipe

1 cup kefir (or 50/50 kefir and milk, preferably raw milk)
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (full-fat preferred)
1 tablespoon chia seeds or chia seed gel
1/4 cup goji berries
1 tablespoon gelatin
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
A little honey, maple syrup, or stevia to sweeten (optional)

Nutrition Information

Calories: 631
Fat: 43g
Protein: 29g
Carbohydrates: 35g
Fiber: 11g
Sugar: 19g
Vitamin A: 99% RDA
Vitamin C: 42% RDA
Calcium: 53% RDA
Iron: 17% RDA

These are just a couple of basic recipes to help you get started in using smoothies for your healthy weight gain. Try them, but also don’t be afraid to make your own recipes. Alternatively, you can start with your old favorite recipes and add in nutritious, high-calorie ingredients to bulk them up. Experiment with different combinations to find what tastes most appetizing to you and provides the most calories per drink. With smoothies, there’s no better way to enjoy gaining weight.

Please leave a comment below if you have questions, thoughts, ideas, or tips on gaining weight with smoothies. Thank you!