180º Smoothie by Blendfresh

 The 180º Smoothie

1 C water or almond milk

1 C ice

1 Scoop Blendfresh Protein

1 Scoop Blendfresh Fruit and Vegetable Color Blend

1/2 tsp Blendfresh Probiotic

1 C fresh or frozen fruit

Blend on the large smoothie setting for about 40 seconds.  It blends best in a Blendtec blender.  If you want to follow the format of the Blendfresh Clinical Trials, use this smoothie twice daily for 10 days, then once daily for 20 days.  Omit the probiotic on the second smoothie of the day.  At night take the 15 Sprouted Fiber blend in water before bed.  Repeat this 30 day cycle 3 times.  

Blendfresh is not a weight loss product, but a whole foods program that will help you achieve better health through proper nutrition and elimination of excess.  A positive side effect of this program is often weight loss in those that carry excess fat or toxins.

What is Blendfresh by Blendtec?

Click here to Join and Shop

Blendtec is the maker of the most advanced blenders in the world, and has been for almost 40 years. Their blenders run all of Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and the big name smoothie shops in 92 countries around the globe.  You may have even seen their viral "Will It Blend?" show.  Click here if you'd like to see a two minute video of why they absolutely lead the blender industry by miles.

Blendtec has hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers, and they began looking for more ways to serve them.  What do you do as soon as you invest in a high quality blender?  You go buy produce of course!  You'll quickly outspend the price of your blender at the market, especially buying foods that are organic, pesticide free, and not genetically engineered.  This is where they found they could help.

Instead of paying premium prices at the end of the supply chain for produce (that may have been in transport for weeks), we now have a choice.  Blendtec has spun off a sister company called Blendfresh.  It's product line is just fruits and vegetables with the water gently removed, no fillers or artificial ingredients of any kind.  It's exactly what you'd expect from a company with a world-wide reputation for the best quality.

Through their patented process, they use light (not heat) to remove water from fresh produce.  The water is what causes spoilage, so we are left with a shelf-stable raw powder, without the use of preservatives!  It is recommended you keep your Blendfresh refrigerated once open, but unopened it can last 20 years in emergency food storage (for optimal nutrition use within 3 years is preferred).

Because of the Blendfresh method, the nutritional value and enzymes remain preserved in this raw, whole food.  This is more healthy than eating canned or freeze dried food (free drying results in about 13% loss of nutrients as determined by independent studies).

It has now become fast and convenient to eat more healthfully than ever before!  Blendfresh is clean, free of artificial ingredients and pesticides and non-GMO.  Now in a quick scoop you can enjoy nutrition like never before.  Add to your smoothie or favorite recipe (click here for ideas on how to use Blendfresh).  Your first thought will likely be for nutrition, but caterers and chefs are taking a look at Blendfresh for the culinary value these flavors add too.

Let's talk price.  There are $200-$300 of fresh produce in each Color bottle (depending on seasonality).  Purple vegetables and fruits are particularly expensive, which is one reason you don't see them in stores more often.  Think about how much air is inside a bell pepper - all of that must be transported carefully to avoid bruising, in the right time-frame to avoid spoiling, and then stocked, shelved, refrigerated, weighed, etc.  When all these steps are cut out, the savings can be passed on to you, the customer.  You get all that produce for just $50, or just $39.99 as a Blendfresh Club member (just $10 on time fee).  Amazing value, but that's what Blendtec wanted to bring you.  That doesn't even take into account how much unused produce that is spoiling in your fridge that you just throw away.  Take a look.

Face it, the easier it is to eat healthy, the more likely we are to do it!  And Blendfresh is EASY.  Our bodies are complicated - they do thousands of things we don't realize every day.  And to keep that up for years on end, a body needs a large variety of foods to bring a broad spectrum of nutrients.  What fruits and veggies did you eat last week?  Is it the same 5-10 you ate the week before?  How can a body thrive long term with such a limited supply of phytonutrient fuel?  Nutrition experts all agree that diversity is key for health.  Eat the rainbow, right?

Blendfresh starts with "Colors", bottles of fruit and vegetables synergistically combined by their functions within the body.  Click here to read the ingredient labels.  Reds are a mix of red fruits and veggies that support circulation - veins, heart, athletic recovery, etc.  Purples have a sweet berry flavor (no added sugar) and purple produce is good for brain function.  Oranges support the immune system.  And Blendfresh Greens have a systems balancing effect, high in valuable minerals, and containing no grasses or fillers.  Click here for an article specifically about how to evaluate a Greens supplement.

Next their vegan Protein Powder.  As a fitness and nutrition coach I've tried MANY protein supplements, and it's hard to find a good one, especially a vegan one.  Most people do not get enough plant based nutrition in general, and especially plant proteins.  This is an easy, tasty way to do it.  Blendfresh Protein powder is a raw, whole food and provides nutrition from eight different sources, versus one source if you are eating meat as your protein.  It has a slightly sweet taste from honey, a healthy natural sweetener and it includes the fiber that occurs in these plants.

The Blendfresh Sprouted Fiber blend contains enough soluble and insoluble fiber in the right ratios to meet the FDA "cholesterol lowering" claim for the label.  It contains 15 different sprouts (the powerhouse of all foods) to provide excellent nutrition and keep digestion moving.  Since fiber binds with dietary fat, this is a great product to use for "damage control" if you know you have had a less than ideal nutrition day.  Of course, very few Americans get enough fiber daily, leaving room for disease and stomach issues to set in.

And lastly the Blendfresh Probiotic.  It is a variety of hearty good bacteria strains that can withstand the acidic journey through the stomach, and provide the most potent effect once in the gut.  Unlike many probiotics that begin to die once they are sealed into a jar, the Blendfresh Probiotic is
packaged with blackstrap molasses, an ideal food to help them thrive until they are put to use.  They are uniquely vegan grown (on fermented vegetables instead of yogurt). To equal this amount of good bacteria in a serving you would need to eat 10 cups of yogurt!

All of the Blendfresh products are gluten free, dairy free, and soy free, making them perfect for sensitive diet situations, especially in a family setting where only a few individuals have dietary restrictions and the dinner time dynamic is changed.

 We've only just scratched the surface of ways to use Blendfresh, but any way that gets more plant based nutrition into your body is the right way!  As you begin to explore and experiment with Blendfresh please pass along your favorite ways to use it.

Blendtec is sure you will LOVE Blendfresh, but just to make you feel great about trying it, they have a 90 day, bottom-of-the-bottle guarantee.  That means even if you use it all and aren't satisfied they will refund you.  People rave about their blenders, and now they want you to rave about their Blendfresh foods!  So give it a try, and if you need to upgrade your blender at the same time, you'll get a special deal for that too.

Click here to shop Blendfresh retail online

(not available in stores)

or better yet...

Click here to Join the Blendfresh Club for a one time $10 fee

You'll save $10 off every bottle of Blendfresh,

 plus get huge discounts on Blendtec blenders and accessories.

(There is no monthly minimum purchase unless you purchase a discounted blender)

Which Blendtec model is right for me?

You're thinking "They're all so beautiful, how do I choose?" right?  Well everything looks good when it's going to make your life easier and better!  Let's walk through the differences and see which features will fit your lifestyle best.

Total Blender
You may be most familiar with the Total Blender as seen in Costco demonstrations and home shows (pictured in the middle).  This model has been around for a while (about 8 years) and is fairly well known.  It comes with the Wildside Jar (patented blender jar that flows the food toward the blade so you don't need to shove it down) and has a handful of push button programs, and a blend counter on the front that's fun to watch. Like all Blendtec blenders, the jar doesn't dis-assemble and to wash it you only need to run warm water and soap in it for a moment and then rinse, though it is dishwasher safe.  It comes with a 7 year warranty and is usually priced $300-$329 in warehouse club stores like Costco, and up to $500 at other retail stores or specialty online sites.

Blendtec Express
The Blendtec Express blender (with the fruit in it on the left) is a step up.  You can find it online or in specialty kitchen stores for $600 - $750.  I most recently saw it at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $649.  Since Blendtec has a huge staff of engineers (over 40!) they are constantly innovating and since the Total Blender has come out, they've learned a lot.  Here's what you get with the new and improved Blendtec Express;

Powerful 1650-watt, 3.2 peak horsepower motor

Illuminated, smart touch interface

Four preprogrammed cycles: Smoothies, Ice Cream, Whole Juice, Hot Soup

8-speed capacitive touch slider for precision speed control

Illuminated counter that displays remaining time on blends

Unique blunt safety blade

Completely flat interface for easy cleaning

Fits under most cabinetry

Compatible with all Blendtec jars

8 year warranty

Blendtec Express Pro
And saving the best for last, the Blendtec Express Pro model.  This is the Cadillac of all blenders.  Blendtec makes the most advanced blenders in the world, and this is their top of the line model.  It was built to withstand commercial settings like Starbucks and Planet Smoothie shops, so if you like the best of everything, this is the model for you.  It retails for $1500 and is worth every penny!  The strongest blender so it will blend everything from your iPad to your garden rake (see Will It Blend), and yet the sound enclosure and motor quieting baffles will let you blend without waking up the sleeping household or your neighbor!  Here's the breakdown;

Commercial-grade 1800-watt, 3.8 peak horsepower motor

Sound enclosure and sound dampening innovations enables it to blend at a sound level comparable to normal conversation

42 customizable preprogrammed cycles, including your name and programming on the screen!

Illuminated, capacitive touch interface with automatic shutoff

10-speed capacitive touch slider for precision speed control

Multi-speed Pulse

Unique blunt safety blade

Completely flat interface for easy cleaning

Compatible with all Blendtec jars

10 year warranty

Click here to shop (without joining the Blendfresh Club)

or...

Save big on your blender!
As a side note, Blendtec has recently spun off a sister company called Blendfresh that makes very convenient raw, whole foods with only the water removed, ready to add to blending.  They have a very compelling way to buy down the price of your blender by subscribing to the whole foods monthly.  You would expect only the best from a company with a reputation like Blendtec, and Blendfresh lives up to it!

Learn more about Blendfresh and if you'd like to take advantage of the buy-down program, just click here.  You pay a one time fee of $10 to be a lifetime member of the Blendfresh Club, which gives you discounts on Blendtec and Blendfresh items.  For example, the Blendtec Express model (usually $649) can be purchased for just $199 or the Express Pro model (usually $1500) can be purchased for only $599 when you subscribe to two bottles of Blendfresh each month for a year, a committment of just $69 a month.  This will save you big on your grocery bill and dramatically increase the nutrition you get from your healthy recipes.  There are lots of ways to use Blendfresh besides smoothies, so click here to see more ideas.  You have to put something in your smoothie, so it might as well be pesticide free, non-GMO and never spoil!

Click here to Join the Club and Shop now!

*As a side note, Blendfresh offers an affiliate consultant program which allows you to recieve commissions on Blendtec and Blendfresh sales.  You can choose the "Consultant" button instead of "Join the Club" if you'd like to start spreading the word and paying health forward.  Training is provided, and there are possible tax advantages (consult your tax advisor).   If you have questions about this please email jenn@coachjenngibbs.com

Crustless Veggie Quiche or 29 veggies in 7 minutes

This can be breakfast or dinner!  My family likes to have breakfast for dinner anyway, so here's a healthy solution.  I like to make creative combinations that save me time, so this one uses the steamed potatoes and veggies from dinner the night before, but they won't be recognized as recycled!

Here's the text just in case you can't see the graphic.

10 eggs, or egg whites

2 Cups leftover dinner veggies

1 Cup leftover steamed potatoes

6 Slices crumbled Cheddar cheese

1/2 Cup milk

1 Scoop Blendfresh Green (optional)

1 Scoop Blendfresh Orange (optional)

Bake about 50 mins at 350 in an oiled 8x11 glass pan.

Serves 12 breakfast or dinner.

  For more recipes feel free to like my page www.facebook.com/jenngibbswellness.

What to look for in your "greens" supplement

It's becoming trendy to supplement you diet with "greens".  Most people are aware that they aren't getting their 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies that the FDA suggests.  Over the last several years several companies have begun to make powdered "greens" available, but like anything some are better than others.  How can you tell if you're getting a good one?

1.  Read the label.  If it has ANY ingredient that you don't understand or can't pronounce, leave it alone.  If prepared properly, greens do not require and fillers, binders, or preservatives to extend their shelf life.

2.  Added sugars or flavors.  I recently read the label of a company that claimed to have an all natural product, but the first ingredient was "apple flavor powder" and then later it listed "apple powder".  No one could answer my question as to what the flavor powder actually was.  Read carefully.

3.  Pesticide free.  Being pesticide free is expensive to growers, so it becomes a big deal from a marketing perspective.  If your greens have no pesticides on them, they will be shouting about it on the label!  Remember, the more produce you intake, the more you will be adding pesticides to your diet unless you actively decide to choose something else.

4.  Non-GMO.  GMO is short for "genetically modified organism" which means that someone in a lab has messed with the plant.  It is not the same thing that originally grew in nature.  This is how you can get strawberries the size of your fist in Costco sometimes.  The book "Wheat Belly" talks about how the wheat plant has been changed from 9 to 42 chromosomes through this process, and is responsible for a large portion of food allergies being seen now.  This genetic modification is not even approved officially for human consumption!  Be careful what Franken-fruit you allow into your body.

5.  Raw.  To make this claim the manufacturers must be sure that during processing the plant has not been subjected to temperatures that will kill the enzymes or denature nutrients that are naturally occurring.  During a freeze-drying process, produce is frozen, processed at temperatures over 100 degrees at least, then subjected to -40 degrees typically as water is removed.  This is not gentle on the plant.  Freezing water in plants causes damage (just look at any garden after the first frost).  To get the benefits of a raw plant the water must be removed at low temperatures and carefully monitored.

6.  Refrigerate after opening.  If a product has no preservatives, it's best to keep it in the refrigerator to preserve fragile nutrients.  A manufacturer should suggest that on the label if it would be important for their product.

7.  Any FDA claims.  It is a rigorous process to get approved to print an FDA claim on a label.  If you see any health claims like "may reduce the risk of cancer" on a label, you can be sure that the maker of that product has been through many hoops so as not to be shut down for making false claims.

8.  Is there variety?  Ideally the human diet should be diverse.  Animals most like us will use 200 and more different types of plants in their diet.  The body requires so many different minerals for all its different processes.  So instead of getting only the same 5-12 plant sources that most people do week after week, seek to expand the number of different kinds of plants you take in.  Your supplement should include several different kinds, some leafy, some non-leafy.  Spinach and kale alone do not meet all of your needs.

9.  Do you eat grass?  I don't, but I know that many greens companies focus all or in part on grasses or dried grass juices as a basis for their green powders.  While there may be value there, I try to step back and use my common sense to decide "would I really eat that?".  I can't see myself looking at a meadow and saying "yummy!".  I'm naturally more drawn to colorful fruit, or zucchini or cabbage or special shapes and colors from plants that seem to say they are there to be eaten.  And if I wouldn't eat it in real life, why would I constantly put it into my body as part of my health regimen?  You make the call on this one.

I hope I've given you food for thought here that will cause you to stop and evaluate your choice of greens supplement.  If you aren't currently adding greens to your diet, I highly suggest you do daily.  Minerals from plants, particulary calcium, are absorbed differently and very bio-available, as compared to animal sources such as dairy.  Keep your bones strong and dense, keep iron, magnesium and all the other precious minerals your body needs easily accessible so when you need it for better aging, more energy and optimal health, you have it.

Here is an example of a clean label, my favorite brand.

Click here to learn more

Blendfresh raw, whole food powders

Want something that makes getting your fruits and veggies easier? I have just found this and am IN LOVE! Raw, whole food powders, pesticide free, non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, dairy free, vegan. Just the good stuff you actually want in your body. I have been sneaking scoops of this into our smoothies the last two weeks and no one in my family seems to mind they are eating so many veggies! This is the new foods line put out by Blendtec and one of the reasons

 I'm so excited to work with them.

What happened was that Blendtec, the maker of the world's most advanced blenders, would make a great product and then their completely satisfied customer would be gone for 8-10 years enjoying their blender.  Millions of people worldwide know this brand for quality, and they all go and buy various qualities of produce to use for their smoothies.

Blendtec saw an opportunity to better serve their customers by spinning off a sister company that would focus on high quality foods that could be used with their amazing blenders.  As soon as I knew this line was affiliated with a 200 million dollar company and a 38 year reputation, I wanted to know more.  There is no way a stable company like this would put out a substandard product.  

The more I learned, the more excited I got.  Yes, several companies sell greens powders, I've been buying them for years.  But how many are actually raw?  Dried with light instead of heat to keep the enzymes unharmed and active?  And are greens all we really need?  What about the orange, red and purple colored vegetables - we are supposed to "eat a rainbow" of color right?

I was even more impressed when I read the label.  "Bell pepper, rhubarb, strawberries, cranberries..."  twelve ingredients.  Only fruits and vegetables.  No fillers so that they will make more money selling a larger container of product.  No binders so it looks artificially pretty.  No preservatives so they can keep an abnormally long shelf life.  This is just a bottle of food with the water carefully removed.  Wow.

Because it is a fresh, raw food they suggest keeping it in your fridge and using within 90 days of opening.  I love looking in my fridge the last couple of weeks, wonder what I should make, and then having a beautiful bottle remind me and inspire me to make a nutritious smoothie.  Sounds corny, I know, but that's what's been happening.  And with zero arguments from kids or hubby!

I'll post more detailed articles soon on the other great products in the line, but here's a teaser; a probiotic complete with blackstrap molasses as a pre-biotic, so your friendly germs are still alive when you open your bottle.  A fiber blend of sprouted nuts and seeds that meets FDA requirements for soluble and insoluble fiber so that they can say it "lowers cholesterol" right on the label.  And last but not least a delicious (which is rare) vegan protein powder, with not one but 8 different protein sources for a complete amino acid profile.  Lighter on the digestive system than traditional whey and made of whole foods - you can actually read and understand the label!  I could go on and on, and I will, soon.  Just know that if you need a solution for more nutrition quickly and simply (and I forgot to even mention that it even costs you less than fresh produce!) just find out more about this!  I've made a YouTube video link so click here to see me explain it in more detail.  It even goes along with a Blendtec blender discount program if you need one of those.  

So think on it, and have a great day.  I'm going to go mix up a glass of Purples!

Pumpkin Muffins - the first ever Recipe Card!

I don't know about you, but I started out with a file box of recipe cards, just like my mom did.  Then I graduated to a binder (or several!) to collect my favorites.  Then finding a recipe turned into typing a search into my favorite recipe website and if it looked really promising, printing off a recipe.  

Well I have been getting nostalgic lately for the old fashioned stuff like quilts and hand made furniture.  No wonder vintage is back with a vengeance!  We all want to be connected to our traditions.  So, to pay homage to the recipe card box, I'm going to post my "recipe cards" as I share my favorites.  Maybe they will make it into your recipe card file too.  

I have a new Blendtec blender (which I LOVE) and I've never made muffins in a blender before now, but this took just seconds and I was the hero.  I am all for quick and easy when it comes to dinner prep!  Warm soup and fresh muffins - how can you beat that for a rainy night?  I adapted this recipe to my own style (more healthy, but still very tasty).  It also has a lot of fiber, which goes nicely to keep you satisfied with a light meal like soup.

As a side note, I love the Orange Fruits and Veggies Blend by Blendfresh.  If you aren't familiar with it yet, it's a powder made of 12 fruits and veggies dried at low temperatures to protect their nutritional value and enzymes, and then powdered so they won't spoil.  It makes it easy to add extra plant nutrition to your foods.  For example, the bottle of Orange has carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, banana, mango, pineapple, acerola, apricot, peach, yellow bell pepper, lemon and orange in raw, whole food powder form.  But the beautiful thing is that while you and your family will enjoy all the benefits of added vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber, no one will even taste it!  Awesome ;)

If you'd like to learn more about or purchase any of the whole food blends from Blendfresh, just click www.blendwithjenn.com to learn or shop.

In case you can't see my old fashioned recipe card graphic above, here is the text version of it.

Pumpkin Muffins

In your blender jar combine and blend 20 seconds:

1 C canned pumpkin          2 C buttermilk
3 eggs                                1 t vanilla
1/2 t salt                             1/2 t baking soda
1 tsp baking powder           1 t cinnamon
1 T coconut (or other) oil    1 C oats
1 T (optional) Blendfresh Orange Fruits & Veggies Blend

Next add:
1 C flour and pulse 4-6 times.

Pour into 12 muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!

The Secret to Getting the Most from your Green Smoothie

Green smoothies have become a popular way to get more fresh fruit and veggies and all their wonderful parts into our diets.  If you aren't sold, you should try one!  As if more produce wasn't reason enough in itself, when we do this we are sneaking in all the fiber, extra water and phytonutrients that come with them for very minimal effort.  My kids have grown up associating a glass like this with sweet deliciousness instead of "yuck,green!".

 TIP:  If you have a hard time with the color, try putting it in a colored cup and drink with a straw, or just add blueberries for a lovely shade of purple every time.

Unless your veggies are fried or coated in a not-so-good-fat dressing, we want LOTS of them in your diet. Making smoothies is one easy and creative way to quickly put the raw, fresh version straight into your body. 

 My recipe:  I use a full size blender filled with about 2 cups of water, a big handful or two of greens, some ice or frozen fruit to chill and then top off with fresh fruit.  The secret ingredient I like to add to make the most of the iron in my greens is coconut milk.  

I buy it in a liter box from Costco (I like the So Delicious brand).  Doesn't that just add extra fat calories you ask?  It does, but coconut fat is special - medium chain fatty acids like what is in breast milk - good for the human body; joint, skin, hair, brain, etc.  That in itself is a topic for another day. 

So yes, I want to add coconut oil to my diet as a supplement, but specifically with my greens?  Absolutely!  Part of what makes them green is the iron.  Quick story - during my pregnancies I suffered from a mild case of anemia, which means lack of iron in the blood.  In real life that means there weren't enough little molecules  roaming around my bloodstream to carry the oxygen fast enough for me.  For example, if I stood up too quickly my brain would take a quick brake (the little oxygen was going to my muscles instead), and my vision would go black, hearing would temporarily disappear, and if I was lucky I could steady myself on a chair or a wall until it returned in a few seconds, or feel my way down to the floor without fainting.  That's a fun side note, and hopefully one you have never experienced, but the point is that ABSORBING the iron from my diet was very important for my body.  It is for most women in general.   

Greens are a great source of iron - more on that is coming.  And according to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry research article "iron utilization and iron absorbtion was greater in diets in which the fat was supplied as coconut oil".  A stimulating read to be sure, but the point is that you'll actually use the iron from your diet better when combined with coconut oil.  So why not pack one more punch in that smoothie?  Yay for good fats!

So take a risk and try it out.  My bet is you'll enjoy the creamy texture it adds and you'll feel good about your food choice all day!

ps-
If you love medical data and studies here is the link of the article - enjoy!
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf60198a036