Superfood Smoothies: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-dense Recipes - A Cookbook (Julie Morris's Superfoods, 2)

I love smoothies, I have never been the kind of person who could easily eat solid food in the morning. It's just not my style. I prefer a liquid breakfast and while I'm fully capable of making my own very tasty and very healthy smoothies I find that after a period of time I get stuck in a rut of making the same one over and over again. It's delicious of course but lacks inspiration. So, having said that I'm always on the look out for a good book promoting a wide range of smoothies. I first heard about "Superfood Smoothies" a while back, and thought it might be interesting to check out. When I finally got around to buying it I was pretty excited. It's is an absolutely beautiful book, with wonderful, luscious photography, an easy to read style, and a nice layout. I love the setup of this book, and I love the breakdown on smoothie information, as well as how the chapters are organized. I also love how it utilizes superfood ingredients. Superfoods are something I have on hand in my pantry anyway since I love them, but I don't always know just what to do with them, so I bought this book particularly for that purpose. Some people have complained about the lack of `common' ingredients and don't like the emphasis on the `exotic' but the book is entitled SUPERFOOD Smoothies, so that should have been a given right from the start. I knew just what I was getting into with this book and it's exactly what I was looking for. I have not yet had the chance to try every smoothie in the book, but I have made quite a few so far. These are the ones I tried and what I thought. Acai Pumpkin - Though a little strange I overall liked this combination. Strawberry Kombucha - LOVED IT, love kombucha in a smoothie Raspberry Peach - loved it Coconut Goji - Pretty good Mulberry Plum - LOVED IT Mango Chili - LOVED IT Ginger Pear - LOVED IT Apple Arugula - LOVED IT Mango Coconut - pretty good Lucuma Lime - LOVED IT Sweet Almond - loved it Mint Chip - LOVED IT - seriously my new favorite! Sesame Apple - Loved it Citrus Aloe - Pretty Good Lucuma Macadamia - Loved it Blueberry Maqui - Loved it Mayan Chocolate - LOVED IT Pumpkin Pie - this was only okay Banana Oat - Loved it Pineapple Maca - LOVED IT Cookie Dough - LOVED IT Raspberry Almond - Pretty good Creamy Orange - LOVED IT Maqui Banana - LOVED IT Tahini Mulberry - LOVED IT Cacao Cream - LOVED IT - my new `go-to- pick me up Cacao Mocha - LOVED IT - my other `go-to' pick me up Coconut Spice - not for me Sesame Hemp - LOVED IT Chocolate Mint - LOVED IT Vanilla Almond - Pretty good I've had a lot of success with this book, I usually use the `boost' suggestions and find them to be really tasty. What I also like about this book is there is a bit of freedom, in the back she make suggestions for what you could use instead of say Chlorella powder or mulberry. I appreciate that because it makes it easier for people who may not have these ingredients easily on hand. Just by reading through this book I'm inspired to make my own smoothie's as well as follow as many of the recipes here as possible. Things to consider before buying this book is that there is no nutritional information given for any recipe in the book, this is a deal-breaker for some people. Also many of the recipes use nuts or seeds which makes the smoothies creamy and delicious but this also adds calories. These may not be the best smoothies for you if weight loss is your goal. I would definitely recommend this book to other people. However I would be selective in making my recommendation for this book. If you love smoothies, love new ideas, culinary exploration and exotic foods then this is for you. If you're just looking for a generic book on how to make smoothies, or are in need of a little inspiration but don't really want to do that much work or do anything too out of the ordinary then this is not the book for you. Plain and simple. If all you're looking for are basic smoothie recipes with common local ingredients you could do a simple google search and find 1000's of them. You don't need a book for that. If however your interest is in being more adventurous then you should definitely check this book out.

In the 2-3 months I've had it, this book has provided me with so much emotional - and physical - fulfillment! As a single person with not much in the way of an appetite and limited energy, you quickly discover that making standard meals just doesn't make sense in terms of the energy and effort (and then you end up eating the same leftovers for days!) It turns out that smoothies are one of the few things in this world that actually make more sense to prepare when you're single- a blender full of smoothie doesn't go far for a family of four, but it's perfect for a single smoothie-loving person! And... smoothies just make me happy! There's something very self-nurturing about sitting down with a fancy glass full of frozen healthy goodness. I have seen some people here say this isn't the best book for a beginner, but I'd have to disagree. I was a complete beginner to making smoothies when I bought this book, and after just a few months of smoothie making, I've easily learned enough from Morris to craft and adapt my own recipes. Some say the ingredients are hard to find, but if you have the internet and know how to use a search engine, you can find ingredients easily enough. It is true that many of the ingredients Morris recommends are expensive (maca and maqui powders, I'm looking at you), but she includes a substitution table near the back of the book so (for example) if you can't afford hemp seeds or just don't want to wait for them to ship across the country, you can use sunflower seeds from your local supermarket instead. Some of the recipes in the book are better than others. For example, Rhubarb Mint fell flat for me, as I felt like the dates and the orange juice overwhelmed the more delicate flavors of the rhubarb and mint, and I also felt that the date and orange flavors just didn't go well together. But for every one recipe I found that was only okay, there are about 3-4 others that are outstanding. Blueberry Maqui may be the best smoothie I've ever had in my entire life, and I've hunted far and wide for good "smoothie bars". (And I even omitted the maqui powder from that recipe, because I am still in the process of acquiring some of the more exotic ingredients!) Mayan Chocolate (a spicy cacao blend) was so outstanding I was moved to make a second batch the next day, because I couldn't stop thinking that night about how wonderful it had been the first time around. Sweet Pea was marvelously, vibrantly green, although I added three times as much parsley as the recipe called for, because after tasting it I just wanted more parsley flavor. That's actually one of the strengths of the book- Morris encourages readers to cast aside perfectionism and strict adherence to recipes with her "It's a smoothie, not a science" mantra. I have usually been the sort of person to stick closely to recipes. (Some might say "stick closely" would be an understatement.) With this book, I have felt so free to substitute, adapt recipes to my own personal taste, and just generally say to myself, "ah, that's close enough." It's been delightful to discover that, the vast majority of the time, what I make tastes wonderful regardless. It's rare that something as basic as a cookbook can free a person to really step outside of their comfort zone and grow new confidence. Being a perfectionist, there are still one or two small ways I think the book could be improved. Morris is thoughtful enough to include a recipe for a dog smoothie, but there is no cat smoothie recipe. My cat tries to steal my smoothies all the time (just today I turned my back on a citrus smoothie for a moment only to find him up on the counter, his face shoved into my glass as he eagerly licked up the citrus flavors that the internet swears repel all cats. Yeah, not mine.) I would really love to be able to share some of my smoothies with him without having to look up each ingredient's "cat-safety" on the internet first. Even a table in the back listing which ingredients are and are not toxic to cats would have been greatly appreciated. Also, while I love the convenient little icons next to each recipe indicating that a particular smoothie is supportive of cardiovascular health or bone health or beauty or detoxification, the academic in me is murmuring "citation needed." There is a basic list of references in the back of the book, but it is not clear which parts of this book are connected to which sources Morris references. However, this is a recipe book, not an academic paper, and as such these drawbacks are quite minor. Other good points... The majority of the recipes are very tasty and healthy (I've never eaten so many leafy greens per week in my life). The protein smoothies I've made (there's a good mix of different smoothie "genres" represented here) really are as filling as a standard meal would be. No nonfiction book is complete without good indexes, and this one has two, both helpful. Overall, this is a wonderful book, accessible to beginners, with beautiful colorful pictures that are likely to inspire readers to make their own "superfood smoothies."

The recipes don't have nutritional information, which is really why I gave it 4 stars. After all, I bought this book to improve my health and well-being. So the lack of nutritional info is a real disappointment. Also, just so you know, when you get the book, if you are committed to really giving it a go, you are gonna have to order stuff online. Even Whole Foods does not carry dried mulberries, for example. And you might decide (like I am learning) that you're gonna need a bigger blender. For the super foods, I suggest nuts.com. Check them out; their customers rave about them. For the blender, I'm saving my pennies for a Vitamix, which isn't essential, but my blender is struggling. All of that said, the recipes are terrific, and I'm committed to this. Mainly. I probably won't order the algae ... But read up on the super foods, starting on page 16. The goji berries are yummy and life-changing. The orange-goji smoothie is my favorite so far (I added the zest of the orange and substituted frozen berries for ice). Yum! The introduction of goji berries and chia seeds into my diet is well worth the price of the book and much more. Bottom line: I sort of thought this would be a book about making smoothies from berries, bananas and kale. There is that, but it's more than that too. I'm excited about it! I'll update with results in a few weeks.

Since my Ninja Mega Kitchen System took a while to ship (back ordered) I wanted to spend some time reading up on smoothie-making and Superfoods in order to educate myself before I just jumped into my "Green Drink Detox." And after reading David Wolfe's book on Superfoods, I got an education I would not soon forget. Then I read Gabrielle Raiz's wonderful book before I read this Julie Morris book. While shopping on Amazon a few weeks later, I spotted this Julie Morris book - that wasn't even released yet, but that I could buy for $4.95 as an advance copy. Having read four books prior to this one, I can honestly say this is, BY FAR, the best and most complete book I have read to date. About the Author: The first thing that struck me are the images of the author. She's angelic... That is to say, she has the face of an angel. The reason for her glow is probably due to her diet. Los Angeles-based natural food chef and advocate of whole, plant-based foods and superfoods, Julie Morris has worked in the natural food industry for close to a decade as a recipe developer, writer, cooking show host and spokesperson and executive chef for Navitas Naturals. Interesting that she grew up in the San Fernando Valley - as did I. She also wrote "Superfood Kitchen" and based upon my experience with this book, I'm sure to purchase that book as well. Nested between the hardcovers are 194 pages of the most complete information you could ask for - with the possible exception of the natural sugar content of each recipe. PART ONE: Glowing by the Glassful Smoothies: The perfect form for function ....... pages 2-3 Superfood Smoothie Principles Smoothie Basics ................................................ pages 7-14 Creating the Best Smoothie Smoothies vs. Juicing Building your Smoothie Superfood Smoothie Essentials ..................... pages 16-36 The Super "15" Adventurous Superfoods Cost-cutting Techniques Tools The Nutritional Rewards of Smoothies .......... pages 38-40 Built-in Benefits Bonus Benefits PART TWO: The Smoothies How Much Smoothie Should I Drink? ............ pages 44-176 Recipes Fruity & Light Green & Creamy Rich & Creamy Stealth Blends Premium Blends Superfood Shots What Happened to my Smoothie? .................. page 180 Storing Smoothies PART THREE: Extras Charts, Guides and Resources ....................... pages 182-188 Making Nut & Seed Milks Superfood Substitution Cheat Sheet Conversion Charts Resource Guide References BRAVO! Author Julie Morris did 99% of the homework and research. She even shot the vivid photographs of all the drinks and ingredients. She offers, "To date, no one yet has succumbed to cliche and actually asked me if my cup was half empty or half full. If anyone ever does, and I happen to be lucky enough to be holding a superfood smoothie, I have the perfect retort: My dear, this cup is packed." I like the way she thinks. Like Gabrielle Raiz, Morris asserts that counting calories is not important because all of us have a different metabolism rates. Nutrient density comes first and I agree. I also agree with her that sweeteners like Splenda, aspartame, saccharine, etc are known neurotoxins and carcinogens that should be left out of any smoothie recipe. Though she suggests if you can't sweeten your smoothies with things like dates, agave, figs, raisins, etc, the use of Stevia is okay. FINAL WORDS: What I find astounding about this particular book is that the author really created a complete smoothie book. She gives you important information about superfoods, some recipes for specific ailments and each recipe has symbols coding it for heart health, low calorie, bone strength, immunity, protein, cleanse/detox and beauty. About the only information missing is natural sugar content. If you take the more important information from David Woilfe's Superfood book and mesh it with the practical information found in Gabrielle Raiz's Smoothie Magic book, the end result would be this well-crafted book. Whether you're just starting a smoothie detox or a daily smoothie routine or you're a seasoned smoothie-making veteran, you should own this book. If you buy just one book on healthy drinks - make it this one! I only wish I had been able to buy this book first because it renders most of the other smoothie books secondary and almost moot. I rate this book 4.75 out of 5 stars. CHEERS! Printed in China and published by Sterling Publishing, New York [...] NOTE: I wrote this review for Epinions.com as well.

I'm a big fan of Julie Morris, I am so in love with her first book, "Superfood Kitchen", I cook from it almost every day and consider it the most valuable cookbook I own, so of course I was very excited to get my copy of "Superfood Smoothies"! I am truly amazed but not surprised that she turned out yet another masterfully written and beautifully composed book of awesome recipes. Not only are the smoothie recipes REALLY TASTY, but they are so creative and very thoughtfully concocted to maximize health, flavor, and texture. My favorites that I've tried so far are: cranberry orange (using frozen whole cranberries and OJ), acai pumpkin (yum! creative use for canned pumpkin puree), and cacao cream. There are so many more I can't wait to try! I first started trying to turn around my health about a year ago by making green smoothies in my $30 blender, mixing frozen blueberries, banana, chia seeds, kale and almond milk every morning for breakfast. I have since upgraded to a vitamix, which makes it easier and more enjoyable to blend my daily smoothie! This book is helping me expand my smoothie repetoire so I can never, ever be bored with my smoothie! I have also slowly expanded my superfood pantry over the last year, and wanted to pass on some tips for locating ingredients and finding good deals. Many of the negative reviews for this book seemed like the reason was because they couldn't find the ingredients or they were too expensive, which are completely bogus reasons for poorly reviewing this incredible book!! They are easy to find AND affordable if you have access to the internet!!! I live in an extremely rural isolated area, 1.5 hours drive to the nearest sizeable town with health food stores, but I buy most of the superfood ingredients online and I get much better deals than I would in stores. Also keep in mind that Navitas Naturals ins't the only brand that sells superfoods, Julie may promote them because she is their spokesperson, and they ARE a fantastic company, but I find that they have the MOST EXPENSIVE products on the market, and you don't get very much for the price. Another good brand that is more affordable is Sunfood Superfoods. These are the online sources I use: Nuts.com- Not only do they have awesome organic raw nuts and seeds of many varieties that I buy to make raw nut milks, they also sell many superfoods like spirulina, dried mulberries, yacon, cacao powder, acai powder, chia seeds, mesquite powder, wheatgrass powder, hemp protein powder, ect. Amazon.com- I can find Sunfood Superfood brand products here, and have also found good deals from random other brands for everything from cacao powder, barley grass powder (starwest brand, similar to wheatgrass but often cheaper), acai powder, ect. Vitacost.com - BEST DEAL ON HEMP SEEDS! 3 lb bag of Nutiva shelled hemp seeds for $34 - I keep a small jar on the counter to sprinkle on salads and use in recipes and store the rest in the freezer, the bag lasts me a long time! You can also find good deals on chia seeds and lots of other things Swansonvitamins.com- They also have the same deal on the 3lb bag of Nutiva hemp seeds! Just ordered hemp seeds, chia seeds, cacao nibs, and camu powder from them. Bottom line, if you buy this book (AND "Superfood Kitchen" while you're at it!), you are well on your way to make super nutritious MAGIC happen in your kitchen!!

The book in itself is nice, well laid out and colorful. Generally the idea of a variety of smoothies is really great, but on the downside there are tons of extra ingridients that you will have to purchase in order to make the smoothie verbatim as the recipe. Extra items some of which I have never heard before: chlorella powder, aloe vera drink, wheat grass, maqui berry powder, camu berry powder, goji berries, etc...and the list indeed truly goes on. Some of these are available in the fanciest natural organic stores, but many others I had to order them on line . Be well prepared to spend some very good money as the all grocery list of powders becomes rather expensive. Some of the powders I came to love , but some other ones, I truly didnt care for it and they ended up in the trash. I think I will be better off to find smoothies recipes on line without having to pay an arm and leg for these extra items.

There is very little about this superfood book that isn't super. I've never felt compelled to rate a cookbook before, but I just had to rave about this one. Full disclosure - I am a Paleo Diet eater and own a lot of cookbooks. I love smoothies, and have gagged down some less-than-yummy stuff because it was good for me. However, my family does not have the same sentiments as I do, so it can be a challenge to get the healthy stuff in them. I was hoping that Superfood Smoothies would be a good solution. The appeal of superfoods is that they are foods that concentrate a large amount of nutrition into a small amount of ingredient. Therefore, I theorized, they were not likely to be noticed and get the "Ewww - what's in this?" response I have gotten previously from trying to sneak kale, spinach, etc. in to my concoctions. As I'd hoped, this book has done exactly that, by having recipes that taste extremely naughty but are nutritionally very nice. They are the first "healthy" smoothies that everyone in my family will accept. They really taste more like something you would get at an ice cream parlor. A great example is the cookie dough smoothie recipe. I was a huge skeptic when I saw the list of ingredients: pecans, chopped pear and maca superfood powder, for starters. How was any of this going to taste even remotely like cookie dough? Amazingly, when I made this recipe, that is exactly what it tasted like, though I still can't figure out how. Ms. Morris seems gifted in the art of smoothie alchemy; combining superfoods with fruit, veggies, and nuts to produce a great-tasting smoothie. She has the book divided into sections in order to please lovers of fruity smoothies, creamy smoothies, hidden veggie smoothies, and even extra-super superfood smoothies that combine multiple superfoods. Also, most of the recipes contain an option for an additional "superfood boost" in the sidebar, which allows you to choose the "budget-friendly version" of the recipe, or bump it up with added superfood(s) if you decide to. Ms. Morris also has a great section describing the various superfoods and their nutritional properties, who makes them and where to get them, and how to substitute (or in some cases if it is okay to leave out) a certain superfood if you don't want to buy it, or don't have it on hand. The book is also beautifully photographed. Any criticisms I have of the book are minor, and can easily be overcome. The first is that when I use the amount of ice that Ms. Morris recommends, the smoothies come out much thinner than I like them. I generally cut the amount of ice she recommends in half, and I get a very thick smoothie. The second is that she has a "hidden veggie" section, which includes recipes for smoothies that contain ingredients like broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I tried one of the broccoli recipes, and while I was able to finish it, I would definitely not offer that one to my family. I must add that it was the only recipe in the book that I have tried that was not totally delectable, although still quite palatable. Probably my biggest problem with the book is that the recipes are just so good, I want to make them every day, especially the Chai smoothie - YUMMMM! However, as I mentioned, though a little goes as long way with superfoods, using them every day could still get expensive, especially if you are on a tight budget. Also, the recipes do not have a nutritional breakdown, for those concerned about fats and sugars. In fact, the recipes use quite a bit of natural sweeteners like dates and coconut water, which although not refined, are sugars nonetheless. To mitigate the sugar levels, I use unsweetened coconut and almond milks, and have started using liquid stevia in place of the dates. I suppose you could also reduce sugars by using plain water in place of the coconut water, although there would be a minor difference in nutrition and flavor. My overall approach to the small drawbacks I mentioned is to consider these a non-everyday treat that is free from refined sugar and highly nutritious, and a great way to painlessly sneak concentrated nutrition into my kids. That having been said, I think the contents of this book are a super-win for everyone.

I just can not say enough great things about this book! I bought this because it serves a lot of my dietary goals--raw, vegan, healthy. I want to get more fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds into my 9 year old daughter. We also have a 91 year old to take care of that has problems eating (difficulty swallowing & digesting, low appetite, sensitive to strong flavors, etc etc.) So making the healthiest smoothies possible is a perfect solution for all this. You are feeding your family top nutrition foods, it's quick and easy to prepare, they go down easy, and you can sneak in all kinds of things that you might otherwise be clueless about how to serve. We also live in hot AZ and a cool smoothie is always nice. So far we have tried the Creamy Orange, Mint Chip, and Cookie Dough smoothies. I can not believe how Delicious (yes with a capital D!) the Mint Chip smoothie was!! I never thought of spinach beyond a salad/soup/sandwich ingredient. We had the Mint Chip smoothie for breakfast this morning. It was so refreshing and satisfying, and I was quite proud of myself that I served my kid spinach and banana, cashews and super-healthy cacao for breakfast! Wow wow wow. We also (we being me, the kid, the husband) liked the Cookie Dough smoothie too. It is so sweet and yummy, dessert-like, but guess what's in it! Pecans, dates, cacao, a pear, coconut water... I like that there are never any unhealthy ingredients used to make the healthy stuff taste better. It's ALL healthy. Julie uses coconut ice (pour coconut water into ice cube molds) a lot to sweeten and chill things. And cacao (pure, raw chocolate) is also healthy for you. When most people think of chocolate, they think of candy bars, cake frosting, ice cream. But cacao is the natural, original state of chocolate before all the junky additives like sugar and dairy. And in its raw form, it is VERY good for you. All I know is it makes you feel like you're eating dessert. Without the guilt. As for the book itself, it is full of excellent photos of the smoothies that really make you want to try the recipes. The author has some (4-5?) pictures of herself through the book which i appreciate--I admire her beautiful, glowing skin and hair and point out to my daughter that the author looks so pretty because she eats healthy (hey whatever works to motivate your kids!) I appreciate though, that she did not overdo it including photos of herself as other health food "gurus" have done in their cookbooks. I appreciate SOME pics of the author, but the focus should be on the food, you know? There are tons of tips, advice and information on the ingredients, where and how to shop for them, how to make the smoothies, key symbols to show you the different benefits of each one (high in protein, heart health, bone health, beauty benefits, etc) I will be gifting this book to friends who are health-conscious. I have seen some reviewers criticize this book for the "difficult to find" ingredients and really do not understand the problem there. If you are already shopping for cookbooks online, then you can order ingredients online. I ordered the camu powder from Amazon, same place i bought this book. I can easily order the cacao nibs, hemp seeds, goji berries, maca powder, etc here too, or any other of the numerous online retailers that offer it (sources listed in the back of the book). This book is extremely user friendly and has a supportive, positive tone. She has a start-simple approach. No need to go out and spend a ton of money on superfoods all at once. Buy a few new ingredients and start with those, which is exactly what I am doing. This book is just FUN. I am so excited to keep trying all these crazy ideas that work so well and make me feel so good. Next up is the chocolate smoothie that calls for 3 cups of steamed cauliflower. Never thought of using cauliflower in a smoothie, but if anyone can pull it off, Julie Morris can!

Muy buenas recetas... el libro está escrito en inglés y es de fácil lectura, ha sido facilísimo preparar deliciosos smothies

Schöne, gut nachzumachende Rezepte. Allerdings sind die Mengenangaben immer für zwei.

This book is jam packeted with helpful information about any smoothie you want to create. Love everything about this book, it a good read with great pictures to inspire you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. Well worth the money paid, looking forward to working my way through this book. Recommend buying it, you won’t be sorry.

Just happy to have ideas for smoothies

I just received my copy of this book a few days ago and already I've tried 4 different smoothies. They all taste amazing! I also love the fact that a little symbol next to certain ingredients highlights what superfood is featured in the recipe and that each recipe also has a suggestion for adding another superfood ingredient if you want a "superfood boost". There's even a chart at the back that tells you how to substitute certain ingredients, in case you don't have them on hand. I normally have most of the ingredients such as lucuma powder, maca, chlorella, goji berries, almond milk, coconut water, rice milk, etc. Excellent book if you normally have these items because you can easily make a lot of these recipes. If you don't normally have these types of foods, using this book will certainly help you incorporate these amazing superfoods into your diet. I love this book. I highly recommend it.