Low-Carb
Dairy-Free Green Surprise Protein Smoothie
Typing
this, I feel like advertising some brand new nutritional supplement
made from an as of yet unheard fruit with exotic super-powers from
the Bahamas.
This
is neither exotic nor new nor as of yet unheard. It's just a
combination I threw together the other day, wanting to mingle local
super-foods to get a glass full of protein and antioxidants.
It
turned out perfect.
Somehow
things use to get perfect when I just throw them together, and
luckily I got accustomed to having pencil and paper ready whenever I
run into the kitchen with only five minutes to put something
together.
The
sixth minute ends up being the minute I scribble down what I did.
Just
let me tell you that broccoli (of which you know that it's good for
you) looses its super-power when it gets heated too much. It's an
enzyme thing. Enzymes are proteins which are not heat stable. The
famous anti-cancer compound sulforaphane is inactive in the broccoli
cells. It only gets activated when the tiny broccoli cells are
cracked open (by chewing, for example) and come together with a
specific enzyme which is hidden in other compartments of the cell.
Heating destroys the enzymes, so the sulforaphane stays inactive and
is useless.
If
you want to use frozen broccoli and still have all the advantages of
active sulforaphane, buy fresh broccoli in bulk and freeze it
yourself, without blanching it. Store bought frozen broccoli
is blanched at high temperatures prior to freezing, so you can assume
that at least a big part of the enzymes is dead.
Admittedly,
the broccoli in my picture was organic frozen broccoli which has been
blanched prior to freezing. That's why the colour is so brightly
green. The only fresh one I would have been able to get was non
organic broccoli from Spain. There are many reasons for me not to buy
conventionally grown vegetables from Spain. Basically, I just don't
do it. So sometimes I have to do without all the enzymes, until I
find organic fresh broccoli to freeze in bulk.
Now,
why do I talk about broccoli in a *sweet* low carb protein smoothie
in the first place?
Because
the combination of broccoli, raspberries and blueberries is not only
healthy, but also yummy, believe it or not.
Raspberries,
btw, contain ellagic acid which is a strong antioxidant, too (it's in
the raspberry kernels), and the blueberries contain anthocyanins,
another strong antioxidant.
I
do love bananas, but I don't like the tons of sugar in them, so I
don't think it is really useful to use lots of bananas in smoothies.
One reason why I'm no fan of green smoothies - way too many
carbohydrates and not nearly enough protein.
To
make this smoothie, I use vanilla flavoured and stevia sweetened
plant protein. You can use neutral protein powder, too, but then you
might want to add some sweetener.
I'd
use either stevia or xylitol to keep the smoothie low-carb.
Also
I use full fat coconut milk - fat instead of carbohydrates. If you're
afraid of fat, and specifically of saturated coconut fat, I can
assure you that despite the fact that I eat large amounts of it, my
cholesterol is very low. The thing that raises cholesterol
levels is not fat, but carbohydrates.
Now
this smoothie will fill you up and keep you satisfied for a much
longer time than any banana drink, because it doesn't elevate your
blood sugar much and thus keep your insulin levels low.
Her
we go.
Ingredients:
- 1 hand full of raw broccoli florets (fresh or frozen, see note above)
- 1 hand full of raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 hand full of blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 100 ml full fat coconut milk
- 150 ml water
Preparation:
- Throw all ingredients into a blender.
- Blend at high speed until it looks like this:
Serve
and enjoy immediately!
