Humans are weird.

Even though there's something like a hundred-million possible smoothie combinations to be enjoyed, in my world there might as well just be four. See, I find something I like and I just stick with it, loving it more and more over time. Some examples: food (chickpea salad sandwiches and/or broccoli soup for lunch, everyday, forever), TV shows (Parks & Rec, The Office, Community, plus a few others), books (Harry Potter, start to finish, over and over and over...), my high school boyfriend (turned husband - Hey William! 😉 ), and smoothies (this green one, this chocolatey one, this simple berry-cherry deal, and the one I'm sharing today!) Is this just the whole "humans being creatures of habit" thing or what?

Now about habits, I seemed to have misplaced one of my better ones in 2015. The daily (or at least semi regular) smoothie-drinking habit I'd acquired as a healthyish vegan seems to have vanished, leaving nothing but a dusty Vitamix in its place. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you want to look at this, smoothies make me feel awesome. Without my daily (or at least occasional) smoothie, I've been feeling a little bleh. So yeah, I think it's time to pick up the smoothie habit again - thus the inspiration for today's post!

So let's talk about the smoothie that I love so much it's earned a spot as one of my go-to smoothie recipes. First, it's a refreshing alternative to my go-to green smoothie and it still provides a serving of veggies, lots of fruit, a dose of healthy fats and plant-based protein. This one is loaded with carrot, strawberry, peach, pineapple, mango, orange (juice), hemp seeds, and coconut yogurt. It's bright and sunny, it's loaded with good-for-you ingredients, and it's light, not-to-sweet, and just a little bit creamy.

I really enjoy using a frozen fruit mix of strawberry/peach/pineapple/mango for this smoothie. It's a pretty popular frozen fruit blend so you should have no trouble tracking it down. Sometimes they include grapes, they're a nice addition too. You can also use your own custom mix - I've used plenty of variations on this fruit blend and this smoothie always turns out refreshing and delicious! (PS: I use Yoso's Unsweetened Cultured Coconut Yogurt and it is delicious in this smoothie (and yogurt parfaits, oh. my. god.) This post isn't sponsored, I just wanted to let you know about my favourite creamy, not-too-thick, tangy yogurt.)

Enjoy!

Carrot Orange Fruit Smoothie

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1
• Category: Smoothie
• Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

A fruity, not-too-sweet, slightly creamy smoothie that serves up a dose of veggies and plenty of plant based proteins and healthy fats. Serves 1.

---

Ingredients

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup mixed fruit (peach, mango, pineapple, strawberry mix)
• 1 large carrot
• 2 tbsp coconut yogurt
• 1-2 tablespoon hemp seeds
• 1 tbsp flax seed oil (optional - but SO good)
• ½ tbsp maple syrup (optional)

---

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and blend on high until smooth. Enjoy!

---

Notes

Adjust liquid to suit your preference

The post Carrot Sunshine Smoothie appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

This healthy smoothie bowl could probably pass for a Valentine's Day dessert, but I suggest enjoying it as a filling breakfast or snack instead. It's full of healthy ingredients and decadent flavours!

This blog post is inspired by Love Crunch's Apple Chia Crumble Granola, a delicious blend of organic oats, chopped apples, pecans, chia seeds, and cinnamon. It makes for a great snack all by itself (or with almond milk!) or as an ingredient in recipes like this smoothie bowl!

This smoothie bowl begins with a thick and frosty blend of frozen bananas, coconut milk, a little maple syrup, and a dash each of cinnamon and vanilla. When blended, frozen bananas have a lovely soft serve ice cream consistency which makes the perfect sturdy base for smoothie bowls.

I whipped and blended some soft pitted dates with coconut oil, coconut milk, cinnamon, and maple syrup to create a smooth caramel spread. When chilled, the date caramel gets thick and chewy in texture.

Top the sweet creamy base studded with chewy caramel bits with a sprinkle of Love Crunch Apple Chia Crumble Granola, thin slices of fresh green apples, and a touch of cinnamon. This Valentine's Day, show yourself some love and treat yourself to a Love Crunch smoothie bowl! ♥

This post is sponsored by Nature's Path.
We love Nature's Path for their delicious selection of vegan granolas and breakfast cereals AND because of their awesome Bite4Bite Program. For every bag of Love Crunch granola sold, Nature's Path donates the equivalent to Food Banks across North America. Love Crunch is available at your favourite grocery store or natural food retailer and online at shop.naturespath.com (US) or well.ca (Canada)

Thank you for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan!

Love Crunch Caramel Apple Smoothie Bowl

★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 1 serving
• Category: Breakfast, Smoothie
• Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

A creamy, lightly-spiced smoothie bowl topped with chewy date caramel, Love Crunch Apple Chia Crumble Granola, sliced apple, and cinnamon! Serves 1.

---

Ingredients

Date Caramel

• 1 cup soft pitted dates
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp coconut milk
• 1.5 tsp maple syrup
• 2 pinches cinnamon

Banana Smoothie Bowl

• 3 frozen bananas, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp date caramel
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• ⅛ tsp vanilla
• pinch cinnamon

Toppings

• 3/2 cup Love Crunch Apple Crumble Granola
• ⅓ apple, thin sliced
• cinnamon sticks
• pinch cinnamon
• 2 tbsp extra date caramel (or more!)

---

Instructions

Date Caramel

1. In a food processor, combine dates and coconut oil. Process until smooth, using a spatula to pull the date mixture away from the sides as needed. Once smooth, add the coconut milk and maple syrup. Transfer to an air tight food storage container.

Banana Smoothie Bowl

1. In a high speed blender or food processor, blend frozen bananas, date caramel, coconut milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon until smooth. The mixture will be very thick.

Toppings

1. Serve the banana smoothie base in a bowl and top with small spoonfuls of date caramel. Gently stir the dollops of date caramel into the smoothie. Top with thin sliced apples, cinnamon, and Love Crunch Apple Chia Crumble Granola. Eat with a spoon.

---

Notes

The date caramel recipe will make more than you'll use in this smoothie bowl. Leftover caramel can be used to sweeten oatmeal, smoothies, tea and coffee, or it can be used as a spread on toast or fruit.

The post Caramel Apple Crumble Smoothie Bowl appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Today I have the perfect summertime weekend treat for you to enjoy. You will love this deliciously frosty, lightly spiced and naturally sweetened parfait!

I happen to have a thing with buying underripe bananas, completely forgetting about them, and then suddenly finding myself with more overripe bananas than I know what to do with. Thankfully bananas are ideal for freezing and blending.

Last fall I made an awesome recipe for Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Parfaits. I knew I wanted to use the ultra-thick frozen consistency to create another smoothie parfait tailored for summer.

This recipe includes lots of frozen bananas (a great way to use up some of your stash), strong brewed chai tea ice cubes, almond or soy milk (I like using vanilla flavour but unsweetened works just fine too!), creamy roasted almond butter, coconut milk (or coconut yogurt), dates, vanilla, a little bit of maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon and ginger.

This recipe is super easy, cooling, and totally appropriate for breakfast, snacks, or even a light dessert.

I topped my parfaits with Nature's Path Coconut Chia Granola, fresh ripe blueberries, chopped apricots, a dollop of Yoso's Unsweetened Coconut Yogurt, and a drizzle of PURE Infused Lavender Chai Maple Syrup. Feel free to customize this parfait with whatever summer fruits you have on hand - a mix of fresh berries, peaches, nectarines, cherries, or sliced bananas would all work beautifully!

With a little bit of prep work these parfaits come together in no time - they're just as easy as whipping up a quick smoothie! I love the decadent look of a pretty layered parfait but you can serve this as a simple smoothie bowl too! This recipe is easy, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened. Enjoy!

Banana Chai Smoothie Parfait

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 1 hours
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings
• Category: Parfait, Breakfast, Snacks, Dessert
• Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

A deliciously frosty, naturally sweetened, and lightly spiced smoothie parfait topped with crunchy granola, fresh blueberries, chopped apricots, and maple syrup. Serves 2.

---

Ingredients

Banana Chai Smoothie Parfait

• 5 frozen bananas
• 1 cup chai tea ice cubes (directions in notes)
• 2 tbsp coconut cream or coconut yogurt
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 6 pitted dates
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 1 pinch dried ginger

Toppings

• granola
• coconut yogurt
• fresh blueberries
• chopped apricots
• maple syrup (Pure Infused's Lavender Chai is a great way to enhance the chai flavour!)

---

Instructions

1. In a high speed blender combine all ingredients (minus toppings) and blend on high until creamy and smooth.
2. If the consistency isn't thick enough, place in a bowl and freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring often.

To Serve

1. Scoop half of the banana chai smoothie into a bowl or glass. Top with ½ cup of granola, fresh blueberries, chopped apricots, a dollop of coconut yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. Enjoy!

---

Notes

To make the chai tea ice cubes, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and brew with 4-6 chai tea bags. Chill for 1 hour. Transfer cold chai tea into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid. Great for iced chai tea, just mix with vanilla soy or almond milk and a little sweetener (optional), shake and serve!

The post Banana Chai Smoothie Parfait appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Smoothies are my best food friend 🙂 You can have one for breakfast, you can have one for a snack, you can even have one for lunch or dinner if the mood strikes! Smoothies are a great way to pack a ton of nutrition into one quick and easy meal.

I love that you can tailor smoothies to suit your exact needs at the moment. Want something light? Stick to fruits and vegetables and choose a light base like chilled green tea or juice diluted with water.

Need something a little more substantial to tide you over for a few hours? No problem! Choose a heartier base like soy or hemp milk with your choice of fruits and vegetables and be sure to include nutrient dense ingredients like nut butters, seeds, protein powders or oils. You can even play around with the yield! Make a little smoothie, or a BIG smoothie. I always seems to make REALLY BIG smoothies so I usually have to share 😛

This smoothie is right in the middle of light and hearty. Almond milk is low in calories and protein, so I consider it a light base. Almond milk + frozen bananas creates a lovely velvety, creamy texture. Peanut butter and hemp seeds provide a big boost of protein and healthy fats, not to mention extra staying power and a delicious nutty flavour. A handful or two of fresh spinach adds that green goodness (don't worry, it's super mild!) Add a couple of soft pitted dates for a touch of extra sweetness.

This particular green smoothie is an old stand-by now. I made my first rendition of this smoothie waaay back in 2012 when I first went vegan and started eating healthier and more intuitively. I have loved it ever since! There's no doubt, this is my favourite way to eat greens.

If you haven't tried a green smoothie before, the first one is kind of terrifying, ‘Does it taste ‘green’? Isn't it gross?’

The thing is, you CAN make a gross smoothie. I've done it myself plenty of times! My first time blending kale into a smoothie did NOT go well. (Tip: Blending kale into a smoothie requires a high-speed blender, not a shoddy $10 immersion blender.) Trust me, having to chew the kale in your smoothie is the worst. In fact, it was so bad that I haven't put kale in a smoothie since (and that was at least 2 years ago!)

So as you can see, one bad experience could have you swearing off green smoothies forever!

I promise you, this recipe will not scare you off of green smoothies. Even if you don't think you like green smoothies, I 100% believe you will LOVE this one.

This is the green smoothie you need to make if:

• you've never tried a green smoothie
• you're want to encourage someone you love to eat healthier
• you've tried green smoothies and decided they're just awful
• you aren't a breakfast person or you simply don’t have time for breakfast in the morning
• you're trying to give up caffeine (this smoothie is weirdly energizing… like SO energizing that I've accidentally quit drinking coffee multiple times (for months at a time!) because I was drinking this smoothie instead.)
• you tend to feel nauseated/ill first thing in the morning (I get really sick and nauseated in the morning if I haven't had a proper night of sleep. This smoothie is like some magical cure-all for an upset stomach, I can't even tell you how many times this smoothie has made me feel 100% better after drinking it.)
• you have a ‘thing’ about textures - this smoothie is super easy to drink, it’s smooth, thin, and just slightly creamy
• you just want to add another delicious green smoothie to your repertoire

Now blend away!

PS: Back to the whole "being scarred for life by a chunky kale smoothie thing", if you have a great kale smoothie recipe you'd like to share, I'd love some recommendations!

The Best Green Smoothie

★★★★★ 4.9 from 21 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 -2 servings
• Category: Smoothie
• Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

A light and creamy green smoothie with a peanut butter and banana base. This green smoothie is super mild making it perfect for beginners!

---

Ingredients

The Best Green Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk
• 1-2 handfuls of spinach
• 2 frozen bananas
• 2-4 soft pitted dates
• 2 tbsp hemp hearts
• 1 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 2 ice cubes

Superfood Smoothie Topping (optional)

• 2 tbsp hemp seeds
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp raw buckwheat groats
• 2 tbsp slivered almonds (or pumpkin seeds)

---

Instructions

The Best Green Smoothie

1. Combine all ingredients, blend on high until perfectly smooth and frothy.

Superfood Smoothie Topping (optional)

1. Combine all ingredients. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon on top of your smoothie.

---

Notes

The superfood topping is great for all sorts of things! Add some to smoothie bowls, oatmeal, cereals, vegan yogurts, salads, etc.

The post The Best Green Smoothie appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

If it's still a sunny 25°C where you live right now, you might not be ready for the explosion of deeply warming autumn dishes and hot steaming drinks offered this time of year. But I bet you're still longing for those delightful fall flavours we're all so in love with!

So here's a cooling (and healthy!) way to enjoy creamy pumpkin-spiced heaven.

This parfait starts with a layer of creamy pumpkin pie smoothie - a thick and luxurious mixture of frozen pumpkin, a tiny bit of banana, almond milk, walnuts, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla all sweetened to perfection with a combination of maple syrup and molasses.

Add a nice big dollop of coconut whip (Heaven.)

A hefty scoop of your favourite granola for crunch.

Another layer of that creamy, velvety pumpkin pie smoothie. Top with another BIG dollop of coconut whip, a sprinkle of granola and dust with a little bit of cinnamon. Finish it off with a cinnamon stick if you want to get real fancy!

Isn't it beautiful? Yes, yes it is.

It's also healthy enough to eat for breakfast, decadent enough to have for dessert, and easy enough to have as a snack any time of day!

Nutritionally speaking, this breakfast/dessert/snack is real powerhouse! It's loaded with:

• vitamin A, B6, C, and K
• iron, plus a good source of potassium, and calcium
• fibre and protein

For sweetness I chose to use a mixture of maple syrup and molasses, both of which are great natural sweeteners with really rich and robust flavours. Since maple syrup can be expensive, you can use soft pitted dates as a substitute. Their caramel-y sweetness would be perfect here. You can play around with the level of sweetness and adjust it to your preferences. I like mine to taste very decadent and dessert-like so I like to use LOTS of maple syrup. If you don't have such a big sweet tooth, start with 1 tablespoon and work your way up.

If you're in a hurry, you can enjoy the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie portion all by itself. But if you've got the time I highly recommend trying this treat with all the trimmings!

Enjoy!

Some notes on the recipe:

• For frozen pumpkin: Spoon pumpkin purée into ice cubes trays and freeze. You only need about 6 frozen pumpkin cubes for this recipe.
• If you're not using a high-speed blender like the Vitamix, your blender may struggle to blend frozen pumpkin. You don't need to use frozen pumpkin, the smoothie will be thick enough for a parfait either way. If you'd still like to try using frozen pumpkin, let it thaw for 20 minutes or so at room temperature to soften up a little bit.
• For this parfait I used Wild Roots Wholesome Hemp Granola and it holds up really well in this recipe. I left 2 of these parfaits in the fridge for 5+ hours and the granola softened slightly but didn't become soggy.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Parfait w/ Coconut Whip and Crunchy Granola {gluten and soy free}

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Brittany at ilovevegan.com
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2
• Category: Smoothie
• Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This frosty parfait contains layers of thick and luxurious pumpkin pie smoothie, fluffy coconut cream, and crunchy granola. Cinnamon stick optional! This decadent breakfast/dessert/snack is loaded with vitamin A, iron, and fibre! Total time is for blending and assembling the parfait, it doesn't include extra time for freezing pumpkin.

---

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

• 6 frozen pumpkin puree cubes
• ½ frozen banana
• ¾ cup non-dairy milk
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¾ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1-3 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tsp molasses
• ¼ tsp vanilla

Coconut Whip

• 1 can of high quality chilled coconut cream (look for one with as few ingredients as possible. Choose a brand with the highest percentage of coconut, if listed on the ingredient list.) Thai Kitchen, Savoy (70%), and Native Forest are some good options.)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp vanilla

Parfait

• 1 recipe pumpkin pie smoothie
• ⅓ cup+ coconut whip
• ½ cup+ granola (look for GF/soy free if necessary)
• cinnamon sprinkle
• molasses drizzle (optional)

---

Instructions

Coconut Whip

1. Simply place your canned coconut cream in the fridge until well chilled. Then, turn the can upside down and open the "bottom" of the can. With good quality coconut cream, half of the can should be a thick coconut milk and the other half should be a thick, dense layer of coconut cream.
2. Scoop the thick cream into a bowl, add a dash of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoon maple syrup.
3. Whip on high until light and fluffy.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1. Combine all ingredients together in a high speed blender. Blend on high until perfectly smooth. If you're not using a high speed blender such as a Vitamix, refer to the recipe notes.
2. Taste and adjust the sweetness as necessary with maple syrup, molasses or other natural vegan sweetener.
3. If you want this to be an ultra-thick and creamy frozen treat, pour the entire smoothie into a bowl and chill it in the freezer. Stir it up every 20 minutes or so, scraping down the sides of the bowl until it reaches your desired thickness. If you leave it in there too long you might need to re-blend it with a little extra nondairy milk.

Assembling the Parfait

1. In 2 small jars or glasses, start with a thick layer of pumpkin pie smoothie (about ¼ of the smoothie in each jar.)
2. Add a big dollop of coconut whip.
3. Add about ¼ cup of granola.
4. Top with another thick layer of smoothie (this should finish off the rest of the smoothie.)
5. Sprinkle with more granola, add a BIG dollop of coconut whip and a dash of cinnamon.

---

Notes

For frozen pumpkin: Spoon pumpkin purée into ice cubes trays and freeze. You only need about 6 frozen pumpkin cubes for this recipe.If you're not using a high-speed blender like the Vitamix, your blender may struggle to blend frozen pumpkin. You don't need to use frozen pumpkin, the smoothie will be thick enough for a parfait either way. If you'd still like to try using frozen pumpkin, let it thaw for 20 minutes or so at room temperature to soften up a little bit.For this parfait I used Wild Roots Wholesome Hemp Granola and it holds up really well in this recipe. I left 2 of these parfaits in the fridge for 5+ hours and the granola softened slightly but didn't become soggy.

The post Healthy Pumpkin Pie Parfait w/ Coconut Whip appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Things have been a little hectic around here lately, and here's why:

• an impulsive decision to adopt a minimalist lifestyle
  (read: diving in head first and essentially turning our house upside down)
• a much anticipated visit from family next week
  (a.k.a chaotically cleaning our house top-to-bottom)
• painting our very-white bathroom a deep maroon colour before our visitors arrive
  (read: procrastinating said painting job until... hmm, let's see... 4 days before they arrive!)

Originally we'd planned on writing one “welcome to summer” type of post but as we got excited about new ideas the job just seemed to keep growing larger and larger. So we decided to break the post into multiple parts and post one part each day, thus the  Vegan Summer Series!

Today is Part 1: A recipe that is the embodiment of summer.

Hint: Iced coffee only waaay better.

What are 3 classic flavour combinations that are always guaranteed to be a hit?

1. Banana + Peanut butter
2. Peanut butter + Chocolate
3. Chocolate + Coffee

Yep, tried-and-true always delicious. So, logically that has to mean that the ULTIMATE fusion of flavours would be Coffee + Chocolate + Banana + Peanut Butter, right?

The answer is a big YES. Just whip up this decadent PB & Banana Iced Mocha and see for yourself!

So why is this combination especially well-suited for smoothie form? In one word: Synergy.

Coffee and chocolate offer multiple sources of caffeine, while sugars from the banana provide a quick boost of energy. Plant proteins in the peanut butter and soy milk help keep you feeling upbeat and energized for longer.

In addition, blending helps to speed up nutrient absorption ensuring that you'll be fueling your body with loads of healthy vitamins and minerals.

What does this mean for you? Well, not only will you be buzzing with energy sooner, you'll also be diminishing the crash that can follow caffeine consumption. I think this could be the best and most functional breakfast ever!

This mocha smoothie is:

• 100% vegan
• low in saturated fat
• high in protein
• naturally sweetened
• cheaper & healthier & more energizing than store-bought iced mochas

To achieve that perfect frosty, creamy texture, you'll have to do a little bit of prep ahead of time. You'll need a batch of iced coffee cubes (freeze a fresh batch of strongly brewed coffee in an ice cube tray) and 2 frozen bananas. Don't have any frozen bananas on hand? Check out our tutorial: How to Prep and Freeze Fresh Fruit {step-by-step tutorial}

I hope you love this summer smoothie as much as I do! That's it for Part 1 - Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Vegan Summer Series, coming soon!

PB & Banana Iced Mocha

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Brittany | i love vegan
• Yield: 2
• Category: Smoothie
• Cuisine: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (use vanilla for extra sweetness)
• 1 cup iced coffee cubes
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp cacao nibs
• 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp natural peanut butter

---

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

---

The post PB & Banana Iced Mocha appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

Q&A Resource: Question #1

I've recently made the transition to veganism but I haven't been paying much attention to my nutrition. I've begun to notice some hair loss and I'm starting to feel a little concerned. Any advice?

Poor diet can certainly have an effect on the condition of your hair and skin, and nutritional deficiencies are a common cause of hair loss. If your hair loss is caused by a nutrient deficiency, a simple blood test could help pinpoint the exact nutrient(s) you're lacking, so it's a good idea to start by visiting your doctor. Hair loss can have other causes too, such as a thyroid condition, a side effect of some medications, or another more serious medical condition. Some medications can lead to temporary or permanent hair loss. Medications used for birth control, acne, blood pressure, diabetes, hormone therapy, and steroids can all contribute to hair loss.

If your hair loss is caused by a nutrient deficiency, you can begin to fix the issue by looking at your diet or considering supplementation.

Nutrition

If you've paid a visit to your doctor to rule out the possibility of a medical condition your next step is to take a look at your diet.

Poor nutrition and inadequate calorie consumption are huge factors in overall hair health - it is so important that you're eating enough. Make sure that you're consuming enough calories to fuel your body and your daily activities. If you're eating enough, you'll be at a much lower risk for specific nutrient deficiencies.

If fueling your body properly is something you struggle with, try adding more high fat, calorie dense foods to your diet. Dark chocolate, avocado, peanut butter, almond butter, walnuts, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hemp hearts, ground flax seed, coconut oil, and olive oil are all great foods to boost overall calorie consumption.

A vegan diet that supports healthy hair growth contains a wide variety of plant-based foods from every food group. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, non-gmo soy (like tofu, edamame, and soy milk), nuts and seeds. Eating this way will ensure that you're consuming enough protein, fibre, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals, all which are essential to healthy hair.

For more information on nutrition, visit our resource, Nutrition and the Vegan Diet.

If you often feel as though your diet is lacking, you may want to consider supplementation.

Healthy Hair Smoothie Bowl Recipe #1

Raspberry Mango Smoothie Bowl

Blend together:

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 cup frozen mango
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

Top with:

• ½ cup granola
• ⅓ cup fresh berries
• 1 tablespoon raw pumpkin seeds

16g protein | 142% RDI vitamin C | 45% RDI iron | 16% RDI zinc

Supplements

If you're aren't very good about keeping your nutrition balanced, I would suggest finding a good multi-vitamin. A multi-vitamin can provide that extra feeling of insurance that you won't be missing any nutrients. I use this one, made specifically for vegans:

Vegan One Multiple Once Daily VegLife 60 Tabs - $7.96

This vegan multi-vitamin is really affordable at about $0.23 per day. They also have specialized versions for children, women, and men. Veglife has lots of other single nutrient vegan supplements too. I buy mine from The Better Health Store.

Looking for vegan multi-vitamins can be a little difficult as you have to watch out for sneaky ingredients like gelatin, Vitamin D3 (you want D2, sourced from plants), as well as certain varieties of vitamin A and calcium. This is why I like to choose a specifically vegan multi-vitamin, they're usually made with the nutritional needs of vegans in mind and are guaranteed to contain no animal products! DEVA Vegan Multivitamins are another popular choice among vegans, they have a basic once a day tablet (Deva Vegan Vitamins Daily Multivitamin & Mineral Supplement) and a tiny tablet version if you dislike taking vitamins (like me!). (Deva - Vegan Tiny Tablets Multivitamin Mineral Supplement)

Healthy Hair Smoothie Bowl Recipe #2

Dark Chocolate, PB & Banana Smoothie Bowl

Blend together:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
• 1 ripe banana, frozen
• 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips
• ½ tablespoon cocoa

Top with:

• ½ cup granola
• ½ banana, sliced
• 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips, roughly chopped
• a drizzle of natural peanut butter

13g protein | 25% RDI vitamin C | 23% RDI iron | 16% RDI zinc

Nutrient Deficiencies

Specific nutrients that play a big role in hair health include protein, iron, zinc, and biotin. Biotin deficiencies are rare but can have a devastating effect on your hair.

Iron and protein are the most common deficiencies that contribute to hair loss. One thing to keep in mind about iron is that even if you're technically eating enough of the mineral (according to your RDI), your body may not be metabolizing it well enough to prevent a deficiency.

There are many ways that you can affect the way your body absorbs iron:

• Cook in stainless steel or cast-iron cookware
• Consume iron containing foods with vitamin C containing foods
• Eat sprouted grains and seeds (buy sprouted grain breads over regular whole wheat/whole grain)
• Soak dried beans before cooking
• Choose roasted nuts over raw nuts
• Choose fermented foods (miso, soy/coconut/almond yogurts, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, tempeh, kimchi)

Don't rely on leafy greens like spinach for iron. While they are high in iron, they're also high in oxalates which inhibits iron absorption. This can be helped by consuming foods rich in vitamin C alongside of iron rich foods.

Here's a list of foods high in different nutrients important to healthy hair (iron, zinc, vitamin c, protein, and healthy fats.) Try to incorporate more of them into your diet whenever possible.

Foods High in Healthy Hair Nutrients

• berries
• nuts & nut butters
• swiss chard
• carrots
• pumpkin seeds
• fortified cereals and oats
• oatmeal
• dark chocolate and cocoa
• molasses
• non-gmo tofu
• dried apricots
• potatoes
• tempeh
• beans
• lentils
• tahini
• sunflower seeds
• wheat germ
• mushrooms
• spinach
• broccoli
• quinoa
• soy milk
• vegan protein powders

One of the best ways to pack a whole bunch of these foods into one meal is through smoothies and smoothie bowls. You can adjust the ingredients and toppings to your preferences and load up on all the nutrients that are essential to strong, shiny, healthy hair. Remember that good nutrition works slowly from the inside out, the results of a consistent healthy lifestyle can make a huge difference in the condition of your hair, as well as your overall health and well-being.

The post Raspberry Mango and Chocolate PB & Banana Smoothie Bowls appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.

This Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie is the perfect morning pick-me-up to get the day started off right. The mix of natural sugars, vitamins, and minerals from the banana + mango + spinach combo really help to perk you up while the healthy fats and protein from the pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts keep you feeling satiated.

I used to be a total oatmeal girl when it came to breakfast. If you follow Garden of Vegan on tumblr, you might remember that I ate oatmeal all the time, like pretty much every single day.

While I still love oatmeal, for some reason I just don't have much of an appetite first thing in the morning anymore. Since skipping breakfast is simply not an option for me (it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll be starving and grumpy 2 hours later) green smoothies have become my everyday go-to breakfast. Green smoothies are seriously the perfect early breakfast meal.

Not only has this Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie saved my breakfasts, they've also taken the place of my morning caffeine addiction. I used to drink 1-2 cups of coffee with my breakfast every morning. But now I've found that this green smoothie gives me the same sort of boost that caffeine does, without any negative side effects.

I absolutely love having a big green smoothie first thing in the morning, it makes me feel awake and energized for the day without the crash a couple of hours later. I mean, how can you not feel good after downing 2+ servings of fruits and vegetables before 10am? Not to mention the loads of wonderful nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Another awesome thing about green smoothies? They don't have to be all about fruits and vegetables. Adding other foods like nuts, seeds, and grains creates a smoothie that can hold it's own as a meal and is truly satisfying. Pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts add a nice boost of protein and fat to this quick and healthy breakfast. Give it a try and see how you feel!

🥬 Nutrition

Almond milk: Unfortified almond milk is a good source of vitamin E & calcium, many varieties are often fortified with vitamins A, D, & B12, riboflavin, & zinc.

Banana: A great source of vitamin B6, bananas also contain moderate amounts of potassium, vitamin C, and manganese.

Mango: High in vitamin C & A and contains moderate amounts of vitamins E, K, B6 & B9 in addition to potassium and copper.

Baby spinach: Loaded with vitamin K (1 cup provides over 180% of your recommended daily intake) as well as vitamins A & C.

Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein, iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium.

Hemp hearts: Packed with high quality protein and a great source of essential fatty acids.

Source: nutritiondata.self.com and wikipedia.org

🧾 Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened almond milk
• 1 ripe banana, frozen
• ½ cup (125 ml) chopped mango, frozen
• 1-2 large handfuls of baby spinach
• ¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds (Pepita seeds)
• 2 tablespoon (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
• optional: ½ scoop (approx. 30ml) vanilla protein powder + ¼ cup (60ml) water

Supplies: a blender or an immersion blender + tumbler

Dietary Requirements: Gluten free, Soy free, Nut free option, No sugar added, Raw

🔪 Directions

In a blender (or large tumbler if you're using an immersion blender) layer the spinach, banana, mango, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts. Add the almond milk and blend until smooth. I use a cheap 15$ immersion blender and I blend this smoothie for about 2 minutes (long enough to blend the pumpkin seeds really really smooth.) This recipe makes 1 large smoothie (2 cups - 500ml).

🔀 Substitutions

For a nut free option, substitute the almond milk with a certified nut free oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.

For a higher protein option: Add a scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder and/or substitute the almond milk with a high protein non-dairy milk such as soy or hemp milk. This smoothie contains approx. 13g of protein when made with almond milk, substituting it with soy milk will add an additional 6g of protein. Adding protein powder will add about 6-15g of protein (depending on the brand and amount of protein powder you use.)

To make a variation of this green smoothie without banana, substitute the banana with ⅔ cup of frozen mango or frozen peaches.

As with any smoothie recipe, feel free to experiment with the ingredients.

When it comes to smoothies there's rarely a mistake that you couldn't fix by playing around with the ratios a little bit. If your smoothie's too thin, add more frozen fruit. If it's too thick, add more liquid.

If it's too sweet, add a splash of water. If not sweet enough, blend in a couple of pitted dates or your favourite natural sweetener. Happy blending!

Love smoothies? Here are some of our favourites: The Best Green Smoothie, Carrot Sunshine Smoothie, and our PB & Banana Iced Mocha Smoothie.

📖 Recipe

Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie

★★★★★ 4.9 from 13 reviews

• Author: Brittany Mueller
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2 cups
• Category: Smoothie, Breakfast, Snack, Pre/Post Workout
• Method: Blending
• Cuisine: Vegan
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This green smoothie is the perfect morning pick-me-up to get the day started off right. The mix of natural sugars, vitamins, and minerals from the banana + mango + spinach combo really help to perk you up while the healthy fats and protein from the pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts keep you feeling satiated.

---

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened almond milk
• 1 ripe banana, frozen
• ½ cup (125 ml) chopped mango, frozen
• 1-2 large handfuls of baby spinach
• ¼ cup (60 ml) pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds)
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
• optional: ½ scoop (approx. 30ml) vanilla protein powder + ¼ cup (60ml) water

---

Instructions

1. In a blender (or large tumbler if you’re using an immersion blender) layer the spinach, banana, mango, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts. Add the almond milk and blend until the pumpkin seeds are really really smooth. 
2. This recipe makes 1 large smoothie (2 cups - 500ml).

---

Notes

For a nut free option, substitute the almond milk with a certified nut free oat milk, rice milk, hemp milk, soy milk, or coconut milk.

For a higher protein option: Add a scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder and/or substitute the almond milk with a high protein non-dairy milk such as soy or hemp milk. This smoothie contains approx. 13g of protein when made with almond milk, substituting it with soy milk will add an additional 6g of protein. Adding protein powder will add about 6-15g of protein (depending on the brand and amount of protein powder you use.)

To make a variation of this smoothie without banana, substitute the banana with ⅔ cup of frozen mango or frozen peaches.

Keywords: green smoothie

The post Green Protein Power Breakfast Smoothie appeared first on I LOVE VEGAN.