PERFECT SMOOTHIE FOR KIDS AND PARENTS!!!

I am constantly searching for better ways to incorporate all the nutrition my son needs into his diet.  I recently came upon this recipe from Dr. Sears website, and let me tell you - it is AMAZING!  The encopresis my son has suffered after a couple of years of chronic constipation, is getting better and better - I believe, in part to this smoothie as well as the ayurvedic approach we take to his diet.  Our doctor prescribed the "mineral oil" solution to his problem - but in my heart I could not bear giving him upwards to 8 tablespoons a day of mineral oil.  Mineral oil is petroleum based - I might as well have bathed him in the Gulf!

Here is the Sears recipe for a smoothie that Dr. Sears gives his own children:

• 3 cups milk or soy beverage
• 11/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• 1-2 servings Juice Plus+® Complete or similar multinutrient supplement
• one frozen 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 flaxseed meal
• 4 ounces tofu
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter (optional)

Here is our version of his smoothie.  I basically have cut Dr. Sears recipe in half - it makes a smoothie for me and one for my son:

• 1 1/2 cups organic 1% milk
• 3/4 cups organic low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 2 servings of Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood supplement - berry flavored
• 3/4 cup frozen organic blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen organic mangoes
• 3 tbsp. flax oil
• 3 oz. organic soft tofu
• 1 tbsp. psyllium husks

"Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve immediately after blending while the mixture still has a bubbly milkshake-like consistency.

We formulated this recipe based on the principle of "synergy." The nutrients consumed together enhance each other's 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.

Because fiber steadies the absorption of carbohydrates and therefore contributes to a steadier blood sugar, we suggest using rich sources of fiber, such as flaxseed meal (i.e. ground flax seeds, containing both the oil and fiber), although flax oil has a more palatable consistency than flaxseed meal. For additional fiber, if you don't mind a grainier texture, add 1 tbsp. or more of oat bran."

The smoothie is yummy!  My son will normally drink the whole thing.  And, I love it, too!  I must say, it has been a great way to start my day - I have only the smoothie and I don't get hungry before lunchtime - an added bonus, in that I have been trying to lose weight!  (And I have!  Yeah!!!)