"Mum, why do you have to eat these super food?"
"Do you want to have some?" I took this opportunity to reply my son with a question.
"NO! I'm not a super man. I don't believe in super food. And I don't need any super food!!!" said my son with a strong emphasis of his opinion. Simply because he was afraid that I will give him overnight oats for his tomorrow breakfast. LOL!
"This is why I'm a super mom and you are not!!!" Well, I was hoping that I can end our conversation with a convincing stand.
Honestly, I can't say that I'm a super mom or a total health mania. I love exercising and eating well but still love my junk food. Opsie! To me, life is all about balance and I'm always in a constant mode of encouraging myself and my family to eat well with good nutrition. Hence, I like to be open minded and keep exploring healthy recipes and options.
When I saw the book, The Naked Vegan by Maz Valcorza saying that it contains 140+ tasty raw vegan recipes for health and wellness, I asked myself... Are vegan food healthy? Can raw food make me stronger or healthier?
First of all, why raw food?
Raw foods are food that has not been heated over 40°C (105°F) so that the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and nutrition in them remain well-intact and functional. Being a logical person, I have to say that I'm not entirely sure that if there is any concrete scientific evidence showing that the raw food can help our bodies to function, repair and regenerate better. And all that I know is from this book, with Maz saying that incorporating a large amount of raw organic foods into her diet has resulted many positive changes in her. With no doubt, I see her point... Can't deny that good nutrition makes a well-energized body and a well-energized body makes a happy person.
Then why vegan?
To me, choosing to be a vegan is a personal influenced opinion. I like to respect everyone's individual choice and do not wish to comment further on anyone's preference. For me, I can eat raw vegetable and fruits but prefer not to eat 100% raw eggs, meat or fish. That's all. Nothing complicated... LOL!
Whether I'm a strong believer of vegan or raw food or not, I'm happy to learn... And happy that I have learnt to make two awesome super-food plant-based smoothies for me to refuel after my runs.
Mango Maca Madness Smoothie
Warrior Smoothie
To make mango maca madness smoothie to serve one, I need:
- 150g (1 cup) chopped frozen mango
- 1 tbsp maca powder
Maca is a root plant native to the Andes of Peru.
It is known as a powerful stamina booster, libido enhancer, hormone regulator.
- 1 cup of coconut water plus flesh of 1 whole young coconut.
I didn't use the coconut water from a whole coconut and so I don't have any coconut flesh to add into my smoothie :p
So yummy!!! This is my fav!!!
To make warrior smoothie to serve one, I need:
- 1/4 cup frozen blueberries + 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
- 1/2 cup chopped frozen banana
- 1 tsp chia seeds
The recipe also mention the addition of 1 tbsp sprouted brown rice protein powder, 1 tsp coconut oil, 1 tsp mesquite powder. I don't have these unusual ingredients in my pantry and so I didn't add them.
Add 400ml water and blend until the drink is smooth.
A berrlicious drink with a nice nutty aftertaste.
Notice that there is no sugar or sweetener added into these smoothie??? ... as the sweetness of these smoothie is depending on the sweetness of the fruits that you used. If you think that the smoothies are not sweet enough for you, you can add a few drops of agave syrup or nectar.
I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm a sweet tooth person and I have to have my smoothies sweetened with agave...
You can add a few drops of agave syrup or nectar if you want your smoothies to be sweetened.
Remember that I have mentioned in my earlier post at here that I like to show you more of this book...
There are plentiful of juices, shots, smoothies, salads and breakfast recipes...
... ferments like homemade vegan Kimchi, mains like burgers, snacks like crispy "calamari", warm and cold elixirs and desserts too!
These non-baked strawberry doughnuts are mostly made of dates, freeze-dried strawberries and nuts.
All set to look like doughnuts in the fridge.
Mango float cheezecake - "Cheesecake that is made of cashew nuts, desiccated coconut and coconut nectar!"
And it is made by freezing the cake in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
Banana crepes with coconut whipped cream, chocolate fudge sauce and berries.
These amazing crepes are made by dehydration! Yup! There is absolutely NO cooking involved!
Find this style of enjoying food very interesting? Yeah. I'm totally amazed!
If you want to buy this book, you may wish to know that this book is available now in most retail or online book shops selling at the retail price of AUD$35.
As this post is specially written to review this book, I'm sorry that I have agreed to the publisher that I can't publish the recipes in this book in this post. However, if you really wish to make these smoothies, please read my post in details, you will see that you can actually do it without a written recipe as I have fully illustrated the process very thoroughly to you. *Hint*
Before ending this post, I like to thank Murdoch Books for giving me this opportunity to do this review. I like to make a disclaimer here that I'm not paid to do this and like to share my most honest opinions with everyone who read this review.
Enjoy these superfood smoothies and hope that you won't get any brain freeze after drinking these smoothies... I did! LOL!
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