Melissa's Morning Smoothie

Hey guys! Melissa here and I am sharing my morning smoothie recipe + my love for Moon Juice- a shop dedicated to a holistic approach to healthy living, including the most amazing medicinal ingredients to add to your morning smoothies.

What I personally love about smoothies is the variety of smoothies that you can make. I go through phases of what I put in mine and switch up what ingredients I use, depending on the day and my mood. The recipe I have going now is super good, so I just had to share. This smoothie includes three Moon Juice products- their Beauty Dust,  Ashwagandha, and H0 Shou Wu. Below are the ingredients + explanation of benefits for each Moon Juice product.

SMOOTHIE:

1 cup almond milk or water (or sometimes I do 1/2 and 1/2!)

1/2 frozen banana

A handful of organic frozen blueberries

Teaspoon of Ashwagandha from Moon Juice

Teaspoon of Ho Shou Wu from Moon Juice

Teaspoon (+ a little more) of Beauty Dust from Moon Juice (c/o)

Tablespoon of Spirulina (from Whole Foods)

--blend all together in a blender until smooth--

Benefits are below as described on Moon Juice's site- head there to read more! They do a great job at explaining each product.

Ashwagandha: calms the nervous system + soothes anxiety and improves sleep

Ho Shou Wu: encourages youthfulness, sex drive, + helps to balance hormones and give you a healthy glow

Beauty Dust: think glowing skin, shiny hair, and bright eyes

Moon Juice's collection of moon dusts is so amazing. You can add them to smoothies, water, or even your morning coffee. They have quite a few versions including spirit dust, brain dust, and more, but I have only tried the beauty dust so far and love it.

*feature image via moon juice

Our Health Packed Smoothie Recipe

Good morning, friends! I hope you all have had the sweetest start to the day. I must start out by saying I am a nerd when it comes to health (I could live and breathe it!). This post is long, but it was hard to leave any of it out because it is all so important + mind blowing how diet alone effects our body!A lot of you have requested that I share my daily smoothie recipe that I make for Jase and I in the morning. I must warn you prior to that it is PACKED with potent ingredients, which can seem quite overwhelming seeing it on paper, but once you get the hang of throwing it all in, it's as easy as can be! I am going to share the exact links to the products I use + scroll down below the recipe to see the benefits of each ingredient {my favorite part}.Most of the ingredients I use in this smoothie are from Crucial Four, a hidden health gem of a place in Dallas. My old kick-boxing trainer introduced me, and it has become our family's go to spot. Not all of their products are online, but they make it super easy to call and order. Side note: this is not sponsored.Why I love Crucial Four so much: "you can’t travel 12 hours by plane, two days by car and then climb a mountain in Ecuador to get the best heirloom cacao from eighty-foot trees in their natural environment. We can and do and that’s just one of the eighty wild heirloom ingredients we source globally and combine into our Meal Replacements & Shakes, Water Infusions, Oral Concentrates or Healthy Snacks. We have stable long-term relationships with reliable farmers, brokers and manufacturers across the globe to source the best wild heirloom varietal or certified organic products and deliver them in our products direct to your door."Also, I found an incredible naturopath here in California, and he has taken intensive and detailed blood tests to discover what I really need to shift in my body. I intentionally did a blood test before I started making these smoothies. My thyroid needed to shift a bit, my iron was low even with supplements, and there were a few more imbalances. I went back a month later to see if these ingredients were truly as beneficial to me as they say! He was confused as to why I came in after the results because my blood test was perfect. I was absolutely mind blown. These are life changers.Another fun fact: the reason why we crave sugar and junk food is because we are mineral sufficient. These fill those voids, which in turn, curbs the cravings. For those of you that know Jason, you know his two vices are ice cream and pizza. After a week of eating these smoothies, he could only eat a few bites of Salt & Straw because it didn't even sound good to him. Again, mind blown.Ingredients (makes a smoothie for two):2 tsp fresh bee pollen1 tsp wild pine pollen2 packets of M Breakfast1 tbsp Collagen3 tsp ColostrumA pour of fresh pressed aloe1 heaping tbsp spirulina1 heaping tbsp chlorella1 heaping tbsp chia seeds1 tbsp cacao nibs (I love the crunch this adds!)4 tinctures of Stevia (cancels the green taste)1.5 frozen organic bananas1 bag frozen blueberries or strawberriesAlkaline waterFRESH BEE POLLENIt is extremely high in protein and amino acids. It is great to have in the morning for a quick pick-me-up. It’s also a good addition to pre- or post-workout snacks to add or restore protein. It’s actually been used in ancient cultures—like China—for decades as a natural energy source. On top of adding protein and energy, I’ve read benefits like: prevents the cold and flu, helps with cravings, improves vitality and endurance, regulates intestines, reduces inflammation, and helps relieves stress.WILD PINE POLLENIt is a potent aphrodisiac that offers dual-directional hormonal support. If you are high in estrogen, it lowers it; if you are low in testosterone, it brings it higher, and visa versa AKA it evens out your hormones naturally. Regular consumption supports healthy metabolism, regulates weight, improves immune response, and enhances whole body function. It also is a: common cold preventative, brain nourisher, and cholesterol reducer.M BREAKFASTEnergy, stress relief, immunity, and performance are critical for everyday life. Build your mind and body into balance for sustained energy that helps you thrive with Crucial Four’s mBreakfast. We formulated mBreakfast to contain 100% organic and wild sourced herbs, algaes, mushrooms, and biotic extracts.COLLAGENIt improves skin and hair, repairs joints, helps leaky gut, boosts metabolism, strengthens teeth and nails, helps detox, reduces cellulite and stretch marks.COLOSTRUMBuilds lean muscle mass, repairs tissue, increases vitality, accelerates healing, supports digestion, improves the immune systemFRESH ALOE VERA JUICEIt is alkalizing, it reduces inflammation, it is a digestive aid, promotes regularity, detoxifies the body, aids weight loss, helps maintain hydration, helps control blood glucose levels in diabetics, helps lower blood cholesterol, improves oral health, gives a vitamin and mineral boost, provides essential amino acidsSPIRULINAA powerful anti-inflammatory, activates many of the different immune cells, jam packed with vitamins, phytonutrients, and essential fatty acids, including macrophages, T-cells, B-cells, and natural killer cells. It also activates the organs involved with immune function such as the spleen, liver, and bone.CHLORELLADetoxifies heavy metals, supports your immune system, promotes weight loss, makes you look younger, fights cancer, lowers blood sugar and cholesterolCHIA SEEDSHigh in minerals, antioxidants, vitamins, protein, fiber, and omega 3's; helps skin and aging, aids in digestive health, keeps your heart healthy, helps treat diabetes, boosts your energy and metabolism, provides a lot of calcium for stronger bones, builds muscle and aids in weight loss, fights breast and cervical cancer, promotes dental healthCACAO NIBSMaintains muscle and nerve function, aids in weight loss, keeps you regular, prevents anemia, reduces risk of coronary disease and stroke, treats diarrhea, enhances mood, a cholesterol free saturated fat; an excellent source of minerals, fiber, and vitamins image credit: feature image via Casey Jade