Beets aren’t just for slicing and borscht. The work wonderfully in many raw smoothies, and pair brilliantly with both berries and fresh greens to make some winning Live Green Smoothie combinations!

Rich in minerals, antioxidants, and the valuable phytonutrients that deep pigmentation gives clue to, this is a beautiful smoothie to give you energy and make you feel deeply nourished.

I’ve left the greens out of these photos, becase we all know what happens when we mix reds and greens (brown!), but don’t leave the greens out when you make this! This is the kind of energy drink you simply can’t buy at any store… it’s like drinking a rich transfusion that instantly revitalizes your blood.

Vampires never had it so good.

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What a beautiful drink. Just looking at this smoothie in your glass, you know it has to be good for you… especially your blood.

Whip this one up on Valentine’s Day… or give to your kids and tell them to pretend they’re vampires.

Made from fresh beets and mangoes, with a bit of fresh OJ, you can also add some fresh baby spinach without modifying the flavor. I left it out for the purpose of photographing, but measurements are included in the recipe, and turning the fuschia into a darker brown by adding the greens is worth doing… this Live Green Smoothie is health-in-a-glass. And delicious!

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In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), beets are used to strengthen “spleen” energy, which enhances the ability to produce healthy blood and vital “chi”… certainly important for feeling well-being and energy. It’s the foods with earthy-sweet flavors that are said to enhance this quality, and beets rule this realm with their fabulous earthiness and natural sweetness.

In the Western paradigm of health and nutrition, beets are packed with folate (the equivalent of folic acid, one of the B vitamins). Folate is necessary for healthy cell development, is famously supplemented to pregnant mothers, is known for protecting the DNA in the cervix against virus or cancer, and enhances the production of serotonin so can be an aid to emotional health and well-being.

I just like the grounding quality of adding beets to my smoothies in general. And with this recipe, they take the starring role.

I’ve used golden beets, for their milder flavor. And they’re just so dang sunny when you cut into them… just couldn’t resist.

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Last Day for $20 Savings on my LGS Daily Recipe magazine…

The post below was originally published on my “This Raw Life” blog on November 29, 2009: Angela’s “Shamanic Juju” Raw Smoothie (A Great Way to Enjoy Both Medicinal and Entheogenic Mushrooms)

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The Magical World of Mushrooms

Amongst raw food enthusiasts there is a growing appreciation for the healing and enlivening power of medicinal mushrooms. I am simply fascinated by this topic, and can’t say I’ve even really scratched the surface of it — I’ve barely breathed upon it, more like. But it’s a topic I have begun to research, and part of that research (since I’m very much about applicable, practicable truths rather than intellectual theory) includes the enjoyment and exploration of the qualities that mushrooms impart when you actually eat them.

I recall using some fresh shitake mushrooms earlier this year to make a Warm Live Mushroom Soup, and after just one bowl I could feel my blood change. I could feel it palpably different, coursing through my body as if with remarkably renewed vitality and clarity, and the experience really highlighted to me the potential in mushrooms which I’d heard so much about but hadn’t yet explored in any significant way.

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David Wolfe’s Top 5 Medicinal Mushrooms

David Wolfe is a huge advocate of medicinal mushrooms, especially those which grow on trees. The top five medicinal tree mushrooms which he recommends for longevity, immune system support, nervous system health, skin, joint health, and improved memory are:

1. Reishi (King of the Mushrooms)
2. Maitake (The Hen of the Woods)
3. Shitake
4. Coriolus (The Cloud Mushroom)
5. Agaricus

I have experience with Reishi, Shitake, and Cordyceps (not a tree mushroom), and have heard good things about Chaga but have not yet tried it. I’ve heard that some of the best Reishis are within spitting distance of where I live, across the border into New York state, and have set the intention of connecting with some good mushroom trackers to learn how to identify and harvest them.

One day soon I guarantee you’ll come across a recipe on my LGS site for a great salad to make with freshly harvest Reishi.

Here’s David Wolfe giving his own brief intro into the world of medicinal mushrooms:

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Entheogenic Mushrooms

There are some mushrooms that have been used for ages, particularly by indigenous shamans, to expand awareness and to transcend the limits of the normal waking mind. Mushrooms that open these portals of the mind are called “entheogenic”, with Psilocybin being the entheogenic mycophile’s first choice.

Amongst some cultures, Psilocybin are viewed as sacred gifts from nature, and are called “los niños” (the little children) referring to the “mushroom spirits” which gift the taker with helpful visions into both personal and cosmic reality.

Amongst shamans with an intimate relationship with “los niños” is one of the grandmothers on the International Council of 13 Grandmothers, a healer from the Mexico who works with Psilocybin and assists individuals and groups through healing and transformational journeys using the mushroom.

These amazing 13 indigenous grandmothers have so impressed me that I’m currently working with a group of women in New Jersey to coordinate a public showing of the documentary film “The Next 7 Generations”, about their extraordinary story of coming together and traveling to each others’ homes. Another of the grandmothers is a healer in the jungles of Brazil, working with Ayahuasca as an agent of healing. Fascinating women…

Terrence McKenna is a famous entheogenist with a rich library of personal experience on the subject. Here is the first of a series of videos where he is speaking about the power and significance of Psilocybin:

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Angela’s “Shamanic Juju” Raw Smoothie

(A Great Way to Enjoy Both Medicinal and Entheogenic Mushrooms)

There are no doubt many ways to take both medicinal and entheogenic mushrooms — to simple chew them straight, make into soups and slice into broths, or to dry them and take in capsules — but I thought a rich, earthy, psychedelic raw smoothie bursting with a rainbow of life-energy might be one great addition to a mycophile’s recipe library!

• 3 mangoes, peeled and pitted
• 2 organic lemons
• 3 small-medium beets (peel if not organic)
• 4 organic apples
• your mushrooms of choice

Add the mangoes to your blender.

Juice the beets and pour into the blender. Then juice the lemons whole, including the peels, and then the apples. Pour this fresh juice into the blender. You won’t be able to add all of the apple-lemon juice, so enjoy whatever’s left over as a refreshing lemonade to whet your appetite for the mushrooms.

Add the mushrooms and blend until well-combined. Drink as-is, or pour over ice. Enjoy all at once, or spread it out over a certain time period, as desired.

Drink responsibly… and enjoy your Shamanic Juju!