Basic Seaweed Smoothie (to get you started)

Smoothies taste great, are easy to make, and give you a great green boost in one glass. Start small, and increase the green and seaweed content as you progress. There are endless possibilities and with a little experimentation you can custom-make your own.

Victoria Boutenko originally came up with the idea: Check out her website at www.rawfamily.com for more ideas and information.

Seaweed used: Alaria

Basic Seaweed Smoothie

Alaria, about 15cm (6 inch) piece rinsed, snipped finely and soaked overnight in just enough water to cover, or 6–8g (¼oz) dried and ground.
1 banana chilled or else peeled, chopped and frozen overnight, or 2 chilled pears
¼ pineapple, including core, chopped
300 ml ( ½ pint) cold water
6 large green leaves, well washed
a little local honey or agave to sweeten if needed

To prepare the smoothie

1. Put everything, including the soak water into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. It is important to vary the ingredients in the recipe, choosing small amounts from a wide variety.

Get the most from your smoothie

The most important thing about seaweeds is that they are not just land plants… they have so much more to offer with specific components such as alginates, fucoidans, laminarins, fucoxanthines, phyto-defensive compounds, and specific lipids… all of which don’t just occur in land plants and each of which to date has shown anti cancer properties. So to reduce seaweeds to land plant minerals, vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates is to overlook their richness and potential value… they aren’t just some land plant that is weird and grows in water.

Jane Teas PhD, cancer researcher