By Yvonne Wilhelmi
I created this recipe based on a client’s request to reduce the need to take supplements. I call this type of recipe a “functional recipe” because it serves a purpose – in this case, to replace a 400 mg magnesium pill per day with natural food.
There are times when supplements are indicated, such as when vitamin or mineral deposits are seriously low due to illness, malnutrition or other events and a quick solution is needed. However, if you take supplements on a daily basis, you might want to shift your mindset into replacing them with natural food.
My process starts by researching foods high in the requested vitamin/mineral. I developed a database that calculates the correct amount of food needed to meet its micro nutritional recommended daily intake (RDI) amount. Then I get practical and cook/recreate, then I document it and then present it to the client. Below is a smoothie that I recently created on request, This smoothie contains 404 mg of magnesium, replacing the need for a daily pill that the client wanted to replace with natural food.
Ingredients:
1 banana
1/2 oz sesame seeds
1/2 oz rice bran
7 oz yogurt
1 oz pumpkin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a blender. Add water if you prefer more liquid. You can also add a dash of honey or maple syrup if you have a sweet tooth.
Yvonne Wilhelmi is the founder of Eat4Happiness, a health coaching practice where she provides customized nutrition plans, cooking lessons, shopping assistance, and more. A native of Germany, she now resides in Atlanta, GA and works with clients in both English and German. She is currently a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
The more I read about what the students/alumni of Integrative Nutrition are doing, the more excited I am for my session to start in November! What a great idea….create the database and then create the smoothie!
Hi Lorian, We’re so glad you’re excited and thrilled to have you a part of our community!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I just wonder what’ll happen if we take one of these ingredients out of the recipe or in other words, what is the importance of each ingredient here? Normally, how can we create a recipe and how can we know that the recipe is a fit for us?
Hi Chi, Smoothies are typically very flexible and accommodating. Though with this particular smoothie if you do swap out the ingredients it will affect the final nutritional make-up – so it may no longer have a days worth of magnesium. In general smoothies are a great way to pack in a lot of nutrients in a small amount of time.
Oh my goodness. How did you know I needed this? I want to boost both my magnesium intake as well as my son’s. But he can’t/won’t take a pill. Thanks for solving this puzzle for me
So glad you like it!
What’s the purpose of the rice bran?
Hi Beverly, Rice bran is a great source of fiber and Vitamin E!
Is there any other data base programs which calculates calories of recipes I would make?
Hi Anastassia, I like to use the MyFitnessPal app and website. You can upload the recipe and it will tell you the calories per serving. Hope this helps!
Could You please tell me how Much calories Is in the green smoothie?
Hi Mireille, we recommend using a recipe calorie counter (like this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator) where you can enter in the exact amount of each ingredient that you’ve used to get the final calorie count.
hi what sort of yogurt do i use ?
I’d you can use any sort of yogurt you’d like! If you’re looking to keep it healthy, pay attention to the sugar content and try to keep it low, under 10 grams per serving max.