BANANA SPLIT SMOOTHIE

I was awake for more than 24 hours. In times like this, I would love to have my favorite smoothie.. I love Banana Split smoothie.

You need the following ingredients:

1 cup nonfat milk
1 1/2 cups frozen banana slices
1/2 cups pineapple chunks
5 frozen strawberries
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons sweetened cocoa powder (to taste)

Preparation:
Pour milk into the blender first. Add cocoa and then fruit. Put cover on and blend until smooth.

So easy to prepare, right? Can't wait for my banana split smoothie.

KIWI Smoothies

KIWI COOLER

9 kiwifruit
4 cups pineapple juice
8 ice cubes
2 cups sparkling water
8 large strawberries

Preparations:

1. Peel the kiwis and cut into small pieces.
2. Place half in a blender with 2 cups juice and 4 ice cubes.
3. Blend until smooth. Stir in 1 cup sparkling water.
4. Repeat with the remaining kiwis, 2 cups juice, 4 ice cubes, and 1 cup sparkling water.
5. Pour into tall glasses and garnish each with a strawberry.

KIWI PEACH SMOOTHIE
4 kiwifruit, peeled
4 peaches, peeled and frozen*
16 ounces can pineapple juice
1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cups frozen limeade concentrate
1/4 teaspoons coconut extract
1 cup ice cubes

Preparations:
Garnish: kiwifruit slices
* If fresh peaches are unavailable, substitute 1 1‐pounds Bag frozen peaches.
Process first 7 ingredients in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.

HEALTH BENEFIT

Kiwi fruits are rich in many Vitamins, flavonoids and minerals. In particular, they contain a high amount of Vitamin C (more than oranges), as much potassium as bananas and a good amount of beta-carotene.

Eating kiwi fruit is clearly a healthy choice, and it is particularly useful in these cases:

• Prevents Asthma
• Prevents wheezing and coughing, especially in children
• Protects our DNA from mutations
• Provides a healthy amount of antioxidants and vitamins
• Helps prevent colon cancer thanks to a high fiber content

BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIES

1/2 bag of frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons blueberry preserves
7 or 8 ice cubes
1 1/2 cups of soy milk
1 banana

This is super easy. Just toss everything into a blender, switch to the highest setting, and let fly until you stop hearing ice cubes crunching and everything is fairly smooth. There are an infinite number of variations on this using different combination of fruit and jam. You might also consider adding protein powder, ground flax seed, or any other supplement that strikes your fancy. Itʹs best to wait until near the end, and just blend long enough to mix the protein powder of whatever in. You can also substitute apple juice for the soy milk to create a tangier concoction.

Facts:
Blueberries are flowering plants in the genus Vaccinium, sect. Cyanococcus. The species are native only to North America. They are shrubs varying in size from 10 cm tall to 4 m tall; the smaller species are known as "lowbush blueberries", and the larger species as "highbush blueberries". The leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen, ovate to lanceolate, and from 1-8 cm long and 0.5-3.5 cm broad. The flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red, sometimes tinged greenish.

Health Benefits of Blueberries:
Blueberries have a diverse range of micronutrients, with notably high levels of the essential dietary mineral iron, and antioxidant vitamins C and E (table). One serving provides a relatively low glycemic load. Especially in wild species, blueberries contain anthocyanins, other antioxidant pigments and various phytochemicals possibly having a role in reducing risks of some diseases, including cancers.

Researchers have shown that blueberry anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, flavonols, and tannins inhibit mechanisms of cancer cell development in vitro. At a 2007 symposium on berry health benefits were reports showing consumption of blueberries (and similar fruits including cranberries) may alleviate the cognitive decline occurring in Alzheimer's disease and other conditions of aging.

Recent scientific studies have produced evidence that blueberries may:

• Improve short term memory loss
• Ameliorate age-related declines in neural and cognitive function
• Protect against macular degeneration of the retina
• Promote urinary tract health
• Act as a potent anti-inflamatory agent and COX-2 inhibitor*
• Improve glucose metabolism through the activity of chologenic acid
• Reduce the risk of some cancers

MANGO SMOOTHIE

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, chopped ‐‐ (approx. 1‐1/4 cups)

3/4 cups milk, skim ‐‐ chilled
1/4 cups nonfat vanilla yogurt
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ice cubes
Pinch of salt

Fresh mint sprigs

Combine all ingredients except mint in blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Garnish with mint.

Facts about Mango:
Mangoes contain enzymes that aid in digestion and are therefore useful in tenderizing meats and make great chutneys and toppings but if you leave mango juice on meat too long, it will destroy the entire thing. They can be eaten as is, added to a salad, turned into a topping or chutney, or added to rice for flavor and color.

In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong. Dried strips of sweet, ripe mangoes have also gained popularity both inside and outside the country, with those produced in Cebu making it to export markets around the world. Guimaras island is also a major producer of mangoes in the Philippines, with a local variety that is reputed to be the sweetest among mango varieties.


Other Health Benefits of Mango:

1. Mangoes contain phenols, this phenolic compound have powerful antioxidant and anticancer abilities.
2. Mango is high in iron, pregnant women and people with anemia are advised to eat this fruit regularly.
3. Mango is effective in relieving clogged pores of the skin.
4. It is also valuable to combat acidity and poor digestion.
5. Mango is high in antioxidant and low in carbohydrates.
6. Mango is a rich source of vitamin A(beta-carotene), E and Selenium which help to protect against heart disease and other ailments.

How to make perfect homemade smoothies and shakes:

1. Put the fruit in the blender first. Make sure that the items are smaller than a golf ball so they will blend completely. Add the liquid ingredients next.

2. Fasten the lid and press the start button. Use high speed for about 20-30 seconds.

3. Stop the blender and check to see if the ingredients are well blended. Sometimes the frozen fruit will jam under the blade. If there is jammed fruit, use a spatula to unjam the fruit, and blend again.

4. Once the mixture is evenly blended, slowly add two ice cubes through the opening of the blender lid. Keep adding one or two ice cubes at a time until the blender sounds smooth. If your blender is not strong enough to blend ice cubes, omit the ice and substitute just enough ice cold water or fruit juice so that the shake will have a milkshake consistency.

5. If the shake/smoothie is too thin, add more fruit or ice. If it’s too thick, add more liquid.

How to make homemade fruit and vegetable juices:

1. You'll need an inexpensive juice machine.

2. All fruits and vegetables should be juiced raw.

3. Small seeded fruit, such as watermelon and pears, may be juiced with their seeds, with the exception of papaya and apple seeds. Orange and grapefruit seeds might impart a bitter taste to your juice. Remove the large pits from fruits like peaches and nectarines, etc.

4. Peel all fruits and vegetables that are not organically grown because the peel is where most of the chemical residues can be found. While most skins of organically grown fruits and vegetables may be left on, with the exception of waxed produce, the skins of pineapples, kiwis, oranges, grapefruits and papaya should be removed.

5. Choose fresh ripe produce. Rubbery vegetables, bruised fruit, wilted greens and over or under-ripe fruits will produce juices that are neither tasty nor healthful.

6. Cut the fruits or vegetables into pieces that will fit into the mouth of your juice machine. Turn the juice machine on and push the pieces through the mouth of the juicer. As you juice, pulp will collect in a large receptacle. If you don't clean the pulp out right away, it will develop a sour odor and tiny gnats and fruit flies may appear after 8 to 10 hours.

7. It is best to drink freshly made juices within one day.

Fruit Juices, Smoothies and Shakes for your Health

A FUN and EASY way to get more vitamins & minerals into your diet is by drinking freshly made fruit juices, vegetable juices, and by blending thick and frothy smoothies and shakes from frozen fruit.

Health benefits of drinking freshly made juices

Freshly made juices are a tremendous source of bio-available vitamins and minerals which are thepartners of enzymes and co-enzymes. Vitamins activateenzymes and without vitamins, enzymes could not carryout their work, and we could not live.

Enzymes act as catalysts in hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that take place throughout your body, and are essential for digesting, absorbing and converting food into body tissue. Enzymes produce energy at the cellular level and are critical for most of the metabolic activities taking place in your body every second of every day.

Another benefit of drinking fresh juices and smoothies is that your body can absorb MORE of the vitamins and minerals then if you were to eat the fruits and vegetables whole! Many of the nutrients are TRAPPED in the fiber and by blending fruits and vegetables, you break down the fiber and release the vital nutrients.

Example:

When you eat a raw carrot, you are only able to assimilate a small percentage of the available beta carotene. When a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, a LARGE percentage of the beta carotene can be assimilated by your body.

Of course, you still need to eat whole produce because fiber is also an important part of your daily diet.

Meeting you or your children's need for energy and nutrients is essential for good health. Children who do not meet their needs for energy may stop growing and gaining weight. In severe situations, they can develop a condition which is life threatening called protein energy malnutrition. Vitamins and minerals are only required in very small amounts, but a diet insufficient
in these can cause SEVERE deficiency diseases.

You may be showing signs of malnutrition if you ...

• feel tired and weak.
• feel like you never have the energy to clean your home, make meals or even do the dishes.
• have difficulty losing or gaining weight.
• can't easily get to sleep.
• feel stressed and/or nervous.
• feel drowsy during the day.
• sometimes can't concentrate, you're mind feels numb, or you get confused easily.
• have problems with your digestion.
• have constipation and/or hard dry stools.
• have mood swings, or get easily upset.
• don't have patience for anything.
• sometimes feel depressed.
• have overly dry or oily skin.
• sometimes have nausea and/or abdominal pain.
• have annoying eye twitches.
• bruise easily.
• have muscle cramps and/or low back pain.
• sometimes get cracks and sores in the corners of your mouth.
• notice that your nails have become thin and/or brittle.
• are losing your hair.
• have water retention.
• have uncontrollable temper outbursts.
• don't eat a well-balanced nutritious diet EVERY DAY

Natural vitamins in juice

Natural vitamins are found only in living things, that is, plants and animals. Your body, with a few exceptions, can't manufacture vitamins. They must be supplied in your food or in dietary supplements but supplements can't replace food, especially fruits and vegetables which provide thousands of substances, some of which have well-known functions, and some whose rolesin the human body are not yet understood or recognized.

Vitamins and minerals ...

• reduce your risk of getting a stroke or heart attack!
• strengthen your nails!
• improve your hair condition, strength and growth by providing certain essential nutrients to the hair follicle!
• beautify your skin by keeping it smooth, soft and disease-free!
• provide essential compounds that are necessary for growth, health, normal metabolism and physical well-being! Without them, you would die!
• promote normal growth and development!
• maintain bone density and strength!
• regulate blood clotting!
• help in the function of nerves and muscles, including regulating a normal heart beat!

When it comes to choosing a healthy diet for theirchildren, many parents don't realize the important rolethat beverages play. For example, fruit flavored drinksand soft drinks are not a substitute for real fruit.Many of these drinks only contain 10% real fruit juice.The very best drinks are made from whole fruit and youcan make great fruity healthy drinks at home.

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