Super Sunrise Smoothie
This is my favourite energising breakfast to wake up to. Its quick to prepare and tastes great. So many people reach for a caffeinated drink to perk themselves up in the morning but this smoothie is stronger than any espresso for an energy boost! Try it and you’ll be convinced. It’s densely packed with essential fats from the hemp and chia seeds, the hemp also provides good quality protein. The fruit delivers unprocessed carbohydrates. Vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants are abundant!! As its blended it reduces the work load on your body to digest the foods. My son loves this smoothie and it’s a great way to give fussy eaters a potent blend of tasty nutrients. Hope you enjoy ☺️
Makes 1 smoothie
Prep 10 mins
Ingredients
• 100g fresh pineapple diced.
• 100g frozen mixed berries
• 1 large banana
• 1 tbsp raw cacao
• 1 heaped tbsp chia seeds
• 2 heaped tbsp hemp seeds
• a splash of Coconut water or almond milk to get your desired consistency.
• Sesame, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and/ or gogi berries sprinkled on top. ( Optional )
I put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 15 secs approx. Pour into your serving glass and sprinkle with your toppings of choice. Enjoy.
Here’s the juicy bit. . .
Raw cacao is the core ingredient of chocolate. It’s chocolate in it’s natural form before any processing takes place. It is rich in minerals and is dense in antioxidants providing approximately 10,000 per 10g!Antioxidants help neutralise free radicals.
Free radicals are atoms that are unstable and highly reactive and can have a negative effect on our health. We are constantly exposed to them and creating them in our body through normal bodily processes eg metabolism of food for energy. Disease, exercise, smoking, chemicals and pollutants increase our free radical load. There is much research into the connection between free radicals and cancers and heart disease. Free radicals have a cascading effect on our body and they need to be stabilised to slow the ageing process internally and externally and protect against disease. Antioxidants stabilise free radicals and render them neutral. By taking anti oxidants in abundance you help protect against a variety of diseases thought to be related to excess free radicals. Fruits, vegetables and the modern list of ‘superfoods’ contain anti oxidants in great numbers. Beta carotene, vitamins C and E are three examples of excellent anti oxidants which work in synergy together to stabilise free radicals.
Raw cacao is high in minerals calcium and iron. A 10g portion in your morning smoothie gives 18% of calcium RDA and 33% of iron RDA. It is important for people who don’t eat meat or dairy to ensure they are getting a sufficient amount of these minerals. Foods rich in vitamin C aid the absorption of iron. Avoid coffee or tea around the time of taking your smoothie as the tannins reduce the absorption of iron.
