Alright, we’re talking smoothies and sprouting today. Woot, woot! I know I told some of you I’d be doing a video of using our Vitamix to make our morning smoothies, but that might have been a little overambitious. We had a midwife appointment this morning and I decided that might not be the best morning to tackle videoing myself. Anywho, I did take step by step photos this morning. Which totally confused my hubby. He came downstairs this morning after getting dressed saying, “Were you taking pictures? WHAT were you taking pictures of this morning?” I guess he assumed I wasn’t taking pictures of myself…I don’t know why, considering I looked a-mazing in my 3 day-old hair, no makeup, and mismatched pajamas. Come to think of it, that might have been another reason I did not video myself this morning. :) 


Okay, on to the smoothies. Every morning, I make enough for two big plastic cup-size servings {see above}, one little toddler-sized serving, and a plastic thermos size for hubby to take to work. This pretty much equals a full blender worth of nutritious goodness.

You can totally adjust the ratio to make smaller portions. Cuz y’all are smart like that. :) To make it easy not to forget anything, I group the ingredients into 3 major groups – nuts/seeds, veggies, and fruit. Also, since I’m making a full blender worth, the order of how I do this makes it all fit. 

Here is the first group…sprouted chia seed powder, raw hemp protein powder, sprouted almonds, flax seeds, and steel cut oats (all organic). This is where you’re getting all the protein, omega-3s, stick-to-your-ribs part of the smoothie. Now for the breakdown…
1. sprouted chia powder – 3 heaping tablespoons. This is found at HEB on our bulk foods aisle. 
2. raw hemp protein powder - 2 heaping tablespoons. Also from HEB. I only do 2 tbsp because it has a terrible distinct taste and it can overpower your smoothie.
3. sprouted almonds – handful. I’ll explain the sprouted thing below.
4. flax seeds – 1/2 cup. Bulk section at HEB.
5. steel cut oats – 1/2 cup. Bulk section.

Put these ingredients in the blender. 

Second group…whatever greens we have {usually 2 different kinds}, carrots, possibly asparagus.
1. greens – 2 big handfuls of spinach and one stalk of kale (or something equivalent; I was adding broccoli sprouts or alfalfa sprouts before HEB recalled them – yikes. But I’ll be adding those back in as soon as they hit the shelves again!)
2. carrots – at least 2 big carrots, snapped in half. If hubby is watching me, I cut off the little brown stem part. If he’s not, I throw it in the blender. :)
3. asparagus – 2 stalks, snapped in half. 


Throw all this in the blender. You will have to kind of smash down the greens as you put them in.

Third group…fruit and honey.
1. fruit – 1 cup each of at least 2 different kinds, one with a strong taste. For instance, pair blueberries {mild taste} with pineapple {strong taste}. Other good combos are strawberries and mangos, peaches and berries, bananas and strawberries, yadayadayada. This part will determine the overall taste of your smoothie, so experiment with what you like. When things are in season, go fresh by all means. When they are not, go frozen. 
2. honey – 2 heaping tablespoons. This can also be to taste. I never feel bad about using more honey, since it is so stinkin’ good for you. {Sidenote: We used to use just local “drip” honey, but we just switched to raw honey that you actually scoop from a jar because it is less processed.}

Fill with just enough water to barely cover whatcha got in the blender. If you have a Vitamix pat yourself on the back and flip that sucker on high for about 45 seconds. For a regular blender, you’ll probably want to let it go for about a minute and a half.


Pour and enjoy! You can always save any leftover smoothie in the fridge for about 2 days if needed. After that, it starts to get kinda thick and gooey. Blegh.

Okay, sprouting…for a long time, I did not do this because I thought it would be too hard. It is so not! {Disclaimer: I am not an expert on this. This is just the method I adopted after looking at a number of sources online on how to do this.}
Almonds: soak overnight in filtered water; I use a large mason jar filled 1/3 of the way with raw almonds and the rest of the way with water. Rinse them well in the morning, then keep them in the fridge. They should be good for 4 to 5 days.
Sunflower seeds: soak overnight in mason jar with a rubber banded cheesecloth over the top. Rinse well, fill with water, soak for the day. Rinse well before bedtime, making sure you strain out all the skins – these can make the whole thing rancid if left in there. Let sit in jar overnight without water.  Repeat rinsing well, then letting sit for 8-12 hours until you see at least a 1/4″ sprout on each seed. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of days. After you see that they are all sprouting, let them dry for 3-4 hours on a tray or cookie sheet, then refrigerate.
Quinoa: soak overnight in jar with cheesecloth over top. Rinse well in morning, let sit for 8-12 hours. Repeat until you see that they are sprouting. Lay them out on a tray to dry for a few hours, then refrigerate. 
Those are all the sprouts I’ve tried. Not very adventurous, am I? When I make these, I add them in our smoothies during the first nuts/seeds group.


We’ll discuss da money for all this goodness tomorrow.