I’ve been traveling for work a lot recently (with more to come next week!), which means I have been eating truly terrible airport restaurant food and a lot of road-trip snacks.  I got back late last night from a delayed flight and crawled into bed, only to wake up feeling less than ideal.  That burrito, chips and guac, and cocktails to pass the time were all still rumbling around in my stomach.

Feeling bloated and tired, I went over to the fridge and created a lovely detox smoothie.  I would definitely recommend this for days when you need a light dose of something green to get you started.  This isn’t really a great breakfast smoothie (it wouldn’t have kept me full for more than two hours on a normal day), but it’s a great starter pack to getting your diet back on track and back to greener, more fibrous foods.

This recipe takes advantage of the stalks and leaves of fennel (not the white bulb, but the green parts that are often thrown away).  By blending the fennel stalks, you get the added nutrients and fiber from the part of the plant that can be difficult to eat on its own (the stalks can be tough and hard to chew through).  In addition to the fiber source, the green stalks are a great source of potassium and other vitamins, as well as containing anethole, an antioxidant found in fennel, to help promote your body’s road to recovery.  Combined with coconut water (a natural source of electrolytes) and lemon juice (a nice Vitamin C booster), this smoothie is an excellent way to help balance out your system.

My recipe for my Green Detox Smoothie is below!

Ingredients:

1 8 oz carton of coconut water (I used Vita Coco Pressed Coconut this morning)

2 fennel stalks, with leaves

½ lemon, juiced with seeds removed

Method:

1. Add coconut water and fennel stalks to the blender.  Juice lemon into the blender, removing any seeds as you see them.
2. Blend on high or on the smoothie setting for about 1 minute.
3. Pour into a glass and enjoy!