Sears Family Recipe Smoothie
We give our children and ourselves a School-Ade smoothie for a quick and nutritious breakfast as they are hurrying off to school and we are rushing off to work.
We formulated this smoothie recipe based on the principle of “synergy.” The nutrients consumed together enhance each others benefits, so the whole nutritional effect is greater than the sum of its parts. I have prescribed this recipe for several hundred school-children and their parents, and we drink it ourselves four to five mornings a week. It’s a powerful performance booster for working parents and school-children.
- 3 cups milk or soy beverage
- 11/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
- 1-2 servings Juice Plus+® Complete or similar multi-nutrient supplement
- one banana
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup each of your favorite fruit, frozen (e.g., organic strawberries, papaya, mango)
- 2 tbsp. flax oil or 1/2 cup flax seed meal
- 4 ounces tofu
- 2 tbsp. peanut butter (optional)
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 California avocado
Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve immediately after blending while the mixture still has a bubbly milkshake-like consistency.
Because fiber steadies the absorption of carbohydrates and therefore contributes to a steadier blood sugar, we suggest using rich sources of fiber, such as flax seed meal (i.e. ground flax seeds, containing both the oil and fiber), although flax oil has a more palatable consistency than flax seed meal. For additional fiber, if you don’t mind a grainier texture, add 1 tbsp. or more of oat bran.
This family-size recipe makes four, 16-ounce servings (approximately 550 calories per serving). Adjust the recipe to the desired taste and volume. Besides being tasty, it’s nutritionally balanced, with each serving containing approximately 25 to 30 grams of protein, 55 to 60 grams of carbohydrates, 8 to 16 grams of fat (mostly healthy omega 3’s), and 5 to 10 grams of fiber. Enjoy!
If you are looking for a smaller portion of this smoothie:
School-Ade Quick
- 2 cups of milk or soy or rice beverage, or 1 cup milk and 1 cup yogurt
- 1 serving Juice Plus+® Complete
- 2 tsp. flax oil
- 1 small frozen banana, cut up
- 1/2 cup each of your favorite fruit, frozen (e.g., blueberries strawberries, papaya)
- 2 ice cubes if fruit is not frozen or if you want a lighter taste
Makes one 20-ounce serving (approximately 550 calories).
Dr. Sears, or Dr. Bill as his “little patients” call him, has been advising busy parents on how to raise healthier families for over 40 years. He received his medical training at Harvard Medical School’s Children’s Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the world’s largest children’s hospital, where he was associate ward chief of the newborn intensive care unit before serving as the chief of pediatrics at Toronto Western Hospital, a teaching hospital of the University of Toronto. He has served as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California School of Medicine, and University of California: Irvine. As a father of 8 children, he coached Little League sports for 20 years, and together with his wife Martha has written more than 40 best-selling books and countless articles on nutrition, parenting, and healthy aging. He serves as a health consultant for magazines, TV, radio and other media, and his AskDrSears.com website is one of the most popular health and parenting sites. Dr. Sears has appeared on over 100 television programs, including 20/20, Good Morning America, Oprah, Today, The View, and Dr. Phil, and was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in May 2012. He is noted for his science-made-simple-and-fun approach to family health.