Friday Food Facts...Calcium

 

 Calcium

... is a mineral found in many foods. The body needs calcium to maintain strong bones and teeth. The body also needs calcium for the muscles to move and for nerves to carry messages between the brain and other parts of the body. Calcium is used to help blood vessels move blood throughout the body and to help release hormones and enzymes that affect almost every function in the human body.

I like finding ways I can get more of my vitamins and minerals from natural sources when possible. Today I wanted share some sources for Calcium.

The most common are - milk, yogurt and cheese
~But if your like me - dairy free then you need to look elsewhere...
Kale, broccoli, Chinese Cabbage, spinach, okra, collard greens, almonds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, quinoa, oats, beans, canned salmon, dried figs,

Smoothie... with a warning!

Almond Joy Smoothie...

WARNING!

This too could happen to you... After you make one you can't stop thinking about the next one!

My daughter is working at a place that makes smoothies and juices and so I get try a lot of different ones. But I have to say the one I am slightly obsessed with is called, Almond Joy. Here is a link from one that is similar http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2013/3/28/almond-joy-smoothie-milkshake.html. One of my favorite combinations of sweet favors is peanut butter and chocolate. Oh how I've missed my Resses since going dairy free. There are times when I just grab a spoon of peanut butter and put a pile of chocolate chips ( dairy free ) on top and eat! So this smoothie works wonders for me. It has become my go to breakfast smoothie. I use sugar free almond butter in so it's full of protein and it keeps me full still lunch. Smoothies are great, because you can add in all kinds of stuff. Sometime I add in flaxseed and/or avocado for extra filling. Here is my version of Almond Joy smoothie ...

1 cup unsweetened almond milk or 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup coconut milk

1 Tb of cocoa powder

1 frozen banana pieces - really ripe ( keep cut up in freezer )

2 Tb of unsweetened almond butter

2 Tb cacao nibs

1 Tb chocolate chips

( makes one serving)

* you can add: 

toasted coconut

avocado 

more chocolate chips

Peanut Butter chips ( if not dairy free)

flaxseed/chia seed

Peanut butter

any other kind of non dairy milk

Chocolate non dairy milk

dairy milk ( if not dairy free)

The ingredients in my Almond Joy, keeps the sugar very low - The only sugar I have is one tablespoon of chocolate chips and natural sweetness from the banana. My measurements are not exact, so use your best judgement and taste before you pour incase you think it needs more of something.