Black Forest Smoothie

So over the past few weeks we have been striving on switching our diet to a plant-based diet. For us this means a goal of 80-90% plants 10-20% animal proteins.

How did we arrive at those numbers?

A few factors went into this. In my coursework to be a #Holistic Nutritionist a lot of the material makes the case for 0-10% animal products. So that was kind of our jumping off point after reading all the material so far. And knowing that eggs thus far in my pregnancy have been the only thing that I can eat in the morning and feel great the rest of the day. If I skip the egg, then I don't feel as energized and feel nauseated later in the day. (though with my recent elevation in blood pressure, I have been once again looking to replace this egg protein in case there is a correlation...hence this blog post recipe. :) ) And knowing that we all love cheese, more on this in a bit.

So my coursework recommends 0-10% animal protein, and our Naturopath, who has just been phenomenal, has talked with us a little more on the "blood-type diet." This was something our Chiropractor back Minnesota introduced us to, so we weren't totally unfamiliar with it. Our Naturopath said they work a lot with their patients and have seen some great results following this method. Since the only blood type that we know in our house is O, we looked up that recommendation. This plan said that people with O-blood type can handle a little more animal protein in their diet and recommended up to 20%. However, working with her we also have identified that our LIttle Man has an insensitivity to dairy products. So cheese is becoming a distant memory..... :( Hopefully a good alternative comes around...so far the ones we've tried aren't that great.

All this to say, I don't do math. So when I see 10% I think, "a little bit." So to me that means once a week or less. When I see 20% I think, "Ok, a little more." So if there is a week I have animal protein twice, that's ok! This is a journey after all. So progress over perfection! If I want that cheeseburger, I'll look for a veggie option, but I'll have a regular beef one too if thats my mood. If I do this too many times in a row, I just give myself grace and try to do better the next time. And with all the amazing recipes out there, it really isn't that hard to hop right back on the wagon.

I recommend this method to my clients, because we've all spent way too much time fretting over every detail of "is this food good" "should I eat this instead" "but I really want this, this one time"

We all need grace and time and energy are better spent on what we are going to do next, instead of re-hashing what we have already done. Life's a Journey!

And a pretty tasty one at that when you make this smoothie for breakfast! I made this for Little Man and I this morning....I think we just found how to have "Ice-cream" for breakfast. :) Plus it's protein packed for us mommas-to-be and replaces my egg.

Black Forest Smoothie-with a Twist!

2 Bananas

2 1/2 Cups Coconut Milk

2 Heaping Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder

2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

1 1/2 Cups Frozen Strawberries

1 scoop doTerra Vanilla Trimshake

Place all these ingredients in your blender or food processor. Blend til smooth. (I had to add in a little more coconut milk to make it the consistency I was after.)

Literally tasted like chocolate ice cream. :) Yum!

Add a comment if you'd try this!

Photo Credit: Forks Over Knives Menu Planner