I was listening to a podcast yesterday, wish I could remember which one, and the host was talking about how good berries are for you because they are high in flavonoids.
Flavanoids are a type of antioxidant that will help your body heal itself. They are anti-inflammatory as well as being very detoxifying within our body.
As you can imagine, or probably attest to, whatever you hear or see lately will stick with you. So this afternoon I was thinking of the flavonoids as I was putting together a mid afternoon smoothie.
Some of the best sources of these flavonoids are dark berries, and I have plenty of dark berries in the freezer. Also I have been taking in more flax seen and trying to improve my protein so this smoothie is a bit of a shitmix but I liked it a lot.
Berry, Peanut Butter, and Seed Fruit Smoothie
So here is what I used in the smoothie
- 1 Cup of Mixed Berries
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Seed
- 1 Tablespoon Hemp Seeds
- 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter
- 1 or two cups of Raspberry Juice
So you have to wonder, how does this taste?
Well the hemp seeds, like the Natural Peanut Butter really add a nutty quality to the smoothie which is nice to me as the fruitiness is overpowering in a fruit smoothie with just fruit juice.
I liked it a lot.
As for the nutrition in this smoothie there is a lot to say. Here is a breakdown.
Hemp seeds – We have these in our fridge and they have become popular over the last couple years it seems.
There are a lot of hemp seed benefits like vitamin E and minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron and zinc. I have made an Antioxidant Smoothie with them before
Flax seeds – Ground flax seeds are high in soluble as well as insoluble fiber. This will help with digestion and cleaning of the intestinal walls. I have been taking a tablespoon or so for the last few days.
Berries – Of course berries are really good for you. They are high in vitamin C as well as other nutrients and I was most interested in the flavonoids today that would really be a strong antioxidant.
Natural peanut butter – My wife and I eat natural peanut butter although the kids stick with the crappy stuff.
What we like most about natural peanut butter is that it really is just peanuts ground up until they are a butter while the other kinds are filled with sugar and other oils to make them creamier.
The other benefit of this smoothie is a lot of very healthy fats. Those Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, and a decent amount of protein thanks to the seeds and peanut butter
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