What's up, no-meaters?

Brendan Brazier (author of Thrive) has been nice enough to give me the green-light to share some recipes from his book while I'm trying them out during my 30-Day Challenge, so I've been slaving in my "test kitchen" (read: lots of cleanup) to find the best of the best to post.  In addition to a sweet lemon-lime recovery drink that tastes like a natural version of Gatorade (who needs all that HFCS?), I've made a few really fresh and light-tasting smoothies, suitable not just for breakfast, but between meals as well, for a quick pick-me-up during the day.

These vegan, raw smoothies are definitely not the same beast that I've always associated with the word "smoothie"– my breakfast smoothie for the past few years has been thick (made with yogurt) and very filling.  This type of smoothie certainly has its place, but I've found the Thrive smoothies to be really light and refreshing because they are much thinner, like juices.

To make these smoothies, I've had to add to my collection of new ingredients; here's the stash so far:

Hemp oil, hemp protein, hempseed, coconut oil (a solid, who knew?), acai juice, nutritional yeast, and raw agave nectar.  Or what I like to call, "the nectar of the 'gav."  See what I did there?  "'Gav" sort of sounds like "Gods," so I simply switched the two, creating a clever wordplay!

Hmm, I'm in a strange mood tonight, could it be all the hemp?

Before this post gets weirder, let's get to the recipes…

Thrive Ginger Pear Smoothie Recipe

The ginger in this smoothie adds a very interesting dimension to the flavor, and it goes really nicely with the pear.  They call this one an "inflammation reducer," which sounds good to me.  It's not overly sweet, so you could optionally add a few dates to sweeten it, but I haven't tried that yet.

Ingredients (for two medium smoothies):

• 1 banana
• 1/2 pear, cored
• 1.5 cups water plus 1 cup ice
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 Tbsp hemp protein
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger

Blend it all in a blender!  (I swear I don't wear my No Meat Athlete shirt around the house.  I drank this smoothie right before I went out for a run, and my other running shirts were dirty.)

Thrive Blueberry Rooibos Antioxidant Smoothie

My favorite thing about this one is, what else, the rooibos.  Rooibos, also called "red bush" or "red tea," is not really a tea at all but an herbal drink that contains more antioxidants than green, white, or black tea.  I think it tastes better too.  Sort of soft, fruity, and floral.  I never thought to put it right in a smoothie though!

Ingredients (for two medium smoothies):

• 1 banana
• 1.5 cups water plus 1 cup ice
• 1/2 cup blueberries (I used frozen, with no preservatives)
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 Tbsp hemp protein
• 1 Tbsp nectar of the 'gav (see above)
• 1 Tbsp hemp oil or EFA oil blend
• 2 tsp ground rooibos

You know what to do.  Blend it up!

If you don't feel like buying all these ingredients, you could certainly make some substitutions.  Whey or soy for hemp protein, honey for the agave, flaxseed oil for the hemp oil, etc.  But Brendan gives compelling reasons for his choice of ingredients, so for this 30-Day Challenge, I'm going to use as many of the prescribed ingredients as I can get my hands on.

For more natural sports nutrition posts and recipes, check out the Running Fuel page.

Related posts:

1. Living Harvest Hemp Protein and Oil
2. Thrive Diet Review
3. Raw Pineapple Papaya Smoothie
4. Smooth Operator
5. Chia energy bars