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. ^_^