Food
By Dr Joe
You need more greens in your life. Yep, I said it.
This Banana Avocado Celery Kale Smoothie otherwise known as ‘BACK’ Smoothie is just what you need. Packed with nutrients, you will be doing yourself a disfavour if you don’t indulge yourself with this green smoothie.
Your immune system will thank you for nourishing it with this awesome green smoothie.
Green smoothies may not win trophies in the “looks” department in terms of visual appeal, but they sure make up for it in the nutrients department. Don’t deprive yourself. Please don’t.
> And if you thought this banana avocado celery kale smoothie won’t taste great, you will be dead wrong. It does taste great. Wait until you try it. As the saying goes, don’t knock it until you try it. My wife who normally sniffs at green smoothies had to ask me for seconds when she tasted this wild creation of mine.
It’s not just good, it actually tastes great. But I would say that, won’t I? After all, I came up with the idea, so I am bound to like it.
Well, how about you reserve your judgement until you try it.
So, what do we need for this Banana Avocado Celery Kale (BACK) Green Smoothie?
Here’s what you need to make this smoothie come alive in your cup:
Banana X 2
Avocado X 1
Celery X 3 Sticks
Kale Vegetables X 3 quarters of a pack (150 g)
Flaxseeds (Linseeds) X 4 tbsf
Hemp milk X 100 ml
Natural Yogurt X 150 g
Nutritional Information of Kale per 100 g
| Calories |
29 kcal |
| Total fat |
1.1 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.2 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.3 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.1 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
4.0 g |
| Sugars |
0.9 g |
| Fiber |
2.9 g |
| Protein |
2.4 g |
| Sodium |
38 mg |
| Potassium |
491 mg |
| Folic acid |
86 mcg |
| Vitamin C |
71 mg |
Kale will also furnish you with Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Iron, Magnesium as well as Calcium. Don’t forget the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Kale. They are to die for. More about that in a future post.
Nutritional information for Celery per 100 g
| Calories |
16 kcal |
| Total Fat |
0.2 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.1 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
3.0 g |
| Sugars |
1.8 g |
| Fibre |
1.6 g |
| Protein |
0.7 g |
| Sodium |
80 mg |
| Potassium |
260 mg |
Celery also provides Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin B6.
Nutritional information for Avocado per 100 g
| Calories |
160 kcal |
| Total fat |
15 g |
| Saturated fat |
2.1 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
10 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
1.9 g |
| Protein |
2 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
9 g |
| Sugars |
0.7 g |
| Fiber |
7 g |
| Sodium |
7 mg |
| Potassium |
485 mg |
A good provision of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin B6 awaits you from your avocado too.
How to make the Banana Avocado Celery Kale Green Smoothie
This smoothie will have to be done in stages given the bulk of the ingredients.
>> Chuck in the 150 g of Kale into the Nutribullet jar
>> Add the Hemp milk.
> Blitz the kale and milk for 30 seconds. The idea is to reduce the bulk of the kale to make way for other ingredients. Pause the nutribullet.
>> Now slice up the bananas one at a time and chuck it in.
>> Cut up the celery and add them in.
>> Add the flaxseeds.
>> Scoop out the avocado flesh and add it in.
>> Blitz the mixture for 45 seconds. Pause the Nutribullet.
> Add the second banana and scoop in the natural yogurt
>> Blitz one more time for another 30 seconds or so.
That’s it. Your banana avocado celery kale smoothie is ready to be enjoyed.
Tested the banana avocado celery kale green smoothie 1 hour after having it and my glucometer reading was 4.6 mmol/l (82.8 mg/dl). Awesome!
Don’t have the Nutribullet and would like to have one. Get your Nutribullet here on Amazon.com and if in Europe, get it here from Amazon.co.uk
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Food
By Dr Joe
On a greyish Saturday morning when it doesn’t look like the sun is ever going burst through the clouds and brighten up the day, what should a cup-is-half-full folk do to perk things up?
Well, I thought about it and felt the Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana smoothie will be just what the doctor ordered.
So, I set out to accomplish this imaginative Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana smoothie. This is like packing lots of health ingredients in one cup.
You get carbs, you get monounsaturated fats and when you realise that we are going to add some Natural yogurt to the smoothie, then it becomes clear that we are not going to miss out on protein requirements too.
Wholesome, I’d say. What about you?
Well, you gotta try it and see for yourself what I mean.
I have to confess that I thought at first that this Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana smoothie was going to be a tricky one in terms of blood sugar alignment in the healthy range. The reason was because I felt I had overdone it this time. Too many fruits in there, I thought but I was wrong. I got away with it. This beetroot smoothie is healthy.
The blood glucose results was quite satisfactory and I shall reveal as usual at the bottom of this page if only to convince you that this smoothie is good for your optimal health.
So what do we need for this Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana smoothie.
Ingredients needed for the Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana Smoothie
Beetroot (Steamed) X 3
Avocado X 1
Banana X 1
Cucumber X Half
Celery X 2 sticks
Flaxseeds X 3 tbsf
Natural Yogurt (Low Fat) X 200 g
Almond Milk X 50 ml
Nutritional Information for Beetroot per 100 g
| Calories |
43 kcal |
| Total Fat |
0.2 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.1 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
10 g |
| Sugar |
7 g |
| Fiber |
2.8 g |
| Protein |
1.6 g |
| Sodium |
80 mg |
| Potassium |
323 mg |
Beetroot will furnish you with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Calcium and Iron
Nutritional information for Avocado per 100 g
| Calories |
160 kcal |
| Total fat |
15 g |
| Saturated fat |
2.1 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
10 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
1.9 g |
| Protein |
2 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
9 g |
| Sugars |
0.7 g |
| Fiber |
7 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Sodium |
7 mg |
| Potassium |
485 mg |
A ready supply of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin B6 is available from your avocado as well.
Nutritional information for Cucumber per 100 gm
| Calories |
16 kcal |
| Total fat |
0.1 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
3.6 g |
| Sugars |
1.7 g |
| Fiber |
1.5 g |
| Protein |
0.7 g |
| Sodium |
2 mg |
| Potassium |
147 mg |
You also get Calcium, Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Magnesium from the cucumber.
How to make the Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana Smoothie
>> Add the 3 steamed beetroots onto the Nutribullet jar
>> Scoop in your avocado flesh
>> Cut up your celery into small bits and add it
>> Add the flaxseeds (linseeds) 3 tablespoonful. It doesn’t have to be precise by the way.
>> Cut up your banana. You may not be able to add a whole banana at first. Slice in half.
>> Scoop in your natural yogurt.
>> Then blitz for 45 seconds. Sometimes you might need to pause the Nutribullet, shake it up a little and re-blitz to a fine pulp.
> Pause the nutribullet. You will find the smoothie to be quite pasty at first. We will thin it out with our milk in the next step
>> Now add the remaining banana and add enough almond milk to thin out the smoothie. How much almond milk you add will depend on how thin or thick you want the Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana smoothie to be.
>> Blitz the smoothie once again for 30 seconds.
That’s it. Your beetroot avocado cucumber banana smoothie is ready. Pour in your favourite glass cup and enjoy.
My wife described this Beetroot Avocado Cucumber Banana smoothie as tasting like an ice cream. If you like the usual silky taste of beetroot, this is one smoothie to try today.
As I mentioned earlier, I was a little worried that this beetroot smoothie will spike my blood sugar. I was wrong. In fact, when I tested myself 1 hour after having this smoothie, I got a blood glucose reading of 5.8 mmol/l (104.4 mg/dl). That’s stiil a very decent blood glucose reading. Now go ahead and try this smoothie.
I should add that the flaxseeds (linseeds) are helping to make this smoothie really healthy. Flaxseeds are known to help with making you more insulin sensitive quite apart from the fact linseeds have lignans that help you fight oxidative stress and supress inflammation.
Don’t have the Nutribullet but would like to own one? Get Nutribullet here from Amazon.com and if in Europe, get it here from Amazon.co.uk
Suggested further reading:
Drink THIS first thing in the morning (3 Major Benefits)
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Food
By Dr Joe
The cucumber spinach avocado smoothie is one green smoothie couched on the starter level of smoothies. But don’t be fooled by its simplicity.
You take the dog for a walk, get back, take off your dog-walking gear and you need some refreshment. What do you reach out for?
You probably want to reach for a cup of tea or coffee. Nothing wrong with that.
What if I tempt you with the cucumber spinach avocado smoothie as a refreshing yet nourishing drink?
I am not suggesting the cucumber spinach avocado should replace your everyday refreshment, but it should become part of your staple a couple of times a week.
You need greens in your life and this cucumber spinach avocado smoothie is a good starting point.
The cucumber spinach avocado smoothie has the vital components of the greens, bar the root. It has leafy green, stem green, fruit green. It’s no surprise it’s nutritionally dense but yet calorie light.
I call it the CSA smoothie. If you are a guy whom the acronym CSA sends you running for the hills because you are failing to meet up with your child support payments, then be reassured. This CSA is not after your financial freedom. If anything this smoothie is as affordable as it gets.
The CSA is an acronym or should we say, mnemonic for your shopping needs. For you to remember the core ingredients for making the CSA smoothie – the core ingredients being Cucumber, Spinach and Avocado.
So, what do we need for the cucumber spinach avocado smoothie?
Cucumber X 1
Celery X 2 sticks
Spinach X 120 g
Avocado X 1
Banana X 2
Lemon X 1
Hemp milk X 80 ml
Flaxseed X 3 tbsf
If you are asking why add the banana and the lemon. The banana and the lemon are mainly performing flavoursome functions. The core CSA ingredients emit the typical earthy taste which might put some people off.
Add the banana and a lemon squeeze and the veggie greeny taste is masked for good. Now we are talking.
Food whether it be in the solid form or liquid form should taste exciting and the cucumber spinach avocado smoothie is doing its best to keep up.
You get lots of phytonutrients from the cucumber, celery and spinach inclusive of anti-oxidants that suppress inflammation keeping your body cells free from reactive oxygen species. Anti-oxidants are by their very nature anti-inflammatory as well.
The avocado does its best to furnish you with monounsaturated fatty acids essential for optimum health. One banana is good enough if you are trying to lose weight, otherwise two will help you bolster the calories for weight maintenance.
Nutritional information for Cucumber per 100 g
| Calories |
16 g |
| Total fat |
0.1 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
3.6 g |
| Sugars |
1.7 g |
| Fiber |
1.5 g |
| Protein |
0.7 g |
| Sodium |
2 mg |
| Potassium |
147 mg |
You also get Calcium, Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Magnesium from the cucumber.
Nutritional information for Avocado per 100 gm
| Calories |
160 kcal |
| Total fat |
15 g |
| Saturated fat |
2.1 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
1.9 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
10 g |
| Protein |
2 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
9 g |
| Sugar |
0.7 g |
| Fiber |
7 g |
| Sodium |
7 mg |
| Potassium |
485 mg |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
A ready supply of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, magnesium, Calcium and Vitamin B6 is available from your avocado as well.
Nutritional information for Spinach per 100 gm
| Calories |
23 kcal |
| Total Carbohydrate |
3.6 g |
| Sugar |
0.4 g |
| Fiber |
2.4 g |
| Total fat |
0.4 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.1 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.3 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Protein |
3.0 g |
You also get a good supply of Iron, Magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Calcium from your spinach.
Nutritional information for Celery per 100 gm
| Calories |
16 kcal |
| Total fat |
0.2 g |
| Saturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Polyunsaturated fat |
0.1 g |
| Monounsaturated fat |
0.0 g |
| Cholesterol |
0.0 g |
| Total Carbohydrate |
3.5 g |
| Sugar |
1.9 g |
| Fiber |
1.6 g |
| Protein |
0.8 g |
| Sodium |
80 mg |
| Potassium |
260 mg |
Celery will also offer you Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Iron, Magnesium and Calcium.
How to prepare the Cucumber Spinach Avocado smoothie
>> Split your avocado in two and scoop up the flesh into the Nutribullet processor.
>> Slice up the celery into tiny pieces and add them in.
>> Add the spinach – You may want to add the spinach in batches as they take up lots of space in the blitzer.
>> Slice up the cucumber and add them in. You may add the Hemp milk now.
>> Now blitz the content for about 30 seconds.
>Pause the Nutribullet. You will notice that content have shrunken.
>> Now add the banana in small chunks.
>> You may add some more of the spinach now
>> Blitz again to shrink the content because the spinach can be space-consuming.
>> Now add the flaxseeds and squeeze in the lemon juice. The lemon juice adds a bit of zing to the taste.
>> Blitz one more time for 30 seconds or thereabouts.
>> Pour into a cup and enjoy your health in a cup.
This cucumber spinach avocado won’t win awards in the protracted hunger-suppression department in my experience, but you will surely get at least 4 hours of hunger-busting out of it.
Heck, it hasn’t got lots of calories in it. What have you got to lose drinking this health in a cup. Nothing!
If you are on a weight loss journey, this is one smoothie that is guaranteed to help the weight fall off you. I love it!
Don’t have the Nutribullet? Get one here on Amazon.com and if you live in Europe here on Amazon.co.uk
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Dr. Joe