Nutrition & Diet Methods of adding nutrients to smoothies

[Katrina]

I'm just wondering what other people do, since I'm still figuring out the easiest way to do this.

I got the idea from somewhere that I could try juicing kale, swiss chard and other greens, then freezing the juice in ice cube try so I'd have cubes to add to smoothies. It sounded like a great idea so I tried it tonight. After an hour of juicing and a huge mess, I have two and a half cubes to show for it.

So maybe I could freeze kale whole then add it that way instead?

Or there is greens powder I've heard is supposed to be good.

I've tried adding soy protein powder and it left a sort of chalky taste. At this point I'm thinking of just freezing spinach whole, or buying the already frozen stuff to add to it. Knowing me, if I bought it fresh to add it that way it would just rot in the fridge.

What do the rest of you do?

 

[KLS52]

I don't do smoothies often...when I do I stick to it for two weeks then quit. So I do buy the fresh kale (and spinach). If I still have some left by the time I get tired of the smoothies, I just steam it and eat it as a side of veggies or throw it in soup so as not to waste it.

I like your idea of freezing it in cubes. I wonder if you could blend it up instead of juicing and then freeze it. That way you get the whole kale and nothing but the kale, etc. etc.

 

[shyvas]

I'm just wondering what other people do, since I'm still figuring out the easiest way to do this.

I got the idea from somewhere that I could try juicing kale, swiss chard and other greens, then freezing the juice in ice cube try so I'd have cubes to add to smoothies. It sounded like a great idea so I tried it tonight. After an hour of juicing and a huge mess, I have two and a half cubes to show for it.

So maybe I could freeze kale whole then add it that way instead?

Or there is greens powder I've heard is supposed to be good.

I've tried adding soy protein powder and it left a sort of chalky taste. At this point I'm thinking of just freezing spinach whole, or buying the already frozen stuff to add to it. Knowing me, if I bought it fresh to add it that way it would just rot in the fridge.

What do the rest of you do?

I like to add a scoop of Jarrow's soya protein powder to smoothies and there is no aftertaste.

I would suggest that you just add some frozen choppen spinach - less faffing !

I also add either some avocado, wheatgerm, oatgerm or nut butters to smoothies. I also freeze soya milk in ice cube trays as the cold milk adds thickness to the smoothie.

 

[Katrina]

KLS52: Yeah I've done cubes before with basil, blending them with olive oil then freezing. I could do the same with kale except I would have to use water in the blender instead of oil (not sure how healthy that would be to drink oil), to get it going. Then maybe strain out the water after.

Shyvas: Thanks for the ideas! I like the soy milk idea. It almost always goes bad in the fridge when I buy it, so freezing would make it last longer...

 

[Katrina]

Unless I blended the kale with flaxseed oil? But would the oil still have nutrients in it after freezing?

 

[shyvas]

Unless I blended the kale with flaxseed oil? But would the oil still have nutrients in it after freezing?

You don't have to use oil. Why don't you just finely chop the kale and freeze it in ziplock bags ?

I saw a recipe in a book written by Kathy Freston using coconut water, berries and frozen broccoli :

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/lean-challenge_b_1432753.html

I always freeze portions of soya milk as to have a ready portion for a shake. I had a strawberry soya smoothie with wheatgerm for lunch today.

 

[Second Summer]

Anyone got any idea for how to get a lot of calcium into a smoothie? I'm not sure I get enough calcium in my overall diet, so maybe there is something clever I could add to smoothies?

 

[shyvas]

Anyone got any idea for how to get a lot of calcium into a smoothie? I'm not sure I get enough calcium in my overall diet, so maybe there is something clever I could add to smoothies?

You have a recipe on the following link where broccoli is added. You can also add 1 tbs of almond butter or ground almonds too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/lean-challenge_b_1432753.html

 

[ledboots]

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-calcium-vegetables.php

http://www.health-alternatives.com/minerals-nutrition-chart.html

These links have some ideas.

 

[Second Summer]

Thanks for the links. Looks like the recommended daily intake for most adults is about 1000mg (i.e. 1g) of calcium. I would have to eat a lot of broccoli to get that much ... Of course, I already get some calcium in my diet. Almonds and almond butter seem to be what has the most. (264mg and 270mg respectively per 100g, according to http://nutritiondata.self.com .)

 

[Photojess]

I've read something recently though about the USDA recommendations about calcium which is based on SAD eaters, who actually leach the calcium from their bones, with eating meat. Vegans don't leach calcium at a rate that meat eaters do, so supposedly our calcium requirements are less, plus we get more in general in our foods, since we tend to eat more green veggies. If you want me to try to dig that up, I can try to find it.

About the smoothies, Vega brand powders are very good, as are the SunWarrier powders. Also, adding chia seeds, ground flax seed or hemp seeds are really good for your Omega 3 fatty acids.

 

[Photojess]

From Dr McDougall's newsletters...says calcium requirements "much lower than previously estimated" It's the second article. http://drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/oct/fav5.htm

 

[Photojess]

here's another thing Dr McDougall wrote in his July '13 newsetter regarding calcium "
Women in Asia and Africa grow normal adult skeletons without consuming any milk after they wean from their
mother’s breast. Rural African women consume 400 mg of calcium daily often have 10 babies, and nurse them for 10 months, yet
do not have hip fractures (and 10% live to be older than 60). T hey also eat a diet of starches (corn and rice) with few animal foods.
(Calcium recommendations are as high as 2000 mg/day for US women). Our calcium requirements are so small that there has never been a case of “dietary calcium deficiency ” ever reported on any natural diet, even diets with no dairy foods at all. Osteoporosis is not due to calcium deficiency, but primarily due to an acidic condition created in the body from consuming meats and cheeses.
The only reason you believe otherwise about protein and calcium is because of the size of the megaphones the meat and dairy
industries hold.

 

[Music Platter]

here's another thing Dr McDougall wrote in his July '13 newsetter regarding calcium "
Women in Asia and Africa grow normal adult skeletons without consuming any milk after they wean from their
mother’s breast. Rural African women consume 400 mg of calcium daily often have 10 babies, and nurse them for 10 months, yet
do not have hip fractures (and 10% live to be older than 60). T hey also eat a diet of starches (corn and rice) with few animal foods.
(Calcium recommendations are as high as 2000 mg/day for US women). Our calcium requirements are so small that there has never been a case of “dietary calcium deficiency ” ever reported on any natural diet, even diets with no dairy foods at all. Osteoporosis is not due to calcium deficiency, but primarily due to an acidic condition created in the body from consuming meats and cheeses.
The only reason you believe otherwise about protein and calcium is because of the size of the megaphones the meat and dairy
industries hold.

That is great information! While I hardly drank milk at all even when I was just a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, I always figured that it was still a good calcium source because white milk=white, strong bones (according to public television, at least).

I'll be sure to use this the next time I write a paper/speech about veg*anism. Thanks for info!

 

[Photojess]

HTH!

 

[KLS52]

Anyone got any idea for how to get a lot of calcium into a smoothie? I'm not sure I get enough calcium in my overall diet, so maybe there is something clever I could add to smoothies?

Bump...

Does anyone make smoothies using Almond (or other type of) milk? I need to increase my calcium intake. I don't do smoothies often...I don't like them unless they are sweetened with fruit juice but I don't want the calories/sugar from juice. So I had the idea of using milk but there's something odd sounding to me about greens and milk. I did a search and there are some recipes (using greens and fruit) but I was wondering if anyone here could vouch for the taste.

 

[shyvas]

Bump...

Does anyone make smoothies using Almond (or other type of) milk? I need to increase my calcium intake. I don't do smoothies often...I don't like them unless they are sweetened with fruit juice but I don't want the calories/sugar from juice. So I had the idea of using milk but there's something odd sounding to me about greens and milk. I did a search and there are some recipes (using greens and fruit) but I was wondering if anyone here could vouch for the taste.

I make smoothies with either soya, almond or coconut milk plus vegetables and fruit. I think that you need to tweak around a few recipes using ingredients that you like. I often add kale, spinach or broccoli with fruit, part fruit juice part non dairy milk.

 

[shyvas]

Anyone got any idea for how to get a lot of calcium into a smoothie? I'm not sure I get enough calcium in my overall diet, so maybe there is something clever I could add to smoothies?

Dried fruit ; figs, sesame seeds, almonds. Leafy veg ; broccoli or kale. Fresh fruit ; oranges. Almond butter. Tofu.

 

[hungryraccoon]

I always add almond milk to my smoothies! It's not weird

 

[hungryraccoon]

How dyou know if you don't get enough calcium?