SPONSORED POST: I’ve partnered with Milk & Eggs, an amazing farm direct grocery delivery service, to bring you guys some delicious, super seasonal, and always healthy recipes a few times a month. I’m so excited to share some of my favorite dishes with you!
Fall is kind of a weird time of the year for our bodies. From Halloween through New Year’s, we can get bombarded with all kinds of festive holiday foods that are higher in sugar and fat than we would normally eat. Even though the weather might still be nice in the fall, this can be a shock to our systems (if we’re otherwise healthy eaters) that can lead to compromised immunity, sluggishness, and a bit of a strain on our livers and digestion (not to mention our waistlines). Since I know the fall and impending holiday season is going to bring some “off” eating, I like to be extra on my healthy eating game in between holidays, to both give my organs a rest, and offset the effects of the holidays. Naturally, there’s nothing like some beautiful fall smoothies and green juices to do the trick!
So this week, I changed my standing Milk & Eggs order to get the Organic Cleanse Fruit and Veggie Bag, which is loaded with beautiful, seasonal produce perfect for juices and smoothies. In addition to the usual gorgeous greens, berries and beets that I get in my regular farm sampler bag, the Cleanse bag comes with a bunch of apples, lemons, and ginger that are amazing for seasonal cleansing. At just $20, I can’t believe what an awesome value this Cleanse bag is! I easily pay at least twice that at my co-op or health food store for this much organic produce. And the great thing is, since the food is coming directly from local farmers, I can be sure that everything is in season, which makes it so much easier to digest and assimilate!
It’s important to note that the colder months are not as ideal for doing full-on cleanses — lots of raw and cold foods can actually do a number on your system and have the opposite effect of compromising immunity. So while I don’t recommend exclusively doing a juice cleanse during these months if you live in colder climates, incorporating raw juices and smoothies into your otherwise healthy diet is a great idea, especially if you add in the warming foods and spices of the season.
I drink a green smoothie for breakfast almost every morning (unless the temperature drops into the 50’s, which isn’t too common in southern california ; ), but when the temperature starts to drop, I like to add warming spices to my smoothies, and make sure I’m sticking to seasonal produce. The smoothie below is a variation on my daily green lactation smoothie, but modified to be great for everybody, not just breastfeeding mamas. The addition of apples, cinnamon, raw cacao, and cayenne pepper make the whole thing taste just like fall, and have the added benefit of counteracting the coldness of a raw smoothie. This smoothie is super filling, great for weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight, detoxifying, energizing, and full of so many potent superfoods. I love it!
| Prep Time | 2 min |
| Cook Time | 1 min |
| Servings |
serving
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- 1 apple (I like honeycrisps for this), organic, cut into chunks
- 5 strawberries, organic
- 1 cup spinach, organic, packed
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats organic
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder, organic
- 1 tbsp almond butter organic and raw, if possible
- 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil organic
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds, organic
- 1 scoop protein powder of choice, hemp or pea protein are my faves!
- 1 cup almond milk, organic and carrageenan free
Ingredients
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- Blend ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth, adding a little water if you'd like a thinner consistency.
- For breastfeeding mamas, add 1 tbsp brewer's yeast
- If you are sensitive to caffeine or chocolate, you can use less cacao
- If you can't find carrageenan-free almond milk, use organic coconut milk instead!
- If you have thyroid issues, use swiss chard instead of spinach
As for a seasonal green juice, you pretty much can’t go wrong juicing up any combination of fruits and veggies that are in season. I always make sure to add greens and lemon to offset some of the sugar, and especially in the fall, adding ginger is a MUST. This warming food is amazing for digestion and immunity, and works wonders to offset all that Halloween candy and the impending Thanksgiving feast. Beets and carrots provide a gentle cleanse for the liver, and the addition of strawberries boosts the vitamin C in this powerhouse smoothie to superhuman levels. I like to drink a green juice like this one at least 2-3 times a week during the fall, and find that my energy, immunity, and glow are all off the charts!
| Prep Time | 3 min |
| Cook Time | 2 min |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 beets with their greens, organic, scrubbed
- 1 green apple, organic, Granny Smith is best
- 1 lemon organic, peeled
- 4 carrots, organic, scrubbed
- 4 inches fresh ginger
- 4 stalks celery
- 6 leaves kale with stems, organic
- 5 strawberries, (optional), organic
Ingredients
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- Juice all the ingredients and drink immediately.
- If you have thyroid issues, use swiss chard instead of kale, and omit the strawberries
- I wouldn't normally add strawberries to this, but I had a bunch around, and it gave the juice the most heavenly aroma and flavor
- To maximize nutrients, I don't peel any of the fruits or veggies. For beets and carrots, I use a veggie scrubbing brush, everything else just gets a thorough washing!
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