Lissa's Vegan Popeye Smoothie

Popeye the Sailor Man was known for his muscles and eating spinach.  Like Popeye, I love spinach too.  I made this vegan spinach smoothie because I wanted something cool to drink this summer that is healthy. Spinach is a super food that tastes great and is loaded with all the right vitamins and minerals. Spinach has high levels of potassium and promotes healthy digestion.  Spinach has more potassium than bananas. Spinach is loaded with calcium, magnesium, and iron. Spinach has calcium and is good for bone growth.  The magnesium in spinach is great for your heart and immune system. Leafy greens like spinach help improve your complexion and give a person healthier skin and healthy looking hair. There are many perks to drinking this smoothie.  The ingredients are very basic and easy to acquire so I encourage everyone to try this.

Lissa's Vegan Popeye Smoothie

Lissa's Vegan Popeye Smoothie

2 cups of Ice Cubes (about 24 ice cubes)
2 cups Spinach
1 large Banana
1/2 cup C&H Pure Cane Sugar
1 1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
2 Tbs Organic Chai Seeds
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

The Ingredients

I added an entire ice tray full of ice to the bottom of the blender.  Since I am using fresh fruits and fresh veggies instead of frozen ones, having a great deal of ice is necessary to make the smoothie a little thicker.

I added the coconut milk and a banana.  Now I'm going to pour on the sugar.  

I added vanilla extract and now I'm going to add the organic chai seeds. Chai seeds help thicken smoothies and give the smoothie more texture.  I like chai seeds because they are high in nutrients and low in calories.  Most of the carbohydrates in chai seeds contain fiber. Chai seeds are easy to add and they make a person feel full.  Some people would say that feeling full might lead to weight loss, but it really doesn't.  Chai seeds won't make anyone lose weight, but they will give a person more Omega-3 fatty acids that are healthy.  If you would like to lose weight, it is necessary to burn more calories than you consume.  When you do consume calories, it's important to have the right ones.  Chai seeds are very good for you.

Organic Chai Seeds

This was the finished product on my Popeye smoothie.  Sometimes I will get up in the morning, and I drink a cup of coffee or two, but I'm not really yet hungry for solid foods.  I think if I eat too many solid foods to early in the morning it will be hard to digest.  I like to start out with fluids in the morning.  I usually like to have this around noon, and I will drink two to four little martini glasses of this.  I will feel full for the rest of the day.  I couldn't eat snacks or candy if I wanted to.  There's just no room for junk food if you drink this first.

This recipe is perfect for a detox or a cleanse. One thing I like about green smoothies like this one is if you're having bad acne and you don't know what to do to keep your skin clear, these sort of drinks with anti-oxidants can help keep your skin looking radiant. Most of my friends that wear cover up for their skin always ask me how I keep my skin looking nice.  I rarely ever wear cover up.  I actually have combination skin to oily skin so it's more difficult for me to keep my complexion clear than it is for most people. I manage my complexion with a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water (no soda), and I wash my face once in the morning and once at night.  It's harder to keep my complexion nice that time of the month because of the hormonal changes that happen.  When there are changes in the body, it's important to maintain your chemical balance.  My Popeye smoothie is really great at regulating that balance within your body.

My daughter did not want to drink this at first.  She told me that she only likes Kale Green Smoothies, but I got her to try this. I told her that if she wanted to be a dancer, she needs to eat healthy foods that will give her the energy to dance. She had a sip and ran off with the cup.  I found it empty so this recipe is definitely kid approved.  Give this a try.  I think you will like it.

Love,
Lissa