Wild Huckleberry Mango Green Smoothie

This summer, my family and I visited our cousins in Idaho and had the incredible luck to be there right when the wild huckleberries were ready for picking. If you've never had a huckleberry, they are like small, tart blueberries but they pack in even more antioxidants per serving. No one has been able to cultivate them and they only grow in a few places in the United States. 

All of the families of the valley have their "patches" and it can get pretty territorial. Luckily we were allowed to hang out even though we are from California (thank you extended Somsen family for "grandfathering" us in) ;) We spent most of two days picking huckleberries ~ it was magical. I think it is the closest I've ever come to really meditating! We brought the huckleberries back in a cooler and I froze them in mason jars as soon as we got home. I've been enjoying our bounty now for months. If you can't get your hands on huckleberries you can always substitute blueberries for a similar taste (but if you have to beg, steal, or borrow to get some of the real deal, they're worth it!).

Ingredients: 
2 handfuls spinach
1 big handful kale
1 handful parsley
1/2 cup mango
3/4 cup huckleberries
1 inch square fresh ginger
1 mandarin orange
1/2 small avocado
1 Tbs. orange flavored Calcium Magnesium Citrate (totally optional, it adds a little sweetness but I include it more for the minerals)

Blend it all together with your liquid of choice until it's smooth. I love my Vitamix but any good blender should work. This is a relatively big batch. It made enough for me to have a large smoothie and then a small one for my husband. You might want to halve the recipe if you are making one serving as a snack.

Enjoy!

This is us at the end of our first day of picking. Dirty, stained, and so happy!

As always, if you like this post and want to be sure you don't miss any in the future, you can "Follow posts" or "Subscribe by email" in the top right corner of this page. You will only be notified when I post something new. 

You can also "like" my Facebook page: Healthy Bodies With Brooke for more great articles and recipes

If you are thinking about buying a blender, I LOVE my Vitamix! If you purchase through this link I receive a small compensation which helps me support my blogging activity ~ Thanks!

Spiced-Up Green Tea Smoothie

 

I was experimenting today (like I usually do when it comes to making smoothies) and concocted this gem of a drink. It is packed with healthy fruits, veggies, and spices. I don't know that you could create a drink with more antioxidants than this one! Green tea, berries, leafy greens, cinnamon and ginger are all high on the list of antioxidant powerhouses.

Warning: while there is fruit in this smoothie, it is NOT sweet! Prepare yourself for something more like a V8 kind of drink than a Jamba Juice style smoothie. But it is yummy and so, so healthy!

8 oz of unsweetened Green Tea (I used Lipton Superfruit today)
3/4 cup of fresh blueberries
3/4 cup of frozen raspberries
1 fresh peach
1/2 cup of fresh mint
1/2 of a fresh orange
4 cups of fresh greens (I used parsley, spinach, dandelion greens, purple kale, and fordhook chard)
2 small thumbs of ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

I put all of the ingredients in my Vitamix in the order listed. I also added quite a bit of ice toward the end since I like my smoothies cold. This filled the entire blender so it's plenty for a whole family or a couple of very hungry friends! You could take out the peach and it would probably taste the same; I happened to have one that was on the far end of ripe and didn't want to throw it away. Taking it out would cut the sugar/calories. Keep in mind that if you are following Weight Watchers, they don't count the fruit and veggies in a smoothie as zero Points Plus. I calculated 6 Points Plus for the ENTIRE recipe (which, as I said before, filled the whole blender). This is an incredibly nutritious and filling 6 points! If you had less and added a little protein either into the smoothie or on the side you'd have a snack or meal replacement that could make you happy for at least a couple of hours.

On a side note, I bought these cups at Sprouts and I love them for smoothies.They have the little wire ball inside so that you can shake up a powder smoothie without using a blender. If you don't guzzle down your green smoothies pretty quickly they can start to separate and then you have a thick frothy part that I don't find very appealing. A quick little shake in one of these bad boys and it's good as new!


I hope you enjoy the recipe! Let me know what you think!