Connie’s Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake to Begin the Day

Lately, Facebook friends and other fans have been intrigued when I said I start my day with a Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Ultimate Shake.

For the past week or so, I've been creating and revising this tasty concoction, adding or subtracting ingredients. Now, people have been repeatedly nudging me to share my recipe.

First a bit of background. Recently, after exhausting my adrenals, I've been doing all that I can to boost my energy, be highly creative, concentrate better, improve my stamina, be in my best shape ever, and write a fabulous book that can help many, preferably millions. I'm working on The Sugar Shock Diet, which is the follow-up to my book Sugar Shock. (Here's my original announcement.)

To that end, I'm now on Day 28 of doing a Detox Diet, following a program outlined in Dr. Jeffrey Morrison's new book, Cleanse Your Body, Clear Your Mind. (He recently appeared on my Gab with the Gurus Show. I'll be inteviewing him again, after I hit Day 40.)

Anyhow, these days, my goal is to cram lots of superfoods and healthy ingredients into my first meal of the day. 

My breakfast helps me remember that we eat to live and to thrive, remember?

So here's the healthy way I begin my day. Usually, I do a rigorous workout immediately afterwards, too.

This Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake fills you up and is quite tasty, too.

What's more, unlike other popular, quickie beverages — think, those Standard American Diet (SAD) shakes — my Super Duper Shake isn't packed with nutrition-lacking, sugar-loaded calories, and it doesn't send your blood sugar bouncing all over the place. 

Here are the items that go into my breakfast shake. Bear in mind that every day I have fun making changes. In fact, please send me your ideas of what to add or subtract:

– First, I use 2 T. The Ultimate Life, Ultimate Meal. What's really wonderful about this powder is that it contains no gluten, no soy protein or fiber, no whey, no nuts, no MSG, no corn, no yeast, no dairy, no maltodextrin, sugar, honey or fructose, no colors, no preservatives, no fillers, and no animal products. (This is very hard to find in protein and health powders.)

– Next, I use some kind of cacao. For instance, I'll use 2 T. organic cacao nibs from Navitas. Adding these gives your shake a chocolate burst–plus you get the superfood benefits. Lately, I've been experimenting using 2 T of already ground-up instead of Raw Cacao Powder from Divine Organics. Here's a ground powder from Navitas you can get.

– About 1 or 2 tiny spoonfuls of Ribose from Jarrow. (Just started to recently to use before an intense workout. As the description indicates, "Ribose is one of the necessary building blocks for the formation of ATP; the `universal' energy molecule in the body.* Physical stress can deplete ATP stores in cardiac and skeletal muscles.* As the rate-limiting substrate in the synthesis of nucleotides; including ATP; ribose plays a vital role in replenishing ATP; thus; enhancing energy production; improving muscle recovery;and thus Muscle Edge. (Natually, the FDA doesn't sanction these comments.)

I also add the following to the shake:

• 1 tsp. Psyllium Husks Powder (I'm using this because I'm now detoxing. I use the one from Yerba Prima)
• 1 T. ground Nutiva organic chia seeds (or whatever brand you can find.)
• 1 T. ground plain organic flax seeds (I like the Spectrum that you can find at Whole Foods.)
• 1 tsp. Glutamine Plus from Daily Benefit
• 1 tsp. It's Moringa powder (*The Moringa plant has been called "The Miracle Tree." I started using this, because my intuition told me to include this superfood, which I learned about months ago. See info below to learn more about this amazing product of nature.)
• A big dash of Simply Organic cinnamon and clove powder if I'm in the mood for them.
• Sometimes I'll add a pinch of green powdered stevia from Navitas Natural. (Or I may use no sweetener. Please note that I never use any white stevia powder from any company. I prefer to use stevia in as natural a form as possible.) 
• About 8 ounces to 16 ounces of Water after my Brita water filter has purified it.
• A few tablespoons of coconut milk (I use Soy Free/Dairy Free/Unsweetened from SoDelicious. Instead, I may have a little taste, about 1/4 tsp., of refrigerated Spectrum Organic Coconut Oil.
• Lately, I've been adding 1 T. of Bob's Red Mills Almond Meal Powder. I'm excited about this idea, because it makes the Super Shake extra thick. (You may have to add another glass of water.)
• I also started opening up two capsules of another wonder spice, turmeric, which you can learn about here — Jarrow's Curcumin 9.
• At the beginning of the day, I also take two or more capsules of Whole World Botanicals Organic Royal Maca, but I do NOT put this in the shake. I'm too nervous to try, because I don't want it to ruin the taste.

Blend until all ingredients are ground up and your shake is thick and creamy. Add more water, if desired. Then enjoy!

As you can see from the attached photo, I like to drink my Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake in the glass that I got from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which I attended.

FYI, depending on when I work out, I also may save about a third of my concoction in the fridge to finish after I come back from exercising.

Let me know what you think of this recipe. What other great superfood ingredients would you add?

Now, let here's more info about Moringa oleifera, which has been hailed as the most nutritious leafy green in the planet today.

As I mentioned, I began adding it to my shake today. It did not make it taste extra green-y, which was nice.

 

According to my new friend, Jude Ken-Kwofie, founder of It's Moringa, "just one scoop of our moringa dried leaf powder in your favorite meal or beverage helps you achieve your recommended 5 to 9 daily servings of vegetables."

Moringa can be used by people in average or poor health, Jude says. Some reported health benefits of Moringa include:

• Increases and sustains energy naturally
• Gives a feeling of general wellness
• Nourishes that body’s immune system
• Promotes healthy circulatory system
• Increases the natural defenses of the body
• Heightens mental clarity
• Provides nourishment to the eyes and the brain
• Promotes metabolism with bio-available ingredients
• Promotes natural serum cholesterol
• Known to enhance weight loss
• Promotes healthy digestion
• Acts as an antioxidant
• High alkalinity helps balance your body’s pH level
• Has natural anti-aging benefits
• Anti-inflammatory support
• Supports the normal sugar levels of the body

Jude tells me that It’s Moringa products contain a high concentration of chlorophyll, which is also known as the “blood of the plant” and gives plants their green color. Chlorophyll, which is rich in magnesium, is also known to fight infection, cleanse the body of unwanted toxins, promote the healing of wounds, improve the body’s circulatory, immune, digestive, and detoxification systems. Due to its similarity to hemoglobin, chlorophyll is easily absorbed into human blood, which transports nutrients effectively and efficiently to every cell of the body. Incorporating chlorophyll into one’s diet, Jude says, is equivalent to consuming the energy of life. It’s Moringa products reportedly contain 4 times (4X) the chlorophyll content of wheatgrass.

What appeals to me about It's Moringa and why I chose to become an affiliate even though other companies also sell this superfood is that this particular company donates 10 percent of its sales to support malnutrition around the world. In fact, did you now that one third of all childhood deaths are caused by under-nutrition? Sad to think about that given our country's obesity problem.

Anyhow, to fight malnutrition, It’s Moringa has partnered with Vitamin Angels or www.vitaminangels.org and Nourish America or www.nourishamerica.org..

So, what do you think of my Super Cacao-Chia-Moringa Shake? Let me know know what you think aftter you try it out.

Is there anything else you recommend that I add? Please share your ideas.

* Please bear in mind that all products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any of these products are not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of most of these products, too.

Listen to Dr. Morrison's interview now.