Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that damage your cells by scavenging your body looking to pick up or donate electrons. While free radicals are impossible to avoid, we can take preventative measures to make sure our bodies have the defenses they need.

Eating foods that are antioxidant-rich, like raspberries and blueberries, are the best way to combat these damaging free radicals. I am not a professional nutritionist but I find the best way to get in my vitamins and minerals is to make a smoothie. Smoothies are my little insurance policies to my health and now have become a part of my daily life. Before giving up meat and dairy, I only had  sugary food court smoothies but making your own tastes way better and are easy to make! 

I am so pleased to share these recipes from my e-Book! I have made these two smoothies more than a dozen times, usually in the afternoons before heading to work. I find the natural sugars give me a boost without the crash like coffee. Easy, quick to make, and nutritional dense, make a smoothie when you are feeling a little sluggish. These two smoothies were my go-to when I was developing the e-Book, it helped me feel alert on days where all I did was stare at my computer screen. While I don’t entirely skip my morning coffee, because of smoothies I no longer need the whole coffee pot to stay alert. Hooray for smoothies! 

Food is the best way to get the nutrients you need, so drink up! 

Since I am not a nutritionist, I got my antioxidant information from this source. 

11 recipes down, 19 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 12: Favourite Cookbook. Missed Day 10? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

P.S. You can get your copy of my free e-Book, Sprouts & Chocolate: Uncooked, by subscribing to my site. It contains 15 vegan and gluten-free recipes that do not an oven or stove!

Antioxidant Power Smoothie, Pink & Purple

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

This antioxidant-packed smoothies are full of nutrients, fibre, and vitamins. They are quick, easy, and nutrient-dense to keep your energy up for the day. I like the addition of hulled hemp hearts to add a little bit of plant based fat. This recipe is vegan, raw, gluten-free, soy-free, grain-free, and serves 1 large or 2 smaller smoothies.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Drinks

Cuisine: Vegan, Raw, Gluten Free

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 peeled orange
• 1 cup frozen raspberries OR blueberries (depending on whether you want a pink or purple smoothie)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tablespoons hulled hemp hearts
• 2 tablespoons goji berries, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a high power blender and blender until smooth. Transfer to glasses and enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2

3.3.3077

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Chia seeds are considered a super food since these seeds pack a serious nutritional punch. For every ounce of chia seeds, you get 11 grams of fibre to keep your tummy happy, keeps your brain healthy with all those all important Omega-3 fatty acids and has 4.4 grams of protein. This heart-healthy seed is so beneficial to your body and a great staple in any diet. I constantly keep chia seeds in my pantry and add it to mostly smoothies, breakfast pudding and if I am in a crazy rush I even add it to my water bottle with a bit of lemon juice or this drink. Chia seed pudding is great to layer in a Mason jar with frozen fruit and topped with some raw buckwheat grouts and refrigerate until you are ready to go. Since chia seeds are a tad on the pricey side, I usually make a little pudding parfait for breakfast verses just straight up chia pudding.

I tried making blended carob pudding with banana as the sweetener but turns out I am not a fan of carob. It looks like chocolate but certainly does not taste like it. Scratch that ingredient off my pantry stock list. I just like chocolate too much to try to replace it with anything else. However, carob is good for those people who may be sensitive to or avoiding caffeine since it is naturally caffeine-free. 

Mark who is indifferent to chocolate, say what??, asked me to make him a non-chocolate version. First thing first, do not blend a non-chocolate (or any dark coloured) pudding since it turns into a grey mess. Ok now that we have established that we can go to the recipe. Other than chocolate desserts, lemon is my second favourite flavour, especially the creaminess of lemon bars. This recipe can be made without the soaked cashews but they do add a lot of creaminess to this pudding so I highly recommend it.

I had this snack with frozen blueberries on top before my first ballet class! It kept me feeling energized and light, ready to take on all the French dance moves and positions. Turns out you can sweat a LOT by just bending and stretching. I thought I was the worst one in the class but every woman in the change room of the studio also made the same remark about their performance. It was the very first class ever and apparently we thought we would all be professional ballerinas after a mere hour and a half class? If only it were that simple. I had a great time and felt really accomplished that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I am very much looking forward to next week’s class. Special thanks to my mother who purchased the class for me as a birthday present (as well as the beautiful bracelet that I am wearing in my A Champagne Birthday photo shoot by Holly Bowman.)

 Anything you want to try out? Something that maybe you tried once before but gave up? Perhaps a class you always felt too embarrassed to take? What would it take for you to push yourself out of your comfort zone and really give it your all? Leave any comments or positive messages to other readers below! Or your own story on overcoming your fear of looking silly and really immersed yourself in your passion.

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in a city not so far away there lives a girl who loves green. Green is her favourite colour since it matches her eyes and her favourite sweater. She tries having green in all aspects of her life since she now realizes how important it is to love green food. She uses green vegetables in her cooking and smoothies but that wasn’t enough for this girl: she wanted green milk. Rich, cool, creamy and lightly sweetened green milk. Sounds crazy right? But this girl believed in the green!

She summoned the assistance of her Vitamix cauldron to concoct the perfect green milk. Double double turbo trouble! ITS ALIVE!!

The Green Monster Milk was ready to go out into the world, spreading the goodness of green for everyone to love and enjoy.

The only problem was this milk didn’t look like the rest of the milks in the world. On the surface he looked a little different but inside he had so many good things to offer: vitamins and minerals, those important micronutrients but all anyone saw was his green colour.

He was sad and lonely so he went on a journey through the spooky Collard Green Forest in hopes of meeting others that would understand him and his greenness.

Just when he thought he wouldn’t find any green monsters like him, he finally met some! And people who loved all his green goodness that he wanted to share!

He finally found his calling and that is bringing people only the best source of green power: plant power! He lived happily ever after. Definitely not THE END of this recipe.  

Happy Halloween from our new friend Green Monster Milk!

I made this milk for those who do not like green juice (I have yet to be sold on it!) but I do love green milk! It tastes just like my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk but with all the green juice goodness. The milk is completely raw, vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free since it is sweetened with dates! So if you are not a fan of straight green juice this milk is a great alternative.

For complete step-by-step instructions with photos visit my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk post, just add the chopped greens and dates with the almonds instead of just the almonds. Warning: if your nut milk bag is made of a natural fibre like hemp, it will slightly discolour the bag. Wash right away for minimal staining. Trust me….

This is a great recipe to use if you need a little detox after a Halloween fete. If you are anything like me and stuffed your face with sweet bubbly punch and tons of candy, you will need this green milk in the morning. 

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Turns out having a kid around wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought since they ask probably 100 questions an hour and while he doesn’t have to be constantly entertained like a toddler, he couldn’t understand why I did not have any kid-stuff or know any children that live in my building. This questions and concerns all occurred before we hit the front door of my apartment. I wanted to take a mental nap.

 But kids are funny in their way and they will say things that are really ridiculous but make perfect sense when you try to rationalize it from their perspective. Sammy renamed a few daily things around Toronto that I never gave a second thought to such as:

1)   The TTC Subway System is now and forever will be called the “basement train.” (I tried to explain to him that it is train under the ground in which he responded “like a basement!” I agreed and he named it the basement train. This actually got a few laughs from commuters on the same train as us.)

2)   My apartment building he named “the shared box house.” This one I did not understand at first until he explained to me that everything was organized and the balconies look like boxes.

3)   To him the escalators are the “scary stairs”. When I asked why he found them scary he said that they are spikey and then the floor eats them at the top.

 Fair enough…

We were walking down a busy street and saw a giant billboard ad for McDonald’s Milkshakes and he asked if he could have one. Call me a party pooper but I wasn’t about to bring him there knowing what is in those milkshakes. I worked there as a teenager and I KNOW what is in there and the answer is nothing good. Still his craving was there and I suggested to him that I could make him one the next day (it was late and we were out when we saw the billboard) if he really wanted. Of course, being related to me did not pass the opportunity for a sweet treat and ask for one the next day.

I decided to do an ice-cream free milkshake. Say what!? I know I know how sacrilege of me but recently when I headed to my small hometown I couldn’t find one vegan ice cream brand. So this is one for those people who may not have access to the prepare vegan foods like I do living in Toronto.

Thankfully, I did a little prepping and the milkshake was ready to be made. Just toss most things in the fridge or freezer the day or night before and you are ready to make a rich, creamy and insanely delicious shake.

 For the freezer:

• Strawberries (fresh strawberries washed, trimmed and then frozen or just buy frozen strawberries)
• Almond milk in an ice cube tray (this is how I got away with not using ice cream so it is really important to do!)

For the fridge:

• Canned coconut milk (this will solidify all the creamy goodness of the coconut milk to use in your shake) If you are just making 1 or 2 milkshakes, 1 can in the fridge should be fine but if you are making more, add a second can to the fridge.
• A large and deep glass or metal bowl (you will be whipping the remaining coconut milk in. How else would you top your shake but with a little or a lot of whipped coconut milk? I followed the Oh She Glows Coconut Whipped Cream recipe)

Once everything is prepped, just toss it all in the blender the next day and whirl away! This shake is fairly thick which I love but if it isn’t your thing, just add more coconut water.

I know this seems like a little more work than just buying a milkshake but it is super delicious, fresh and kid-approved by Sammy (unless your child has a nut allergy since it does contain almond and coconut).

His milkshake craving was satisfied and the glass was empty by the time I photographed my shake. The day after the first shake, he asked for another. Success! Cool Aunt Jess is making a come back!

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