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

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."

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 smoothieRaspberry Peach - loved itCoconut Goji - Pretty goodMulberry Plum - LOVED ITMango Chili - LOVED ITGinger Pear - LOVED ITApple Arugula - LOVED ITMango Coconut - pretty goodLucuma Lime - LOVED ITSweet Almond - loved itMint Chip - LOVED IT - seriously my new favorite!Sesame Apple - Loved itCitrus Aloe - Pretty GoodLucuma Macadamia - Loved itBlueberry Maqui - Loved itMayan Chocolate - LOVED ITPumpkin Pie - this was only okayBanana Oat - Loved itPineapple Maca - LOVED ITCookie Dough - LOVED ITRaspberry Almond - Pretty goodCreamy Orange - LOVED ITMaqui Banana - LOVED ITTahini Mulberry - LOVED ITCacao Cream - LOVED IT - my new `go-to- pick me upCacao Mocha - LOVED IT - my other `go-to' pick me upCoconut Spice - not for meSesame Hemp - LOVED ITChocolate Mint - LOVED ITVanilla Almond - Pretty goodI'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.

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.