Green Tea Latte with Spirulina Smoothie--1

 I just came back from another vcacation overseas. This time it was to France to ski and snowshoe in a beautiful area in the French Alps. After so recently returning from Australia and New Zealand, I've been feeling a bit out of sorts as far as eating raw goes. The majority of the food I ate in France was raw, but I also ate cooked vegetables and rice, as I did in Australia and New Zealand. I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. It's just not my usual choice. Raw works for me on many levels. I also am quite picky about my sweet. I like to satisfy my sweet tooth but in as healthy a way as possible. I like my sweet in the natural state, ie. as in dates and figs. (Yes, I know how much sugar dried fruit contains). I don't like to eat sugar sources that have no nutritional value to them, ie. white sugar. I'm also suspect of evaporated cane juice, which, to me, is the high fructose corn syrup of the natural food world.  (And yes, I know that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get where I'm going...it's in everything).

Well, I digress. Back to the traveling... I know a few things got past me, specifically soy milk, which undoubtedly contained sugar and probably of the evaporated cane juice variety. Finding alternative dairy sources isn't so easy overseas. Soy is generally available, but not almond or hemp or cashew or coconut milk. And I'm not in the position to make my own.  (Though I seriously tried to fit my NutriBullet into my suitcase, but it was just too much). I did make sure the soy milk did not contain genetically modified soy, which was much easier in Australia and New Zealand than here in the U.S., if the labels were indeed correct. I was fortunate to find an almond milk in France, but it had sugar in it. No such thing as an unsweetened choice in the tiny town I was in. I was just content to find almond milk instead of soy.  And since I only use a tiny bit in my tea, I was satisfied that making this sacrifice wasn't going to have too much of an impact on my health. Of course, I could just forgo using anything in my tea, but my tea ritual just wouldn't be the same. And I really, really love my tea. It's the one ritual I have to have when traveling. So I accept that a little soy abroad won't be the end of the world.

A side note on  soy. I don't eat soy at home, so maybe things have changed in the decade since I ate it. But it used to be that only organic soy could be trusted to be non-GMO. Most soy is genetically modified in this country.  In Australia and New Zealand most of the soy milk said it was non-GMO, yet it wasn't organic. It was actually hard to find a soy milk that was genetically modified. Now, I don't know what they are doing that we aren't, but it seems there is a greater consciousness regarding this issue. Perhaps it was public demand to not allow GMO's in their food, I really don't know.  I just know as I looked on the shelves out of curiosity it was hard to find GMO soy milk in these countries.  I can't tell you how delighted that made me. Some countries are successfully fighting the corporate corrupting giants, and you know who I mean. So I'm going to hold out hope that we can still turn the tide on this issue in this country.

I digress again.. back to my cleaned up breakfast. I'm not one of those people who do juice cleanses. I juice, but I'm too active to be able to live on juice alone. When I try to clean up, what I mean is drinking smoothies and juices. My aim is to give my digestive system a break by consuming foods that are partially broken down by the Vitamix and presumably easier to absorb this way. I still drink foods with healthy fats in them. Nuts, coconut, and avocados are still part of my 'cleanse.'  Now the purists out there wouldn't approve of this as a cleanse, but it's my cleanse and I know what I need and how to get it.  I strongly believe there is no one way to do any of this. Each of us has to find our own way. So my way this morning was to start with a wheat grass shot, then a green tea latte paired with a spirulina smoothie. A slow start to be sure, but still an improvement over all the chocolate I ate while on vacation.

Green Tea Latte:
2 c. hot water
3/4 c. cashew milk*
4 T. softened coconut butter
2 T. coconut nectar
2 T. green tea powder (feel free to use less as 2 T. makes for a strong green tea flavor)
1 T. lacuma powder
1/2 t. vanilla bean seeds

Blend all ingredients in a Vitamix and let run for several minutes. The heat of the motor will warm the liquid. Serve immediately. Makes two servings.

*Cashew Milk:
1 c. cashews soaked for 2 hours
5 c. filtered water
1 t. vanilla
a few drops of stevia (optional)

Blend nuts with water until you have a smooth liquid. Strain the liquid through a nut milk bag. Add the vanilla and optional stevia to the milk and stir in.

Alternatively, you can buy nut milks from the store, but they aren't raw. Heat is used in the processing. It's your choice how far you want to go with this raw idea.

Spirulina Smoothie:
1 c. coconut water
1/2 c. shredded coconut
2 T. softened coconut butter
1 scoop raw protein powder
1 T. spirulina ( Use as much or as little as you want.  I've worked my way to loving spirulina and find it sweet)
1 t. flax oil
3 medjool dates

Blend all ingredients until coconut has blended well and smoothie texture is smooth. Makes one large smoothie.