Protien rich breakfast smoothie

[Mira O'Halloran]

I came up with this after reading the benefits of raw eggs, cinnamon, honey and thinking about how I can add more Cacao Power (raw organic chocolate power/beans) into my diet.

* 1 banana
* 2 eggs
* 2 flat tablespoons of honey (or one tbsp if the honey is really thick)
* 1 table spoon of Cacao Power - Nibs (shelled, crushed chocolate beans)
* 1/4 of a teaspoon of the following - Cloves
Ginger
Cardamom
* 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon
* 1 dessert spoon of Cacao Power - Powder
* 2 tablespoons of Greek/European style or soy yoghurt
* Either: 1 cup of milk or soy milk OR 2 cups of ice (I prefer ice)

Blend it well, and drink up.

I have this at about 8am, sometimes as late as ten in the morning, and I'll start feeling hungry around 4pm, or not until dinner.

You can subtitute the banana with Mango, or rock melon, minus the cacao.

[Rook]

I was making protein shakes in the morning for a while, but the amount of work involved and the cost of the powdered milk forced me to fall out of the habit. I have to say though, that looks really good.

[Gelare]

I do love smoothies and similar cold drinks, and often bemoan my lack of a blender. That looks pretty good, though. Tell me, what does such a smoothie actually do for you? What are the nutritional/health/energy/whatever benefits?

[Mira O'Halloran]

Then, I would suggest you get a blender. They're great for making your own icecream and sorbet as well.
The smoothie does a surprising amount. The big picture - I'm feeling full, so I'm eating less (as I wrote in my initial post, I'm not feeling hungry till dinner time.) So I'm not buying as much food, so i have more money, and i'm losing weight (because lunch is usually a sandwich, and bread gets converted to sugar in the process of conversion.) I feel lighter, I don't get that weighed down feeling that i get from breads and cereals, I don't get the sugar crash that comes from breads and cereals, which is probably doing wonders for my blood sugar levels.

Nutrition benefits? Okay.
Banana is rich in potassium, which is an essential body salt.
Raw egg - has high quality protiens and fats, Choline, 3 different B vitamins and vitamin D. And because it's not cooked, it's more nutrient dense.
Honey - is one of the greatest natural antiseptics, contains antioxidants, is being used in treating digestive problems, and aids tissue healing.
Raw, organic Cacao - Has an incredibly high ORAC score (system used for counting antioxidents) of 95,000, is rich source of phytonutrients, aminos, protien, omega 3, calcium, chromium, zinc, iron, copper, sulphur, potassium and magnesium.
Cloves - Are antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antiseptic properties. Also a natural anesthetic.
Ginger - Settles the stomach, boosts the immune system, contains antiviral, antitoxic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties, prevents cramps, lowers cholesterol, improves blood circulation.
Cinnamon - lowers blood sugar levels, improves digestion, a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium, lowers arthritis pain.
Cardamom - a digestive aid, helpful in respitory allergies, contains potassium(healthy cell structure), calcium (strong bones and teeth), and magnesium (prevention of cramps), manganese (works with a power free radical scavanger) and iron (red blood cell formation).
Greek Yoghurt - rich in probiotics, which is vital for a healthy immune system and a happy intestinal tract, as well as containing protien.

In short, it's the perfect breakfast.

[Rook]

See now the appetite bit is what's going to get me to try it. All the ingredients makes it sound a bit rich for me, though I can see how it might balance out, but the big thing is appetite. That's my biggest problem. I have a very hard time feeling full and staying that way.

Though I'm not sure I'm in a position to get most of those ingredients at the moment. Maybe I'll try a partial ingredient list version.

[Gelare]

Definitely a recipe I'll have to keep in mind. Time to go see whether I have some of those ingredients.

[Mira O'Halloran]

Well, the Cinnamon, Cardamom, Ginger and Cloves should all be availible spices isle in the local supermarket.
Eggs, Banana, Yoghurt and Honey are easy - they're availible at just about any food store.
The raw organic chocolate might be the hard part.

[Rook]

Trader Joe's, which I think are pretty common everywhere in America, has the organic cocoa stuff. Since they are going into a shake I can see those 99 cent store bananas, that don't taste excellent on their own, being good, cheap alternatives to expensive bananas...if they have them in stock. The really expensive part is the yoghurt.

[Queen Rachel]

Mira: I thought I had read someplace that eggs are one of the few foods whose nutritional value is improved (Or at least more easily absorbed) by cooking. I don't recall where I heard/read that, though. Any thoughts?

[Mira O'Halloran]

I can't say I've ever heard that. Everything I've come across pushes raw foods as the best kind. And I must add, we ran out of eggs two days ago - come lunchtime, I'm starving. Also, back to raw vs cooked eggs, I used to have poached eggs on toast for breakfast, and that would keep me going for about the same length of time as the egg free smoothie does.