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Do you feel like your diet is lacking good nutrition? Do you have any picky eaters like my kiddos who don’t particularly care for their vegetables? Are you looking for a simple inexpensive way to boost your health without the added expense of supplements? Enter smoothies.

Since beginning my journey on preparing fruit smoothies, I am continually amazed what you can add to a simple smoothie to increase the health and nutrition of this wonderful beverage and get all your supplements for the day in whole food form. In fact, it seems to be the best means of getting good nutrition in your kids diet. I have never seen a child that doesn’t love a good fruit smoothie. It is a refreshing beverage for any day of the week! And they are also a great item for any meal. We’ve had them for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and even a light dinner on those extra tiring days. Lately, I have been starting to add various herbs to our smoothies and have noticed some significant improvements in our overall health.

Here are some of the goodies we add to our smoothies:

1. Kefir

I love using kefir as the base for our smoothies because it is one of the most nutritious probiotic available. Kefir, which means ‘feel good” in Turkish, is an ancient cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your “inner ecosystem” to maintain optimal health and strengthen immunity.

Kefir’s tart and refreshing flavor is similar to a drinking-style yogurt, and it contains beneficial yeast as well as the friendly ‘probiotic’ bacteria found in yogurt, but is more nutritious. When used regularly, the naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in Kefir combine symbiotically to help balance your intestinal flora and boost your immunity. Learn how to make your own kefir here.

Whole milk yogurt, coconut milk, coconut kefir, coconut water, or kombucha are also excellent bases for your smoothies, depending upon your needs and preferences. I have used and love all these alternatives as well. I use about 3/4 – 1 cup kefir or alternative for my base.

2. Greens

We have been making green smoothies for some time now. Adding fresh greens can assist in boosting energy, building your immune system, detoxing impurities, and loosing weight. Greens are rich in magnesium and alkaline minerals like calcium and are superb in their Omega-3 unsaturated fat content.  Believe it or not, greens are one of the richest sources of protein. I have used organic spinach (as it is a highly sprayed crop) predominately as it is easy to add without affecting the texture. I can add half of head of spinach and it blends in well with all the frozen fruits.

We also use the Green Magna Plus Powder if I don’t have greens on hand or want to boost it a bit more. I will add 1 Tablespoon of this mixture. Magma Plus contains barley grass juice powder plus 56 other natural ingredients. It provides a full range of phytonutrients including active enzymes, antioxidants, carotenoids, flavonoids, vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, amino acids, prebiotics, probiotics, and chlorophyll.

3. Herbs

Lately, we have started adding herb powders to our smoothies with excellent results. Adding herbs is like preparing your own vitamins. They are real food and easily digestible. God has provided all the health and nutrition that we need in His creation, and this is beautiful to behold as you study the different kinds of herbs and their functions in our bodies. These herbs may affect the texture somewhat of your smoothies, so start small and build up as you go to get your full dose.

Daily Boost Herba-Smoothie – This product is compiled by Bulk Herb Store and is specifically designed to give you full balance in your health and perfect for your daily smoothies. This mixture of herb powders contains the following:

Adding 1 heaping teaspoon of this herb powder is wonderfully nutritious! It blends in so well with fruit and you cannot even notice it is there. I have had increased energy and sleep since taking these herbs.

Spirulina

Spirulina powder is a blue-green algae that grows on freshwater ponds. Spirulina is 55-70 percent protein by weight and considered my many to be the greatest plant source of usable protein and is rich in B vitamins and gammalinolenic acid (GLA). We add 1 heaping teaspoon to our smoothies currently, and hope to boost it up as we go. Spirulina is certainly a superfood!

Kelp Powder

Seaweeds are the richest plant source of minerals, providing 10-20 times the minerals in land-based plants. They contain a more well-balanced and broader spectrum of minerals necessary for the body than any other organism. They are used to promote longevity, prevent disease, and boost a healthy metabolism to those courageous enough to consume them. The easiest to come by and disguise is kelp powder and can be added to smoothies. We add about 1 heaping teaspoon to smoothies and will build up to about 1 Tablespoon.

Slippery Elm Bark Powder

Slippery Elm is a “mucilaginous herb that helps absorb toxins in the bowel. In fact, it is very soothing to the entire digestive system. It is useful especially for diarrhea, bowel weakness or as a mild nourishing food for sick children. Since the herb is slightly sweet, it is one that children will often take readily if it is mixed in some cereal, applesauce or fruit juice.”

We have been adding another heaping teaspoon of this powder with our smoothies.

My cousin Amy introduced me to the idea of adding herbs to my smoothies. I asked her to share her recipes and herb combos. Amy is dairy-free, and offered these helpful recipe suggestions. The liquids can easily be changed out for whatever base you would like (yogurt, kefir, coconut milk, kombucha, etc). Each recipe is prepared for 4 servings.

1 1/2 med. bananas
1 large mango
1 1/2 c. strawberries
1/2 c. kombucha
1 Tbsp flax seed
approx. 1 1/2 c. water

2 med. bananas
1 c. frozen strawberries
1 c. frozen blueberries
1 c. water

1 large mango
2 c. frozen blueberries
1 c. frozen blackberries
1-1.5 cups liquids

3 small bananas
2 c. frozen strawberries
3/4 c. kombucha
1 c. water

2-3 c. frozen blackberries
1-2 bananas
6 TBSP coconut water
1/2 c. kombucha
1 c. water

2 bananas
2 cups frozen peaches
1-2 cups water

To each of the above combos, add any or all of the following (start smaller and gradually increase herbs as desired). Again this is per 4 servings:

1 Tablespoon orange juice concentrate (helps balance it out if a smoothie needs a bit more flavor or sweetener)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (does wonders for adding flavor!)
1/4 teaspoon stevia powder, as needed
2 tsp ground Daily Boost Herba Smoothie Combo
2 tsp ground slippery elm
1 1/2 tsp ground nettle (increases liver and kidney function)
3 tsp ground kelp powder (this is the strongest flavored one, if I think the smoothie isn’t strong flavored enough to mask it, I’ll reduce the amount I add, or skip it altogether for that day)
3 tsp (or more) ground spirulina
little under 2 TBSP cut leaf alfalfa (rich in vitamins and minerals, chlorophyll, blood purifier)

Our family is currently using the herba smoothie combo, slippery elm, spirulina, and kelp powder and hope to start adding a bit more of other herbs as we go. A great option of getting real food in your smoothies without expensive supplements!

My kids love these smoothies, as you can see in the pictures!

These herbs can be purchased through Bulk Herb Store or Mountain Rose Herbs (with the exception of the Herba Smoothie mix), both of which are companies that I love!

What healthy additions do you like to make to your smoothies?

Please note that this information is shared for educational use. We are not licensed practitioners in any way but love to share out of our own personal experience. As far as I understand, all these herbs are perfectly safe for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Announcement: The winner of our Christa Taylor giveaway was Tara (taraalic..@)! Congrats!

Guest post written by Wardeh Harmon from Gnowfglins.

Not long after I began reading about sourdough, working with it myself, and teaching others to embrace it, I noticed a handful of misconceptions that come up again and again. These ideas get around somehow and they’re simply not true.

For instance, have you been told that sourdough is always sour? Do you get the impression that baking with sourdough is too hard for everyday moms who aren’t gourmet bakers? Has someone moaned that it’s super hard to keep a sourdough starter alive? Those are three of the five myths I’d like to deflate today. I’d like to set the record straight about our trustworthy and simple friend: sourdough.

1. Sourdough Is Just For Bread.

Actually, sourdough is one of the most versatile baking methods you’ll ever try. In addition to gorgeous, tasty and soft bread, you can make easy and mouth-watering sourdough pancakes, waffles, english muffins, muffins, donuts, crackers, biscuits, pot pie, gingerbread, pasta, cookies, scones, crepes, pizza crusts, tortillas, cakes, and more! I did go on and on, but you got the point, right?

2. Sourdough Is Difficult.

Not so! On the spot, you can whip up the easiest, tastiest, most nutritious pancakes, waffles or crepes with just leftover starter and a few other ingredients. For many other easy dishes, all that’s required is mixing up some starter, liquid and flour ahead of time. Then about 8 hours later you’ll create cinnamon rolls, biscuits, or pasta much like usual. So tell me, how hard does that sound?

3. Sourdough Is Finicky.

No, it isn’t. A sourdough starter, or a sour dough, has just a few basic, simple needs: oxygen, warmth, and food. And it’s not even too picky about those. Oxygen is a given; leave a loose cover on the starter or dough so it can breathe. For warmth, anything around room temperature will do. The food can come in the form of any flour you’re using at the time. Whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour (red or white) and spelt flour all take turns in my starter; I feed the starter whatever I’m using for baking.

4. Sourdough Is Just For Flavor.

Sourdough foods have complex and compelling flavors, no doubt. Consider the distinctive San Fransisco sour tang, or fluffy Alaskan sourdough pancakes drizzled with pure maple syrup. But I love sourdough for two other reasons.

A gift from God. Prior to this century and the development of commercial yeast, folks used a sourdough starter’s wild organisms for rising and lifting doughs. Leavened bread in the Bible? Sourdough all the way. When I see a warm soured dough rising in my kitchen, I praise God for the amazing and practical gift of sourdough.

More healthful. A sourdough starter is an ecosystem of wild yeasts and beneficial bacteria that work together to add B-vitamins to grains, to break down gluten for better digestion, and to neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. In addition, the sourdough starter’s organisms are much more versatile than commercial yeast (with regard to temperature or other conditions) and sourdough bread doesn’t stale as quickly.

5. Sourdough Is Sour.

Sourdough can be sour, but it doesn’t have to be sour. Two chief practices contribute to “sour” sourdough.

Skipped feedings. Ideally, I believe we should feed a room temperature sourdough starter twice a day. A sourdough starter (the active mother culture) contains both wild yeasts and beneficial bacteria. Regular flour feedings keep the organisms fed and in balance. But missing a feeding gives the bacteria a leg up. You see, the yeasts run out of food when the simple sugars in flour are all consumed, and they start dying off. But the bacteria still have food to eat. They eat the expired yeasts, along with the yeasts’ wastes, and continue to produce lactic acid, the main sour flavor. And so the starter gets more sour.

Long souring period. When we create a dough with sourdough starter and let it rest, this is the souring, or fermentation, period. The yeasts and bacteria feed on the flours in the dough, and their byproducts are acids (offering flavor) and carbon dioxide (rising the dough). The longer the souring period, the more sour the flavor. For best nutrition, I recommend a good 8 hours of souring. Unless the weather is very hot, the flavor won’t be that sour, if at all. On the other hand, allowing the dough to ferment for 24 hours or more will yield a pronounced sour end product.

What can we learn from this? First, feed twice a day to keep all the organisms in balance and the overall sourness slight. Second, sour your dough for less time, rather than more.

By the way, have you heard the phrase, “soda sweetens”? It’s true! Many sourdough recipes (including these pancakes, english muffins, or waffles) call for baking soda. Not only does the baking soda react with the starter to give a good rise, but it sweetens the dough or batter by neutralizing some of the acidic taste.

Are you interested in easy sourdough recipes, video demonstrations, and mouth-watering results? I welcome you to participate in the Sourdough eCourse, where I and other teachers guide you in mastering simple, tasty, nutritious sourdough. We are always open for enrollment; you can join us any time your schedule allows. God bless you all!

Wardeh (‘Wardee’) Harmon lives in Oregon with her husband and three children. They raise ducks and dairy goats on five and a half gorgeous wooded acres, which they are in the process of turning into a productive homestead. Wardeh’s passions are healthy cooking and sewing practical wool garments, although she loves to create just about anything from scratch, should the mood hit right. Wardeh teaches traditional and whole food cooking at the GNOWFGLINS blog and GNOWFGLINS eCourse.

Lately I have been exploring in the world of coconut milk kefir! Our family has been consuming regular raw milk kefir for a few years now, but recently, we lost our frugal milk source, and I was forced to rethink and consider some other nutritious options. Enter…coconut milk kefir!

Kefir is typically made from cow’s milk that is fermented with kefir cultures. It is similar in taste and texture to a drinkable plain yogurt with a bit of a tangy flavor to it. It is known for many health benefits including boosting the immune system, stimulating digestion, protecting against the spread of harmful yeast overgrowth, lowering cholesterol, and guarding against cancer. It is a powerful probiotic that helps beneficial bacteria to thrive in the body.

Coconut milk is naturally rich in medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs). Two of the primary MCFAs found in coconut milk, lauric and capric acid, are known for supporting the body’s immune system. Coconut products contains monolaurin, a fatty acid found in human mother’s milk, which has proven antiviral, antibacterial, and fungal properties that support natural immunity. It has a creamy taste and texture that’s similar to cream (with half the fat and calories) or milk (when diluted). It tastes on the flavor of what you mix it with, making it ideal for both sweet and savory recipes. It is completely dairy, gluten, and soy free, making it the most nutritious option and alternative for the dairy intolerant.

When I searched online for information to make coconut milk kefir, I was surprised to see the serious lack of information on this topic. There appears to be two different options. Coconut water kefir and coconut milk kefir. I wanted to make coconut kefir with coconut milk because it is cheaper and easier. I am all for simplicity. Most of my searching and emailing different companies (Weston A Price & Body Ecology) came up with no responses, so I had to venture out on my own with some help from Julie at Cultures for Health.

Coconut milk kefir works beautifully with milk kefir grains yielding a thick and creamy coconut cream topping for your coffee, ice cream, smoothies, or curries with all the healthy bacterial benefits! Check out Healthy Cooking Coaches recipes for Strawberry & Vanilla ice cream using coconut kefir. You can use it as whipped cream substitute on top of pancakes or waffles (sweetening as desired) or use it in replacement of buttermilk or water in many baked goods recipes. There are no end to the ideas for its usage.

For a tutorial on making coconut water kefir, visit The Nourishing Gourmet or Body Ecology Diet.

Coconut Milk Kefir

1 quart glass jar
2 Tbsp milk kefir grains (available through Cultures for Health)
2 cans unsweetened undiluted coconut milk  or 1 quart So Delicious Coconut Milk (It has been confirmed that Native Forest Coconut Milk is canned in a BPA-free can)

Directions:

1. Place the milk kefir grains in the quart size glass jar and cover with coconut milk. Carefully mix together with a non-metal spoon (please forgive my forgetfulness on this point in the video!).
2. Cover loosely with a towel or cloth napkin and allow the coconut kefir to culture on the countertop for 12-36 hours.
3. After 12 hours, check the coconut kefir every few hours so you can remove the kefir grains as soon as it reaches the desired consistency. If you let it sit too long it will become more sour and very thick, making removal of the grains more difficult.
4. Remove grains and store them covered with a small amount of milk in refrigerator between batches or follow up immediately with another batch.
5. Place a lid over the remaining coconut milk kefir in the jar and store in the refrigerator. Note that it will get significantly thicker in the refrigerator as it cools, so it is a perfect consistency to use as whipping cream and such.

Cultures for Health suggests that it may take a batch or two for the milk kefir grains to adapt to coconut milk but if the milk doesn’t kefir properly during the adjustment period, it is still safe to cook with. They do recommend returning the grains to cow or goat milk periodically to refresh them (and they can adapt back to making raw cow/goat milk kefir).

Here’s my little video tutorial:

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvOJsEKQlS8

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hat5DV91fsU

Can I use kefir packets to make coconut milk kefir? What if I am dairy intolerant?

I originally thought that kefir packets would be a better alternative than grains for those with dairy allergies. I asked Julie at Cultures for Health about her opinion and this is what she shared: Powdered packets should work with coconut milk but since they are in a dairy carrier, they’re not really going to be an improvement on the grains and it’s questionable how well they will re-culture (using a small amount from the previous batch to make the next batch) making them potentially a costly option.  It might actually be less costly to occasionally buy more kefir grains than to buy lots of packets of kefir starter. We’ve taken to trying to steer the dairy intolerant to water kefir for their probiotics for this reason. Plus kefir packets aren’t really a natural culture and contain less than 10 probiotic strains compared to the 30 or so contained in kefir made with grains.

So there are options to try and experiment with, but the best option might be to stick with water kefir grains and the coconut juice method if you have dairy allergies. Packets can be used if you do not have allergies but the best results will come from using grains and rotating back and forth from culturing in coconut milk to cow/goat’s milk.

Can I dilute the coconut milk to make it stretch further?

Unfortunately you don’t want to dilute the coconut milk since that would leave less sugar for the kefir grains to eat and potentially damage the grains.

Can I make coconut milk kefir with water kefir grains?

Julie at Cultures for Health shares, “Dom’s kefir site claims you can acclimate water kefir grains to milk (but I don’t believe he mentions anything about coconut milk) but I personally haven’t tried it and never heard from anyone who has.  If you happen to have a significant surplus of water kefir grains though, it might be worth trying.  It certainly would be great for people with dairy allergies—normally if someone has an allergy we just steer them to water kefir.”

Is there any benefit of making coconut water/juice kefir over coconut milk kefir?

Julie again shares, “Both coconut water kefir and coconut milk kefir would contain basically the same probiotic benefits so at that point I think it would just be a matter of the nutritional differences in the original liquids.  Coconut water is more of an electrolyte type beverage (I keep some around for when we get sick but beyond that we don’t drink very much) whereas coconut milk is a very concentrated source of healthy fats.  Both are perfectly healthy but I think they just ultimately have different purposes.”

Can I used powdered coconut milk?

A few readers suggested below that powdered coconut milk is a cheaper alternative. I understand that powdered milk products are best to be avoided. “It is manufactured through a spray drying process of raw unsweetened coconut cream. This is very different from the more widely available and coarser desiccated coconut which is made by grating machines that shred the white coconut flesh.

When coconut milk powder is spray dried, this has the effect of mixing oxygen (from the air) into the powder, under very hot drying conditions. As a consequence, coconut milk powder is “oxidized” and will go rancid quite quickly if not refrigerated and consumed within one or two days. This process also has the effect of increasing nitrate levels in powdered milk, whether it be dairy or coconut powdered milk. High levels of nitrates can increase the risk of cancer.” (The Incredible Coconut Book)

Coconut kefir does exist on the market now thanks to the efforts of So Delicious, but it cannot be compared with the homemade variety! Read more about that here. Making it yourself can always save you money and produce the highest nutrient content!