Hi beautiful HWK friends, happy Thursday to you! Firstly, how are we nearing the end of February already? Secondly, sunshine = smoothies!!! Smoothies for days thank you very much! I have been having a shimmy through my pics and I was inspired by all of the vibrant colours. With Spring flowers gradually breaking through the earth towards the sunshine, I feel like we too are awakening to the abundance of extra vitamin D that’s flowing all around us.

During the colder months, when the suns ascent in the sky doesn’t quite reach its summertime pinnacle, the amount of light that physically hits our eyes, is vastly reduced. We require vitamin D for so many functions so when we don’t gather enough of it, we can experience lack of energy, depression (aka the winter blues), loss of appetite, the list goes on. We can combat this by nourishing our bodies with lots of fresh, raw and colourful foods.

If we look at food from the perspective of how much light it holds, then raw fruits and veggies come top of the class! They have a reservoir of stored sunlight that they’ve utilised to grow so when we eat these raw, beautiful foods, we ingest this goodness in its most potent form! In light of this this, (please excuse the pun), here are my top 5 health benefits of blending and juicing!

1. Smoothies are absolutely jam-packed full of nutrients that work their magic super-quickly! As long as there’s an element of protein in the mix, GI is lowered thus negating the pesky blood sugar spike. Add some nuts, nuts butter or protein powder along with fresh fruit, seeds, coconut milk and water and you’ve got the perfect balance of good stuff!
2. Juicing is a great way to take-on micro and macro nutrients which can help to bolster the gut and the immune system. They are so versatile and you can pretty-much juice any fruit and veggies you like. Masticating juicers as opposed to their centrifugal counterparts because they don’t heat the ingredients during the extraction process (keeping the nutrients intact).
3. Smoothies and juices can be the perfect on-the-go nourishment if you’re pressed for time. Simply create your blend before work (with ice to keep it cool), pop in your bag and enjoy any time of the day! I like to make an extra amount on the days I know i’ll be out of the house for a long time; sipping it throughout the day keeps the naughty snack-hand at bay.
4. They’re a great way to use-up excess fruit and veg and you can freeze the blended mix to use another day which means less wastage and money saved!
5. They taste (and look) absolutely stunning! You eat with your eyes first so they say and a vibrant smoothie will most definitely tantalise all of the senses!

I can’t recommend the benefits of whizzing-up your fresh fruit and veggies enough; I love creating new and exciting blends and can get all of the family involved. I did a smoothie workshop at The Sun & Moon festival last summer and it was so great to get everyone excited and creating their own flavours.

Don’t forget that you can see more of my recipes right here on my website or head over to my Instagram feed for all the latest HWK shenanigans!

All my love and encouragement.

Holly xxx