Tropical Green Smoothie with a Shocking Secret Ingredient!

Cilantro and I are having a moment.

I’ve always been a fan of it in my food, but I recently had a revelation:

“Why am I not drinking it?”

            People are all over the map when it comes to this little green.  Rachael Ray says you either love it or hate it, and in the Rea family, sadly, we are a house divided.  My hubby is so not a fan.  He actually thinks I’m sabotaging his food should a leaf inexplicably leap from my plate to his.  Can’t blame a girl for trying, but a convert I did not make.   😉

ANYWAYS, if you even think you’re not a fan of Cilantro, you’ve still gotta give my latest creation a whirl. A “Tropical-Thai-Inspired-makes-you-feel-like-you’re-on-a-beach-Cilantro-smoothie.” (Title still in progress 🙂 )

 I’m no stranger to green smoothies (My Pumpkin Smoothie is still one of my favs!), but this one is so different and fresh, if you close your eyes and spin around three times, you’ll think your on a island vaca.  Plus, Cilantro has some amazing health benefits!  It’s packed with nutrients, can lower anxiety levels by assisting your brain to produce more GABA, and is an excellent detoxifier.  For more info on the benefits of cilantro, check out this link from a fellow blogger over at Healthybodynow.net.

And while you could definitely turn this into a meal replacement by adding your favorite protein powder, this is something I’ve been whipping up after a workout.  It’s loaded with electrolytes and potassium to get your body feeling strong and your energy up after a major sweat session.

So without further a dew, lets get to…smoothie-ing blending 😉

Recipe:

1 handful of Organic Cilantro

1 handful of Organic Parsley (also a great detoxifier!)

1 Tbs Chia Seeds

Splash of Coconut Water

Splash of Coconut Milk

5-10 pieces of frozen sweet potato (trust me.  You could also use frozen butternut squash if that’s easier for you to find, mine is from Whole Foods)

Generous Squeeze of Lime Juice

A couple of sprinkles of ginger

8-10 drops of Vanilla Stevia

small hand full of blueberries (fresh or frozen)

enough water to get it moving 😉

As you can see from the “recipe,” it’s really more of a method.  Just add everything to your blender, I used my handy dandy Nutri-bullet (a gift from an awesome friend!) and blend away.

  You could definitely eliminate regular water all together and only use coconut water or milk, BUT I wanted to keep the calories (that you just worked so hard to burn off!) and sugar to a minimum since it’s not a meal replacement.

(Gunther is always sneaking into a post somehow. Cheeky.)

Whether you’re:

A. Looking for a new breakfast idea

         B. Wanting a great post-workout snack

C. Just totally curious…

I hope you give this Tropical Smoothie a try!  Your lovely life is far from small.  So celebrate it and give the one body you get a little advantage in the health department.  There’s some awesome plans in store for your life and you want to be strong enough to show up for them. 😉

And by the way, are you normally a Cilantro lover or a hater?

 Until next time…

 Meg