Watermelon Cucumber Super Smoothie

One of the overall goals of this year is to make my family eat healthier foods.  It doesn’t always work out.  But that’s why I was excited to read Superfood Smoothies, 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-Dense Recipes by Julie Morris, author of Superfood Kitchen.

The book is pretty interesting.  Her philosophy is to use simple whole foods, no animal based ingredients (like ice cream or eggs,) and incorporate a rotation of 15 superfoods that are packed with nutrients.  She also tells the best way to layer a smoothie so it tastes creamier – always a plus.

Some of the “Super 15” I had heard of before, like cacao and flaxseed; some seemed way to scary for me to try, like algae.  (Remember – I’m still fairly new to clean eating myself, and my family is even newer to it.)  Yet, as I read more about the unique qualities and benefits of each superfood I became more excited to try it.

The recipe below is for Watermelon Cucumber.  I chose it for a variety of reasons:

1. The only “new food” I had to buy was chia seeds ($15 for a big bag I found at our local grocery store in the health food aisle.)   All the other ingredients were already in my refrigerator.
2. This particular smoothie is low-cal (approximately 225 calories per serving)
3. Good detox recipe – helpful in flushing the body of toxins and raising alkalinity
4. Good smoothie for bone strength – contains calcium-rich foods,
5. Contains “beauty” nutrients – anti-inflammatory for the skin with healthy fats and antioxidants.

Here is the recipe excerpted from Superfood Smoothies, 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-Dense Recipes by Julie Morris © 2013 by Julie Morris, www.sterlingpublishing.com All rights reserved: May not be reprinted without publisher permission.:

Watermelon Cucumber

Makes 2 18-ounce Servings

• 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon
• 2 cups chopped cucumber, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 cups ice
• Sweetener, to taste (I used Stevia in the Raw)

Blend the watermelon and cucumber together into a juice.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend once more until smooth.  Taste, and blend in sweetener as desired.

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Tips from Lisa – if your kids are new to healthy foods, add more Stevia to hide the spinach taste.  Also, I told my kids they were eating green ice cream so they didn’t necessarily think it was healthy for them.   Also, there are lots of more chocolate and fruit based smoothies in there that might be an easier start for kids.  And when in doubt, use a wiggly straw.

Enjoy!

Lisa 😉

P.S. – I was not compensated for this post beyond a copy of the book to read.  The opinions are my own.

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