Chocolate Chai Smoothie!

There is nothing like Chocolate to make you feel really good! Okay, okay -- there may be other things that can make one feel good but for me I am in heaven when I have chocolate!


David Wolfe's Chocolate Smoothie: I decided to try David Adocado Wolfe's "Chocolate Smoothie". My first attempt at making David's version was a major disaster! The chocolate did not blend at all and the cashew nuts were all chunky. It was a total mess and not a very good experience. However, I am not one for following any recipe wholesale so I decided to retry David's recipe using my own approach and my unique twist on things -- so here goes!


My Approach: First, I broke up and melted the block of chocolate in warmed up Coconut Milk and Almond Milk with Vanilla Extract. This worked out great! I stirred in the spices and chocolate powder, and poured the melted chocolate and spice mixture into the blender with the bananas, yogurt, ginger, honey and aloe vera gel. I then blended all the ingredients into a smoothie. The result was wonderful! One of the best smoothies I have ever had! The "Chai" effect comes from the spices.


One can actually make ice cream or sherbert out of any smoothie. If you freeze the fruits before making the smoothie, you will get a soft-serve or sherbert type smoothie. Just experiment to find out what works best for you.


Here is the recipe for my Chocolate Chai Smoothie:


Ingredients
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
1/2 cup Almond Milk
1/2 cup Nonfat Yogurt
2 peeled Bananas (cut into large slices)
1/4 cup Aloe Vera Gel or 4in piece of freshly peeled Aloe Vera fillet
3/4 oz solid Dark Chocolate (70% or more cocoa or cacao)
2 tablespoons Cocoa or Cacao Powder
1 or 2 tablespoons Honey (optional to taste)
1 tablespoon freshly peeled and chopped Ginger
1 teaspoon freshly cracked Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon powdered Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Turmeric (optional)
4 pods green Cardamom (optional -- crack open the pods and remove the seeds)
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt (optional)


Alternative ingredients when not using Coconut or Almond Milk
(Coconut and Almond Milk are good for people that are lactose intolerant):
1 cup Non-fat or Low Fat Milk or Soy Milk
1 tablespoon melted Organic Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Roasted Cashew Nuts (add when using a blender, such as Vita Mix, with powerful blades)
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt (to taste)


Tools
Blender
Measuring Cup
Small glass or metal mixing bowl
Small glass container (for melting Coconut Oil)
Cutting board
Chef's Knife
Measuring spoons


Steps
1. Break up and place the block of dark chocolate into the mixing bowl.
2. Warm up the Almond Milk, Coconut Milk and Vanilla Extract and pour the warm milk into the mixing bowl with the chocolate chunks. (If you are using a Microwave to warm up Coconut and Almond Milk just add the milk in a glass bowl with the chocolate. Be sure to use a low heat setting such as "Defrost" or microwave for just one minute until the milk is warm. Do not boil the milk! The purpose of the Smoothie is to get the beneficial properties of the ingredients. Microwaving or heating the milk at a high temperature will destroy the beneficial properties so just take your time!)
3. Gently stir the warm milk and the chocolate chunks until all the chocolate is melted.
4. Add the powdered chocolate and all the spices and stir until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add the sliced bananas, ginger, cardamon, yogurt, honey and aloe vera gel to the blender
5. Pour the melted chocolate and spice mixture into the blender and blend all the ingredients into a smoothie. (Start the blender on "Stir" or "Mix" and then increase the speed!)
6. Serve the "Chocolate Chai Smoothie" in a tall glass! Enjoy!


(You can pour any remaining "Chocolate Chai Smoothie" into a Thermos-style "BPA-Free" flask and store in the fridge for a snack later or the next day. Do not keep smoothies in the fridge for more than one day!)


Notes:


1. Aloe Vera: If using fresh Aloe Vera fillet, be sure that it is "Aloe Vera Barbadensis Miller" and remove all the skin since the skin has laxative properties. You can freeze the remaining aloe vera fillet and use it in another smoothie as soon as possible. I am growing my own Aloe Vera plant so I can use the fresh fillet but I have a full-grown plant, I am using the Lily of the Valley Certified Organic Aloe Vera Gel which I obtain from a Super Supplement store or Pharmaca. I particularly like Pharmaca because there are trained Naturopathic specialists that were trained at Bastyr University that can discuss supplements in an intelligent way.




Disclaimer: The statements regarding the nutritional and medicinal properties of the various foods have not not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These items are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult your own physician for guidance regarding your health and nutrition.

Parsley - a herb that is full of goodness!

Lately, I have been adding parsley to the breakfast smoothie that I make using pineapple, watermelon, banana, apple, and plain yoghurt with probiotics. 

Parsley has vitamins, flavanoids and nutrients that protect our bodies from the free radicals -- toxins and other substances -- that damage our cells and organs.

Parsley has a pleasant herbaceous flavor that also helps to clean one's palate and freshen your breath too. I like the flavor of Italian parsley the best but the more common curly type parsley is also good. Add a bit of parsley to your fresh salad or smoothie this summer. 

Here is a really good article from the World's Healthiest Foods website that provides more information about parsley.

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Parsley

The delicious and vibrant taste and wonderful healing properties of parsley are often ignored in its popular role as a table garnish. Highly nutritious, parsley can be found year round in your local supermarket. 

Parsley is the world's most popular herb. It derives its name from the Greek word meaning "rock celery" (parsley is a relative to celery). It is a biennial plant that will return to the garden year after year once it is established.





This chart graphically details the %DV that a serving of Parsley provides for each of the nutrients of which it is a good, very good, or excellent source according to our Food Rating System. Additional information about the amount of these nutrients provided by Parsley can be found in the Food Rating System Chart. A link that takes you to the In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Parsley, featuring information over 80 nutrients, can be found under the Food Rating System Chart.

• Health Benefits
• Description
• History
• How to Select and Store
• How to Enjoy
• Individual Concerns
• Nutritional Profile
• References

Health Benefits

A sprig of parsley can provide much more than a decoration on your plate. Parsley contains two types of unusual components that provide unique health benefits. The first type is volatile oil components - including myristicin, limonene, eugenol, and alpha-thujene. The second type is flavonoids - including apiin, apigenin, crisoeriol, and luteolin. 

Promote Optimal Health

Parsley's volatile oils-particularly myristicin - have been shown to inhibit tumor formation in animal studies, and particularly, tumor formation in the lungs. Myristicin has also been shown to activate the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, which helps attach the molecule glutathione to oxidized molecules that would otherwise do damage in the body. The activity of parsley's volatile oils qualifies it as a "chemoprotective" food, and in particular, a food that can help neutralize particular types of carcinogens (like the benzopyrenes that are part of cigarette smoke and charcoal grill smoke).

A Rich Source of Anti-Oxidant Nutrients

The flavonoids in parsley-especially luteolin - have been shown to function as antioxidants that combine with highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (called oxygen radicals) and help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells. In addition, extracts from parsley have been used in animal studies to help increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood. 

In addition to its volatile oils and flavonoids, parsley is an excellent source of two vital nutrients that are also important for the prevention of many diseases: vitamin C and vitamin A (notably through its concentration of the pro-vitamin A carotenoid, beta-carotene). 

Vitamin C has many different functions. It is the body's primary water-soluble antioxidant, rendering harmless otherwise dangerous free radicals in all water-soluble areas of the body. High levels of free radicals contribute to the development and progression of a wide variety of diseases, including atherosclerosis, colon cancer, diabetes, and asthma. This may explain why people who consume healthy amounts of vitamin C-containing foods have reduced risks for all these conditions. Vitamin C is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, which explains its usefulness in conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. And since vitamin C is needed for the healthy function of the immune system, it can also be helpful for preventing recurrent ear infections or colds. 

Beta-carotene, another important antioxidant, works in the fat-soluble areas of the body. Diets with beta-carotene-rich foods are also associated with a reduced risk for the development and progression of conditions like atherosclerosis, diabetes, and colon cancer. Like vitamin C, beta-carotene may also be helpful in reducing the severity of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. And beta-carotene is converted by the body to vitamin A, a nutrient so important to a strong immune system that its nickname is the "anti-infective vitamin."

Parsley for a Healthy Heart

Parsley is a good source of folic acid, one of the most important B vitamins. While it plays numerous roles in the body, one of its most critical roles in relation to cardiovascular health is its necessary participation in the process through which the body converts homocysteine into benign molecules. Homocysteine is a potentially dangerous molecule that, at high levels, can directly damage blood vessels, and high levels of homocysteine are associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack and stroke in people with atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease. Enjoying foods rich in folic acid, like parsley, is an especially good idea for individuals who either have, or wish to prevent, these diseases. Folic acid is also a critical nutrient for proper cell division and is therefore vitally important for cancer-prevention in two areas of the body that contain rapidly dividing cells-the colon, and in women, the cervix.

Protection against Rheumatoid Arthritis

While one study suggests that high doses of supplemental vitamin C makes osteoarthritis, a type of degenerative arthritis that occurs with aging, worse in laboratory animals, another indicates that vitamin C-rich foods, such as parsley, provide humans with protection against inflammatory polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis involving two or more joints.

The findings, presented in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases were drawn from a study of more than 20,000 subjects who kept diet diaries and were arthritis-free when the study began, and focused on subjects who developed inflammatory polyarthritis and similar subjects who remained arthritis-free during the follow-up period. Subjects who consumed the lowest amounts of vitamin C-rich foods were more than three times more likely to develop arthritis than those who consumed the highest amounts.

So, next time parsley appears on your plate as a garnish, recognize its true worth and partake of its abilities to improve your health. As an added bonus, you'll also enjoy parsley's legendary ability to cleanse your palate and your breath at the end of your meal. 

Read more:  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=100