A Green shake to start your morning...

I am not a coffee drinker. But I do need something quick and easy to give my morning a healthy kick start!

My mornings usually involve packing bags for school or camp. Changing diapers, getting kids dressed, brushing hair, making and serving breakfast etc. All of these little things take more time than you might imagine with three little ones.

On our last family trip to Mexico we were are all introduced to this green health shake. It is delicious and full of great stuff to start your morning and keep you going until your first snack. I usually end up eating my first meal around 1:30pm!

Here is what I do.

1 cucumber chopped

1 celery stalk chopped

1 carrot peeled and chopped

1/2 cup baby spinach

1/2 cup of red or green collard greens-swiss chard or Kale

1/2 cup arugula

1/2 cup parsley

1/3 cup nopal

1 teaspoon ground flax seed

1 teaspoon ground salba seed

1 teaspoon fish oil

2-3 chunks of pineapple or apple

1 small yellow beet. I use yellow simply to keep the integrity of the green shake! You can use any color you like. I cook my beets on Sunday and keep them in an airtight container

Any liquid you like. I use orange juice. You can use soya milk or milk, anything really!

I prepare my shakes at the beginning of the week in these magic Bullet Containers.

The key to these shakes is preparation. I have 5 mini blender containers that I got when I bought my Magic Bullet. They are perfect for this operation. I chop and prepare the ingredients and divide them up on Sunday night. This way all I have to do in the morning is take out a container, put it in the blender, add the liquids and that's it!

Enjoy!

Flax Seed:

Flax seeds contain high levels of dietary fiber including lignans, an abundance of micronutrients and omega-3 fatty acids (table). Flax seeds may lower cholesterol levels, especially in women.^[9] Initial studies suggest that flax seeds taken in the diet may benefit individuals with certain types of breast^[10][11] and prostate cancers.^[12] A study done at Duke suggests that flaxseed may stunt the growth of prostate tumors,^[13] although a meta-analysis found the evidence on this point to be inconclusive.^[14] Flax may also lessen the severity of diabetes by stabilizing blood-sugar levels.^[15] There is some support for the use of flax seed as a laxative due to its dietary fiber content^[6] though excessive consumption without liquid can result in intestinal blockage.^[16] Consuming large amounts of flax seed may impair the effectiveness of certain oral medications, due to its fiber content,^[16] and may have adverse effects due to its content of neurotoxic cyanogen glycosides and immunosuppressive cyclic nonapeptides.^[17]

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Salba Seed:

Nature's Most Powerful Whole Food

Salba^® is the richest whole food source of Omega 3 fatty acids and fibre found in nature. Every serving (12 grams or approximately 2 flat tablespoons) of Salba^® provides over 2,400 mg of Omega 3s, over 4,500 mg of dietary fibre, with less than 0.5 net carbohydrates per serving. Gram for gram, Salba^® provides six times more calcium than whole milk, three times more iron than spinach, and fifteen times more magnesium than broccoli. Salba^® is all-natural, has no trans-fats, is gluten free, has almost no carbohydrates, and is certified Non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism).

The Cactus Plant

Cooked and diced Nopal

Nopal:

Nopales are very rich in insoluble and especially soluble dietary fiber. They are also rich in vitamins (especially vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K, but alsoriboflavin and vitamin B6) and minerals (especially magnesium, potassium, and manganese, but also iron and copper). Nopales have a high calcium content, but the nutrient is not biologically available because it is present as calcium oxalate, which is neither highly soluble nor easily absorbed through the intestinal wall.^[3]Addition of nopales also reduces the glycemic effect of a mixed meal.^[4] Nopales are low carbohydrate and may help in the treatment of diabetes.^[5]