Hugs For the Nutribullet

I bought a Nutribullet back in the spring for my mum.  She has cancer and was having a pretty rough time with chemo.  We'd had a pretty good discussion about nutrition and how that might help not only support her immune system against the chemo but with fighting the cancer generally.  

However my mum, despite being vegetarian, doesn't really enjoy cooking and doesn't have the same connection with food that Phil and I have. Credit to her she did go vegan for a while but somehow the medical profession persuaded her she needed to go 'full fat' to build herself up again after a particularly bad chemo session (go figure).  

So apart from feeding up my mum and dad on healthy plant based meals when they visit (they live over 300 miles away), I decided buying them a Nutribullet was a great and easy way for both of them (my dad has also recovered from cancer) to increase their nutritional intake.  There is very little to clean up after using the Nutribullet so immediately that was a hit with them too. My dads yearly glut of homegrown strawberries also gave them a constant supply of fruity goodness over the summer.

There is B17 in strawberries and reports have shown that B17 can help in the fight against cancer.  This is another reason I encourage mum (and she does) to take bitter apricot kernels which contain high levels of B17. She had a good time over the summer when she was able to take a break from her treatment and enjoy a family visit from overseas.  In fact she was positively brimming with energy; not bad for a lady in her mid 70's!

I held off buying Phil and I our own Nutribullet for fear that mum and dad would not use theirs and we would end up with it ourselves. However, with that not being the case and with autumnal fruit being at its peak, I took the plunge and am loving it.  The good timing was equally confirmed by two other recent things.

Firstly I found a couple of good books in charity shops which have some great recipes for the Nutribullet.  'Roots and Bulbs - Pure Juicing for Living', which I got for £1, is chock full of juices, shots, smoothies, milks and butters all of which, apart from the odd mention of bee products, are vegan.  All the recipes are beautifully illustrated with creative photographs. The All Day Breakfast smoothie recipe, a combination of almond milk, banana, oats, almond butter, sesame seeds and cacao nibs, has been a real hit with me in particular.

The other book I purchased for a mere £2 was 'Everyday Raw Express'.  What made this book different from the other raw books I have dabbled with is that the recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less; so no dehydrator required here! However a high speed blender seems pretty essential and with my 20 year old blender struggling a touch these days, step up the 'new kid on the block'; Nutribullet.  Cream Chowder or Maple Creme Brulee anyone?

The second additional thing that confirmed the timely purchase of the Nutribullet was a bout of illness on my behalf (which as I write I am still recovering from).  It is the kind of illness where the intake of food is essential but not particularly welcome (if you get my drift). Nutritional liquid forms however are a little easier to partake of and indeed the All Day Breakfast mentioned above was very welcome this morning.

So hurrah to the Nutribullet I say and I may even affectionately name it Steve after Steve McQueen from the film Bullitt because it really is that funky in my opinion.

Meanwhile, here is my suggestion of a B17 smoothie combo which I will name 'Super Trouper' for my mum (for reasons that will make her laugh I'm sure).

Super Trouper Smoothie

Handful of strawberries

1 kiwi (skinned and roughly chopped)

Handful of blackberries

Handful of Spinach

1 teaspoon of flax seeds

1 cup of coconut water (or more for thinner version)

Blend, blend, blend......in your own Steve.

By the way, I haven't tried this yet as it only just occurred to me!  However, it's next on my list.  What can go wrong with such healthy ingredients though?!

Enjoy!