healthy snacks & smoothies

An amazing way to start the day, especially considering that most of us have trouble getting all of our recommended daily servings of vegetables, and raw veggies contain more nutrients than cooked. This is not a sweet smoothie, so be warned, but it’s filling and so SO good for you. Plus, it keeps for several hours, so it’ll make enough for a mid-morning snack as well…

In a powerful blender (a vitamix is best, but any will do as long as you pre-chop some of the harder veggies):

It’s as easy as it sounds (almost too easy to call a “recipe”!), and will get you through a long workout or double as a lighter late dinner…

½ c. organic black beans, drained
2 Tbl. fresh pico de gallo (Trader Joe’s is quick and delicious)
¼ avocado, cubed
whole wheat tortilla (optional)

Heat the black beans in the microwave or on the stove. Mix in the fresh salsa and top with avocado. Great on its own, or for super-hungry days, stuff into a warmed whole wheat tortilla. Yum!

Inspired by Mediterranean cuisine, my new favorite snack is nonfat Greek-style yogurt (available at Trader Joe’s) with raw honey and walnuts. It is not just a nutritionally balanced snack or breakfast food, but it is delicious and very filling! And check this out: the walnuts contain vital omega-3 fatty acids to keep your heart healthy and your arteries pliable, the honey (the darker the better) has antioxidants and can help with seasonal allergies, and the yogurt contains the live cultures L. Bulgaricus and S.