You know that smell that hits you when you walk into a “health food store?” Kind of an earthy, incense hippy sort of something? The smell that makes loud 6 year old boys go “ewwww, Mom, what is that nasty smell?” at full volume for the entire store to hear?

We have a particular health food store near us and when I go, I can smell it from the outside. My husband tells me I have bloodhound skills.

Take a deep cleansing breath of fresh air. You already have these UNUSUALLY COMMON bonus ingredients in your pantry. No hippie schmippy health food store for today’s wacky smoothie ingredients. They are so common, if you just ran out, they were already on the list for your next trip to the grocery store.

I’ll jump right to it, the school year is winding down for a lot of us and as we drag ourselves to the finish line attention, focus and energy are waning. I’m feeling it too my friends, I’m feeling it too.

Cocoa powder – not super awesome in the typical fruit and veggie smoothies we blend daily BUT cocoa, almonds, milk, banana and spinach blended together result in happiness and deliciousness. I shouldn’t drool on my keyboard but I just might have. Cocoa is packed with antioxidants called polyphenols which are especially important in promoting heart health. Cocoa nibs (little broken bean pieces) are something to consider too. They are less processed which means more of the antioxidant benefits reside within it. I doubt many of us have these lying around, if you do chuck some in. Put cocoa nibs on your list the next time you come across them snatch them up for a little whole foods experiment.
Nuts- you don’t need to grind them into a flour first, toss in a handful of raw almonds, pecans, cashews, peanuts - whatever you like. Nuts contain healthy fats and added protein to help keep you full longer and slow your insulin response from the carbohydrates found in the fruits and veggies you are blending.
Avocado – yum, I am so addicted to smashed avocado on my toast in the morning! I love blending the ones that are just ripe enough the kids question whether or not they are edible. It’s way better to put them in the blender then the compost pile, saves you moola too with less food lost to enzymatic demise on the countertop. Just toss it (this time, leave out the peel and the seed) in the blender with all of the other fruits and veggies. It makes the smoothie super creamy and adds fiber, vitamins K, C and E. It’s the healthy good fat you want in your diet that replaces animal fat and synthetic trans-nasty hydrogenated fats found in processed pre- packaged foods.
Oatmeal - Toss in a handful of raw oats (instant or regular) because it’s a whole grain and whole grains are awesome. Fiber to help scootch cholesterol out, vitamins and phytochemicals to build our bodies cells for better immunity and health. It adds a creaminess and nuttiness to the smoothie.

That was easy, you already had those incredible foods on hand and now you have another clever way to add them to your family’s daily diet. They each offer unique and different health properties.

Eating whole foods like these and a rainbow of variety helps your body achieve super hero status by helping your body heal and preventing sicknesses.

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Happy Blending!
Brooke