Patrick’s ICU Smoothie

A lot of my favorite Instagram friends have asked about the smoothie that I make before Patrick heads into the ICU for a 12hr+ overnight shift. First off. Why do I make him a smoothie? His schedule for meals and what he craves is all off and whack when he works overnight. Also he is supppppperrrr busy in the ICU and I can’t tell you how many times he forgets to eat [he will oftentimes bring home whatever I give him to bring to work when he’s in the ICU, even finger foods]. So I try to give him something SUPER nutrient and calorie dense while he’s home- to be sure he’s still getting our goal of 10 cups fruits + veggies a day. Plus, goodness knows the man needs a well functioning bod + brain in the ICU.

Note: Even when he forgets to eat he still has the smoothie, plus a normal meal before he goes in and when he gets home in the morning [so no worries, I make sure he doesn’t starve- bahaha NOT IN THIS RD’s HOUSE].

If you take out the peanut butter, this will decrease the calories considerably. I know we don’t all need a super calorie dense smoothie daily, so that’s any easy way to lessen up the calories. When I make it for myself, I don’t add peanut butter unless I’m super hungry.

Ok for the recipe. This changes often [depending on what we have around, so feel free to play with it]. Also, the smoothie sometimes comes out an ugly dark brown or green color and I always tell people – BE PROUD OF YOUR BROWN SMOOTHIE! That means you did a fantastic job of mixing your fruit + veggies. Own that ugly lookin smoothie friends!

ingredients

• 1/2 C Broccoli [frozen, right from the bag- you don’t have to cook. If you have a blender that is a little finicky then I do recommend just boiling plain broccoli so you don’t kill your blender. Otherwise, frozen right from the bag is best].
• 1 C Spinach or Kale [we keep our bag in the freezer and toss it in from there]
• 2 scoops Patrick’s protein concoction aka a mix of both hemp + whey protein powder
• 2 Tbsp of sunflower seed butter/or peanut butter/or PB powder [recommend omitting if you aren’t super hungry]
• 1 Packet frozen Acai
• 1 C berries [we have used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries – literally whatever fruit you have and love- throw it in!]
• 1 whole banana
• 1/2 Tbsp Flax
• 1/2 Tbsp Chia Seeds
• 1/4 Tsp of Spirulina [to check out the benefits of spirulina, visit our post! The Magic of Spirulina]
• 1 Tsp Matcha Powder
• Ice per preference [we start with about 1/4 C]
• 1/2 C liquid [our favorite is coconut aloe water as a base but we also have used nut milk and even tea as a smoothie base] Note: as we blend depending on how thick it is, we typically add more liquid
• 1 Tsp of cinnamon [we are obssesseddddd with cinnamon]
• 1/2 Tsp Golden Milk [this is a turmeric/date powder mix]
• A few drops of vanilla and/or maple extract
• ADAPTOGENS:  if you follow us on instagram, I post about these a lot and I typically rotate through adaptogens in our smoothie. What is an adaptogen? I will post about this soon but in the mean time, an adaptogen is a natural substance considered to help the body adapt to stress and to exert a normalizing effect upon bodily processes. — Common adaptogens we rotate through in our smoothie [1/2 Tsp of the following]: ashwagandha, maca, ginseng, mucuna pruriens etc.

tips:

• Don’t feel like you have to buy all the above OR add all of the above. We mix it up often.
• We have used cauliflower, mushrooms, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin, zucchini, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, beets…the things you can try are endless + all delish. The fruit truly masks a majority of veggies very well! One of my fav additions is CHICKPEAS- definitely give that a try!
• When I  make smoothies for myself, I typically omit the protein powder and peanut butter and add hemp hearts + nuts and/or chickpeas to provide protein in smoothies.
• If there’s a taste in there that you don’t love it’s likely the spirulina [very earthy! we love it but know it’s not for everyone]
• This smoothie makes A LOT. Especially as you add more liquid SO we freeze what we can’t finish [if we are too full] and save it for the next day- SO YUM!

recipe

Blend everything in a blender!

blender tips:

• If your blender is touchy, I recommend cooking veggies beforehand just so you don’t kill your blender! Otherwise frozen/raw is perfect!
• We often stop the blender half way through, mix with a spoon and continue.
• Frozen acai is hard as a rock, if your blender isn’t strong- I would maybe let this melt a little before you make the smoothie. Just leave it on the counter for a bit beforehand.
• Matcha: the best way to have matcha is with water or with very little protein to absorb the goodness [EGCG]. We add the matcha to smoothies for caffeine and because we love the taste. Your body will still absorb a lot of the antioxidants even in the smoothie, so the matcha is by no means wasted BUT we know it’s expensive so if you’d rather have it in a latte or with less protein to absorb it to the utmost – we understand/wanted to make you all aware!

Hope you guys enjoy!

-The Neilan Family-