Almost every single morning for breakfast, I drink a smoothie. It really is the best way to get a whole whack of nutrients right at the beginning of your day and get a good jump on things. And as long as I include some protein, it keeps me satisfied until lunch.

The best thing about smoothies is that they're infinitely changeable. Run out of banana? No problem - sub in pineapple. And because you're using whole fruits and vegetables, you're getting all the fibre naturally present in the produce, so you don't have to worry about overdoing it on the fruit sugars. Nonetheless, I find it's easy to get carried away with the sweet flavours and end up with a drink that's really more of a treat than a healthy breakfast. I always try for a good balance between sweet fruits and nutrient-dense veggies.

After the jump is the recipe for the Super Breakfast Smoothie as I had it this morning.


Super Breakfast Smoothie

A few chunks of pineapple (you can get fresh cut pineapple at many grocery stores in the produce section)
1 kiwi
5 or 6 baby carrots
1 stalk of celery
1 handful of spinach
2 stalks of fennel (or a good chunk of the bulb)
1 organic egg yolk (this is optional. I put it in for the added protein, lutein, sulphur and lecithin. Remember that you should always use organic eggs when eating them raw. Also, don't eat the white part of the egg raw as a compound called avidin that is present in raw egg whites binds to biotin in your body and can lead to a biotin deficiency)
1 tsp. chlorella (this is also optional. I use this blue-green algae as a greens supplement for its added protein, chlorophyll and cleansing abilities. You can use your favourite greens supplement)
1 cup carrot juice (more if thinner consistency desired)
1 cup water

Put all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend for several minutes to ensure all pieces are pulverized. This should make enough for 2 adults.


The Healthy Foodie is Doug DiPasquale, Holistic Nutritionist and trained chef, living in Toronto. You can email him with questions at dugdeep@gmail.com.