homemade superfood

Anyone else out there a fan of Odwalla Superfood? 

source

Because I am... I seriously can't get enough. But it's CRAZY expensive!!! Ahem - $7-10 a bottle? No thanks.. So I set out to create my own.. and after a couple of tries, I got it just right. Kris even agrees that it tastes just like it! The thing that sets superfood apart from your run-of-the-mill smoothie is Spirulina powder. I wasn't sure what it was until I bought it... but after reading the bottle I was convinced. It has a TON of great nutrition - a full day's worth of what you would get out of all your fruit and veggie servings, in 2 teaspoons. Crazy, right? Don't get me wrong, I still eat my veggies... but a little (or a lot) extra couldn't hurt! I bought mine at Andronico's, but I've seen it at Whole Foods, GNC and of course Amazon!



Homemade 'Superfood' - 1 serving, 3P+*

 2 cups frozen fruit of choice (I tend to use strawberries and mango - but I've also added passion fruit, blueberries and/or bananas)**

1/8 cup frozen OJ concentrate

3/8 cup water

(you can use as much OJ as you want, fresh even.. but when I have a carton of juice in my fridge, I'll drink it - and who wants to drink all their calories?? This way, I'm forced to measure it out to get the correct 1:3 concentrate to water ratio)

2 tsp Spirulina powder

When strawberries are really cheap in the summertime, I buy a palate at the farmers' market. I clean and slice them, then put them in ziploc bags to freeze and use the rest of the year. I'm at the tail end of last years' berries =).

*I count the concentrate as well as the additional cup of fruit. This is just what I do because it's more than one serving at a time... but I know there is much debate over how to count smoothie points, so to each her own! 

**If you want your superfood to be authentic, the actual ingredients are: strawberries, banana, peaches, mango, apple juice, & spirulina.

You have 2 options: you can make it as a smoothie, or you can make it more like a juice. I do the latter because I can prepare it ahead of time and whip it together in a second with my immersion blender. MUCH easier clean up than a blender.

Place fruit, concentrate and water in a cup. Cover, and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours, up to overnight. Right before blending, add 2 teaspoons powder. Blend until completely combined... in other words, until your entire drink is that lovely green color.

ENJOY!!!

I have made more than enough at times, and left it in the fridge for a day or so... it's still yummy, but takes on a grainy texture from the Spirulina. So, if you want to blend it ahead of time - go for it, but know that the texture will change. ^_^

Busy Summer!

I figured once I was done with finals I would be more free to exercise, focus on my weight loss and blog.. but that SO has not been the case.

I have been loosely following the 17-day diet because my mom got me the book... which, by the way, made me feel really horrible about myself. Ugh. Really though, once I read it, I was pleasantly surprised at how healthy it seemed and although it's very restrictive, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Basically it's a low-carb diet with some very specific features. For example, as soon as you wake up a cup of hot water with lemon. And you have green tea with every meal. The only carbs I'm allowed to have are fruit, which you're not supposed to have after 2pm.

I say I've been 'loosely' following it is because I haven't been doing these specific things. I had a couple big FAIL days where I went out and veered off track.

FAIL day 1: wine tasting with the bestie... not too bad except for the fact I had a TON of wine. Here's a picture of our picnic lunch - I brought hummus, carrots & celery, turkey and string cheese.

See our boxed wine? Only the best 'cuz we're so classy.

FAIL day 2: graduation party with the fam... I had tri-tip (not allowed), and an ice-cream sundae (I made it myself with 1 scoop of ice cream topped with strawberries and bananas, but not allowed nonetheless).

FAIL day 3: concert with friends... hamburger (without the bun and no condiments or cheese, but still), french fries (weakness), beer.. and it went downhill from there (2 long islands, kettle corn and a couple bites of a soft pretzel).

Needless to say - I do like how I've been pretty good at avoiding carbs, which are my big weakness AND trigger food... and I'm eating even MORE fruits and veggies even since I've started back on the P+ program. I'm stuck in a weight loss rut though (no gain or loss), and I think I need to concentrate on my eating habits more.

In other news, I entered my corset cookies into Sweetopia's "Sweet of the Week" contest and they're finally up! These are a set I made.. I sent her the picture of my red and black ones.

 

If you like them, go vote for me HERE!