Healthy Apple Pie Smoothie | Vegan

It’s hard to get back into a routine after taking a break, but I thought I’d start 2017 with a new smoothie recipe for you, to get things moving! Remember this delicious Healthy Superfood Green Smoothie? Yum! I created this simple healthy apple pie smoothie that packs nutrition and taste! I’m also having a 14-Day Smoothie Challenge on my Facebook page, starting January 27th, to encourage everyone to add nutritious foods in our daily lives. I will post a recipe there every morning for 2 weeks, so make sure you visit and participate (you can currently find a list of ingredients that will be needed as well).

Why are smoothies healthy?

Not all smoothies are healthy, and most commercial ones are not, mainly because they add sugar, sometimes additives, and they are usually pasteurized, which removes a lot of the nutrients. So fresh is always best!

Smoothies are an easy way to add healthy foods in your daily routine because you can be very creative with what you put in there, really the sky is the limit. Be adventurous! You can use fruits, and vegetables too! I would actually strongly encourage you to always add a vegetable in your smoothies, to make sure it’s not all fruits. Even though fruits are good for you, they should be eaten in moderation since they do contain natural sugars (fructose) and can become acidic in our body.

Remember that fruits are not a replacement to vegetables! 😉 We should always eat more vegetables than fruits every day.

What should I add to my smoothies?

On top of whatever fruit you might like (fresh or frozen), you can add simple vegetables like a big handful of spinach, kale or Swiss chard, even lettuce, almost any leafy greens are good in smoothies. Their taste is usually mild enough, and we all know we should be eating more greens, right?

The point is to mix things up and not always use the same greens or fruits or vegetables. We need more of that chlorophyll to live healthier lives (if you have a sluggish thyroid, I recommend staying away from kale because it has goitrogenic properties that could worsen in large quantities). Other additions can include cucumber, carrots, beets, and even sweet potatoes (cooked or raw)!

There is no need to ever add any cane sugar to a smoothie, since the fruits will add natural sweetness, and nut milks/rice milks usually contain some sort of sugars as well. If you feel the need to add more sweetness, feel free to add 1 or 2 medjool dates or a dash of maple syrup (a little goes a long way).

To add extra nutrition, one of the easiest add-on in a smoothie is hemp seed (also called hemp hearts sometimes). These little seeds are packed with essential fatty acids (omega 3) that we need more of, they are also a great source of fibre and whole food proteins. Hemp seeds are usually a must in most of my smoothies. I switch with other seeds too, like black sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc. for variety. If you get your hands on a good quality sea greens powder, that is a really good addition as well.

If you’re not used to make smoothies, start simple and stick to a few good ingredients. As you get more comfortable with the process and tastes, you’ll be able to try new options.

Things to come in 2017

As always I have many goals and projects for 2017, and I look forward to sharing them with you. Namely, we’ve already been working on doing a little clean-up and some small design changes on Eyecandypopper.com. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

I say “we” now, because I officially have a team, as maintaining everything for this site was exhausting for me, and especially when I decided to go back to school full time last year to study natural nutrition, I needed help, so I’ve enrolled my husband and my sister to help me out. My husband takes care of a lot of the background “techie” things that takes me forever to understand and I end-up spending way too much time on it, and my sister has been helping managing my Pinterest account and occasionally helping out on Instagram as well. I’m a type A perfectionist, and asking for help is not my forte, I usually prefer to do everything myself, but sometimes we need to pause, step back and acknowledge that it’s too much, and that my health must come first. Of course, it’s easier when you trust your team completely! 😉

My eCookbook was recently released, and I’ve had amazing feedback on it. Click here to check out my Real. Good. Food. cookbook. I also have my 7-Day Reset Cleanse Program available, and I hope to extend on it, because it’s a great way for people to develop healthier eating habits and get wonderful results from it. If you haven’t checked it out, it’s actually $10 off until midnight tonight! Click here to purchase.

As a newly graduated Holistic Nutritionist, I look forward to helping more of you, no matter where you live, thanks to the internet.

Another big change this year will be that I’m starting to create videos for your viewing pleasure. It took some time, but now it’s official! I’m just beginning to learn how to edit videos, but I should have my first one coming out soon!

Enjoy!

Gabrielle, aka ECP xo

Apples and greens, like kale, are on the Dirty Dozen list because they are most often heavily sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals that leave residues that cannot be washed away. For that reason, make sure that these are always organic or non-sprayed, in order to reduce your exposure to these toxins.

Healthy Apple Pie Smoothie | Vegan

Makes 2 large breakfast size portions

• 1 organic apple (I used Gala), washed, heart removed
• 1 organic banana
• 3 organic kale leaves, washed, stems removed
• 1 piece of fresh ginger, about 1″ long (thumb size)
• 2-3 pinches of ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• 1 Tbsp hemp seeds
• 1-2 tsp maple syrup (that can vary if you use a commercial nut milk that contains sugar already)
• 1-2 cups cold nut milk, enough to cover (I used my homemade almond milk)
• 1-2 ice cubes (optional)

1. Blend everything in a high-powered blender until smooth, approx. 30-45 seconds.
2. Enjoy!