Carrot Cantaloupe Power Boost Smoothie

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So I am slowly trying to incorporate more vegetables into my smoothies because let’s be honest, nothing tastes as great as a fruit smoothie. Or so I thought! Carrots have a natural sweetness to them so it’s not hard at all to add to your smoothies. I’ve needed to get more carrots into my diet because my vision is not what it used to be. As you guys will soon learn I absolutely LOVE researching, I don’t think you should ever stop feeding your mind and soul information. Sooo, I did some research and realized that carrots are a lot more beneficial to our bodies than just having beta-carotene for our eyes. Carrots are full of antioxidants which reduce free radicals. Free radicals lead to cancer so anything I can do to prevent cancer (it runs heavily in my family) I am down to try! Researchers have discovered that carrots can help prevent specific cancers such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer and leukemia. Not only do free radicals affect cancer development but they also affect how our body ages–wrinkles stay away from me, please–and how our immune system functions. Carrots are full of vitamins and minerals: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin E, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, and a few other things. Obviously all minerals are important to your overall health but I would argue that magnesium is by far the most important mineral for your body. The amount of magnesium I take in a day will determine how symptomatic I will be for that day. I will write a blog post on magnesium and how it affects people with chronic diseases at a later time. But in the meantime just know that if you don’t want to develop any chronic diseases make sure you take magnesium daily!

Cantaloupes, if they are perfectly ripe, are one of my absolute FAVE fruits! Eat it cold and thank me later! Cantaloupe is a great addition to your diet as well because they are 89% water and we all need to get as much water into our systems as possible. You may have heard that cantaloupes are the “beauty fruit” because they are full of Vitamins A & C which are responsible for skin regeneration (they help with collagen production and prevent wrinkles and blemishes). Obviously cantaloupes have beta-carotene just like carrots that give it it’s orange color. Cantaloupes are actually a fruit with the highest levels of beta-carotene!

I know y’all are wondering what the heck is making this smoothie pink with all of these orange ingredients. Let’s all take a moment and thank red beet powder for its array of nutrients and its ravishing magenta color! I’m going to keep it very real with y’all. Red beet powder can be a bit, umm, robust on your taste buds…yeah, we are going to go with that word. I think it’s one of those flavors that you have to start with a small bit of and increase the amount over time. Red beets are full of nitrites which your body will convert into nitric acid that will dilate and relax your blood vessels causing your blood pressure to lower. Beets will also give you an energy boost due to the nitrites so eat some before you work out! Inflammation is a huge problem for people who suffer from chronic diseases. There’s hope in beets through a nutrient known as betaine. Betaine is “known to help fight inflammation, protect internal organs, improve vascular risk factors, enhance performance, and likely help prevent numerous chronic diseases.” Beets are high in minerals such as folate, fiber, potassium, manganese, and Vitamin C. They are also great at supporting our liver to detoxify our system and ward off cancer.

Here’s some tips for making this a perfect smoothie!

1. I always cut my fruit and stick it in the fridge once I get home from the store because I like my smoothies to be really cold.
2. PLEASE buy organic carrots. I don’t peel my carrots because most of the nutrients are in the peel. I just grab some organic white vinegar and a vegetable brush and scrub my carrots.
3. Make sure you use as many organic ingredients as possible. Your body will be able to process them a lot easier when there aren’t many pesticides on the food.
4. If you have fresh ginger on hand go ahead and grate it and use that in place of the ground ginger. Fresh is always better!
5. Chew your smoothie. I know this sounds a bit strange but you don’t want all of the bits of carrot that didn’t get completely pureed to go to waste. That’s fiber and you could really use it.
6. If you want this smoothie to be thicker just add more ice.

Sources:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270191.php

http://greatist.com/health/superfood-cantaloupe

http://www.myvitamins.com/articles/abcs-of-good-health/vitamins-for-skin-regeneration/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/25/beets-health-benefits.aspx

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Carrot Cantaloupe Power Boost Smoothie

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

2 mins

Total Time

7 mins

 

Carrot, cantaloupe, and red beet powder combine to create a power boosting smoothie to get your day started right!

Servings: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup carrot , chopped
• 1/2 cup cantaloupe , cubed
• 1/2 tsp organic red beet powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1-2 tsp raw honey
• 1/4 cup organic vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 4-6 cubes ice

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Recipe Notes

If you want your smoothie to be a little sweeter you can add more honey. Or if you prefer a thicker or thinner smoothie adjust the amount of ice or milk.