Source: plantbased-pixie.com

BREAKFAST RECIPES SMOOTHIES SWEET

MANGO AND HEMP SMOOTHIE

I often get asked if I use or recommend protein powders, and I think it’s almost impossible to give out blanket advice. Personally, most of the time I tend to get my protein from foods like beans or eggs, and it’s not something I tend to worry about too much, but sometimes it’s nice and convenient to reach for the powdered stuff.

Scroll down to the bottom if you just want to get straight to the recipe

So I gave the Linwoods Hemp Protein + with Flaxseed, Bio Cultures, Vitamin D and Co-Enzyme Q10 a go. And I like it. Normally I really dislike protein powders that add a whole bunch of unnecessary other powdered ingredients to ‘healthify’ it in some way, but this one hits the mark. Here’s why:

Hemp protein is a great alternative to those who, for whatever reason, choose not to eat whey protein. It is not classified as a “complete protein”, but as long as you’re getting other sources of protein throughout the day such as beans and pulses then it’s all good!

In the UK we have a bit of a constipation problem; there’s no nice way to put it. And we all need more fibre in our diets to reach the target of 30g. Flaxseed is a great way to get extra fibre into your meal, plus it’s also a plant source of omega-3, again something vegans and vegetarians especially often need a hand with. I recommend flaxseed to all my clients who don’t eat fish.

Following on from that, we’re learning so much more about the gut microbiome every day, and the link our gut bacteria has with so many different aspects of our health. While not everyone may need an extra dose of good bacteria (and I can’t say for sure how many of these will actually reach your gut rather than being digested in the stomach, this video explains a bit more), it can be extremely beneficial for those who are on antibiotics.

Coenzyme Q10 is (as it says) a coenzyme that is naturally occurring in most animals, as it plays an absolutely vital role in energy production in your cells. Supplementation in healthy individuals hasn’t been shown to have conclusive preventative effects in terms of things like heart disease [link], but what is interesting is that it might be useful to individuals who take statins, as these drugs reduce the amount of Q10 levels in the blood quite considerably [link].

Vitamin D is one I’ve talked about in the past [link], as it’s now recommended that everyone in the UK takes a supplement in the winter months. Everyone. And if you’re spending all your daylight hours inside then you need to get your vitamin D in even in summer.

So if you’re going to add some extra stuff to your protein powders these are some pretty good ones, in my opinion. Now for the recipe!

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1 banana (100g)
100g frozen mango
100mL milk of choice (I used oat milk for this)
30g Linwoods Hemp+ protein (or use 1 tbsp flaxseed + 1 tbsp hemp seeds)

What to do:

• Add to your blender and blend up nicely until smooth