After years of drooling from the sidelines, this marks my first year participating in Vegan Mofo which challenges participating bloggers to write about vegan food for the entire month. [For more details, see the Vegan Mofo website.] Colour me excited.
I considered all kinds of random themes for September, but in the end I decided on something I know I could put my heart and soul into. Even though my sweet tooth voted for “DESSERT MONTH!!”, my head decided otherwise. Vegan Glow will showcase wholesome, vegetable-heavy vegan recipes that will leave you feeling energized. The recipes will be similar to my own style of recipe creation, but they’ll be kicked up a few notches. Given that it’s back to school and work season, I’m aiming to share as many quick and easy recipes as I can.
In other news, I now have a “thing” for making rather pathetic “glowing” suns in Photoshop. Oh dear.
What can you expect to see on Oh She Glows this month? Well, I have several recipes lined up from raw recipes and juices/smoothies to healthy desserts and energizing fall-inspired soups. And who knows what else. I sure don’t.
I hope you are hungry because it’s going to be a great month!
Up first, I’m sharing this power smoothie that I’m obsessed with lately. Power smoothies are what I call the mega dose, nutrient-packed smoothies of the bunch. You know that’s how I roll. This one surely is up there on the list of health drinks. I’ve been drinking it for breakfast several mornings a week and it makes me feel incredible. Best of all, it makes just shy of 4 cups…aka one big ass smoothie. I like big smoothies and I do not lie. All you other bloggers can’t deny…
Seeing as we’re just coming off a holiday weekend, I figured this was a good “back on track” smoothie to kick off the new month. Let’s do it up.
Here are a few reasons to chug this down, from a nutritional standpoint. I’ll talk more about the flavour in the headnote below.
Beet – cleanses the liver, purifies the blood, anti-inflammatory, source of iron
Avocado – helps lower blood pressure, lubricates joints, anti-inflammatory, loads of healthy fats, high in fibre
Strawberries – high in antioxidants, rich source of vitamin C, benefits digestion
Celery – acts as mild diuretic, promotes feeling of fullness, rich in B vitamins and fibre
Lemon – antibacterial properties, aids digestion, high in Vitamin C, detoxifies and alkalizes, mild diuretic
Virgin Coconut oil – fights viruses, fungi, and bacteria, metabolism booster, healthy MCT fats, increases good HDL cholesterol
Apple (optional) – helps balance blood sugar levels, helps lower cholesterol, aids digestion
[Source: Healing Foods, DK Publishing 2013]
Convinced yet?
[Just an update – We’re still having issues with the new recipe uploader not displaying in Feedly. Hopefully we’ll have a fix for this soon! Thanks for your understanding.]
This recipe directly below is an updated version (April 23, 2016). The original recipe follows.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Pink Power Detox Smoothie
Yield
3 1/2 cups (2 servings)
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Beet, strawberries, avocado, and lemon unite to create one kick-butt, surprisingly delicious, bright pink smoothie! This smoothie is lightly sweet and creamy, while packing in the detoxifying power of beet and lemon. If you're not a beet fan you might be wondering if you can taste the beet. The answer is yes you can definitely taste the beet! However, I think the beet flavour is balanced quite nicely in this smoothie (keep in mind this is coming from a beet fan).
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 mL) water*
- 1 cup (150 g) frozen strawberries
- 1/3 cup (45 g) chopped fresh beet**
- 1/4 cup (50 g) avocado
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh lemon juice
- 1 large sweet apple (200 grams), roughly chopped
- 5 to 6 large ice cubes
- Liquid sweetener, to taste (optional)
Directions
- Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend on high until smooth. Taste and add liquid sweetener, if desired.
Tip:
- * For a sweeter smoothie, try using coconut water instead of water.
- ** You might want to steam the beet until tender before blending if you don't have a Vitamix or other capable blender. I just blend it raw because I know my Vitamix can handle it.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Pink Power Detox Smoothie
Yield
4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Beet, strawberries, avocado, and lemon unite to create one kick-butt, surprisingly delicious, bright pink smoothie! This creamy & thick smoothie is not overly sweet - it's more on the tart side thanks to juice from a whole lemon. If you prefer sweeter smoothies, I suggest adding an apple to the mix or your preferred liquid sweetener. I also suggest using a small to medium sized beet, anything larger and the earthy beet might overpower the other flavours. Consider gently steaming the beet until tender before blending if you don't have a Vitamix or other capable blender. I just use the beet raw because I know my blender can handle it. Best to be safe than sorry if you are unsure!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water or coconut water
- 1/2 medium avocado, pitted
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 cup strawberries (frozen preferred), hulled if necessary
- 1 small/medium beet, ends trimmed and roughly chopped*
- 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tablespoons or so)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 large ice cubes
- 1 apple ( if sweeter smoothie is desired - optional), cored and roughly chopped
Directions
- Steam beet if necessary before starting. See my tips in the headnote.
- Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend on high until smooth. Adjust sweetness if desired, adding an apple or liquid sweetener to taste if needed.
Tip:
1) If you are not a beet fan, try adding a handful of leafy greens instead of the beet and include the optional apple. 2) Smoothies shown in pictures does not include apple. Yield may be slightly higher with an apple added in.
Hi Angela,
I made the smoothie this weekend. I don’t like coconut and I am not fond of beets. But I tell you what! This is really tasty! I’ll be making this again for sure. I may try blueberries next time.
I had this smoothie for breakfast this morning… It was amazing!! I felt really energized after it too!! Just the thing on a rainy day. Thanks Angela :)
This is so good! I was afraid that my little magic bullet blender wouldn’t hold up, but I halved the recipe and it was a perfect fit! I can’t believe how much nutrition is packed into this cup, I feel amazing drinking it!
This is totally lovely! Love the vegan glow idea for the mofo! Can’t wait to read more Angela!
This is an amazing recipe, Brava! I was without a quite a few of the ingredients, so I used what I had, and it turned out wonderful just the same.
I used 1 cup frozen pineapple and 1/2 cup frozen raspberries instead of the strawberries and apple.
I used a couple wedges of lime instead of lemon.
Delicious and beautiful recipe.
Delicious!!! I was looking for a new smoothie to switch things up a bit and this was exactly what I needed. My kids love it to! Thanks Angela!
What do you think about adding the avocado pit too, into the vitamix? Aside from a slightly bitter taste, which can be counteracted by apples or similar, the pit is meant to be high in fibre and the healthiest part?
I haven’t made this smoothie yet but it sounds amazing!! Am so excited to go out and buy the ingredients and make it!!! Angela, I just wanted to say that your site is a plethora of amazing healthy(spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, environmental, sustainable and anything else that I may have left out) subjects!! I love going to your site!! I’m so happy that I discovered it!! Keep up the great work!!
Hi Connie, wow! Thank you so much, this really made me smile. Thanks for reading!
I made this smoothie and really liked it! Thursday night I steamed a beet and got all ingredients ready. In the morning, I just had to throw it in a blender. Since it makes 4 cups I shared with a friend at work who wants to start eating healthier :-)
I got a tip from a juicing site regarding beets. If you don’t like the earthy taste of beets, peel before juicing or in this case, blending. It works!
Can you store this? I know I will drink it but I don’t think anyone else will.
Yes it should be good in the fridge in an air tight container for 24 hours or so.
This is the prettiest smoothie I’ve ever seen! I can’t wait to make it.
These are so great! I HATE beets and loooove this smoothie! Great way to mix up my typical Green Monsters!
I just made this and it is awesome! What a great way to get more veggies into your diet. Do you know how long it will keep for?
Sorry, I just the other posts! Thanks!!
Thank you for inspiring me to use beets in my morning shake. I didn’t have everything your recipe called for so I made my own.
1/2 Apple
1/2 Beet
1/2 Frozen banana
1/2 c Greek vanilla yogurt
1 c orange juice
1 Tsp organic coconut oil
Small handful of spinach.
Apples give my smoothies a texture I’m personally not crazy about but I add them anyways. The goal is really to pack a bunch of nutrition into one drink.
Besides the appley texture, this was great!
I am surprised at how little flavor a beet has. This is a good thing. I can add it to any smoothie and not have to choke it down. :)
I have a small allergy when it comes to strawberries is there another alternative is could use?
hmm what about frozen cherries or raspberries?
I’m all out of strawberries. have you tried blueberries instead? do you think it would taste just as good?
Since I have never been a fan of celery I felt a little bit unsure of this when I saw the ingredients. But… The result turned out to be amazing! Ideal for breakfast – will make you full and energetic for half a day at least! And the taste is nice too. Absolutely recommended.
:) awesome! Glad it was a success!
I love the jar you use here. What kind is it or where can I purchase? Thanks!