CLEAN EATING #11 – Multi Fruits Nuts Seeds Smoothie
My apologies that even my clean eating project is also outdated as we are already in March 2014 but I am updating on day 8 of my clean eating program tat happened in late December 2013. Good things are definitely worth waiting for and I am sure that clean eating, coupled with hydrating self, having positive vibes, working out and a good night sleep is definitely the ideal lifestyle that everyone longs to have. Today, I will be writing about day 8 of my clean eating program that happened on the 20th of December 2013 and I will also be writing about a type of grain in particular.
DAY 8 OF MY CLEAN EATING PROJECT – 20TH DECEMBER 2013
The above pictures show the ingredients used for my smoothie. As you can see, there are many seeds, nuts and fruits incorporated into the smoothie. Thus, I labelled this smoothie with Multi Fruits Nuts Seeds Smoothie. The following is the recipe of my nutrient dense smoothie:
- - 1/2 white dragonfruit (also known as pitaya)
- - 1 banana
- - 1 cup of cherries
- - 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
- - 1/2 cup of honey greek yogurt
- - 1/2 cup of rolled oats
- - 1/4 cup of flax seeds
- - 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
- - 1-2 tablespoons of amaranth
- - 3-4 tablespoons of almonds
- - 1 block of weetabix
Blend away!!!
If you have noticed, after producing the finishing product, I topped the mason jar of smoothie with amaranth and almond and cup of smoothie with weetabix for the sake of decorating my cup of smoothie!
A little summary about amaranth:
Definition: Amaranth is a tall and bushy plant with broad leafs and bright flowers containing many seeds. The seeds are the amaranth grains. Like rice and sorghum, amaranth is a grain. Amaranth is also gluten-free. Amaranth is part of the Chenopodiaceae family. This is why they are related to quinoa, Swiss hard, beets and spinach and therefore, the nutrition content is similar to dark leafy vegetables. In technical terms, amaranth is not considered a grain, similar to millet and quinoa, but is enjoyed as such.
History: It used to be a staple food for the Aztecs and the grain was also cultivated in religious practices of the Aztecs culture. However, during the Spanish conquest, the amaranth crops were burnt, banned and forbidden as the use of amaranth for religious practices is considered pagan. This is because the Aztecs will pop the seeds of the amaranth and mix it with sacrificial human blood. These seeds will be used to form sculptures and eaten during the rituals and ceremonies.
Nutritional properties: Amaranth is has the highest protein nutritive quality among the vegetative origin. It is rich in an amino acid called lysine, which other stapled grains such as wheat and corn are lacking of. Studies have shown that a lunasin-like peptide is present in amaranth and this has inflammation blocking and cancer-preventing properties. Amaranth is a good source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and iron as it has four times as much calcium than wheat and twice as much magnesium and iron. Amaranth contains more fiber than other high quality gluten-free grains such as millet and buckwheat as 1 cup of amaranth comprises of 18 grams of fiber, while both buckwheat and millet have 17 grams of fiber. The unfortunate thing is not everyone consumes buckwheat, amaranth and millet as grains such as rye, corn and white rice are more widespread and white rice contains only 2.4 grams of fiber as it is so processed and polished. In our food supply today, whole grains usually contain gluten. However, people with Celiac disease have allergies towards gluten. So it is important for them to consume gluten-free grains such as amaranth and quinoa.
I hope that this helps you to make your food choices wisely!
