Sneaky Smoothies & Video Debut

Drumroll please…

Today marks the launch of my first Enlightened Cooking Video. The link is at right under the heading CamillaCooks Videos, or click below to find the video on my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/camillacooks

From this point on, I will be posting more of my video shenanigans on a bi-weekly basis. I had a lot of fun making this first one; hope you enjoy it.

The topic of my debut is “sneaky smoothies”, which follows my theme from last week of finding ways to incorporate vegetables into the first meal of the day. I make both of these smoothies often; they’re delicious, satisfying, and make you feel virtuous , even when you head out the door with a lumpy ponytail and mismatched socks.

Pumpkin-Orange Smoothie

I like my smoothies thick, but if you prefer a thinner smoothie, don’t freeze the banana.

2/3 cup orange juice
2/3 cup 1% lowfat milk
1/2 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
1/2 of a medium banana, sliced and frozen
2 tablespoons honey (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition per Serving (1/2 of the recipe)
Calories 177; Fat 1.2g (poly 0.1g, mono 0.3g, sat 0.6g); Protein 4.3g; Cholesterol 4.0mg; Carbohydrate 40.3g; Sodium 45.2mg)
(Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)


(Sneaky) Blueberry Smoothie

The fresh spinach leaves do not add any taste or texture to the smoothie, and are almost completely invisible once blended in. Don’t be tempted to try frozen spinach—I have, and it adds a strong, unpleasant flavor and does not blend completely (yuck).

1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup apple or cranberry juice
2 tablespoons honey (more or less to taste)
1/2 of a medium banana, sliced and frozen
1 packed cup pre-washed baby spinach leaves

Combine all of the ingredients except the spinach in a blender; blend until smooth. Add the spinach to the blender, pushing down into the smoothie (to more easily blend the leaves). Blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition per Serving (1/2 of the recipe)
Calories 194; Fat 0.6g (poly 0.2g, mono 0.1g, sat 0.2g); Protein 4.9g; Cholesterol 1.2mg; Carbohydrate 45.8g; Sodium 69.8mg)
(Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)

Spinach Nutrition Notes: Spinach is an excellent source of iron, calcium, chlorophyll, beta carotene (needed for the production of vitamin A), vitamin C, riboflavin, sodium and potassium.

Blueberry Nutrition Notes: High in vitamins A and C, blueberries also rank #1 in antioxidant benefits, compared to 40 other fresh fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants help neutralize harmful “free radicals” that can lead to cancer and other age-related diseases. Blueberries are also rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown in several research studies to be effective in lowering cholesterol.