Amazing Strawberry smoothie!

Happy Tuesday to all my auto-immune blogger friends! Hey it is windy up here in the high desert (how shocking huh?) – I am getting ready to go for a walk but thought I would share this super yummy raw smoothie with you!

My Crazy Strawberry-Banana-Coconut Smoothie with lots of other goodies

• 1 box of Coconut water (I use Vita)
• 7-8 frozen strawberries (organic if you got em)
• 1 banana
• 3 ice cubes
• 1/4 cashews (for extra creaminess and just because they are so good!)
• 2 TBSP pepitas (for extra iron)
• 1 TBSP chia seeds (optional – they are really good for you!)
• 1 –2 tsp coconut oil (the benefits of coconut oil are amazing…for another post)
• dash of vanilla
• dash of sweetener (like agave, stevia, honey – add enough for your sweet tooth)
• a little extra cold water
• 1 Warm blanket (cuz smoothies always make me shiver when I drink them!)

Blend and enjoy!

I really like coconut water in my smoothies. I ordered a box from amazon.com for auto shipment (once a month) and it cost $18 for a case of 12. That is a little expensive compared to plain old H20 but it is so worth it.  So I can use 3 cartons of coconut water a week and I am all over that!

This smoothie tastes amazing – just like dessert! It is packed with vitamin C and potassium and iron. I have been incorporating coconut oil, water and coconut butter into the diet lately. There are a lot of health benefits and I will post later about that.

I hope everyone has a great day! I am stiff as a board this morning but forcing myself to go on a walk. I have three months to get into shape for backpacking. It will be very tough this summer to backpack as my RA has never been worse. I will probably have to take prednisone to do it (and lots of duct tape!) but I will crawl on the trail before I let this crappy disease stop me. I have already had to give up some things that I just CANT do anymore. One of the things that I have had to pretty much give up is snow skiing. This is a bummer cuz me and the hubby love to ski.  But hey, I can sit in the lodge and drink hot buttered rums while the hubby skis right?