Recommendation (Restaurant) - Juice Nation

Juice Nation is a juice and organic foods shop in the City of Solana Beach, right on Highway 101 and just a block from the beach.  While looking for good places to get a green smoothie, I happened upon Juice Nation and couldn't be happier that I did.  Delicious smoothies.  Organic.  For anyone with nut allergies or intolerance, make sure to ask for a substitute for their smoothie base (a nut milk made in-house).

Click here for the link to the Juice Nation website.

The Goods (Recipe) - Tropical Chai Smoothie

I found a great little juice bar/take-a-way food place in Solana Beach, CA, called Juice Nation, while looking for lunch options close to my office.  Among the smoothies on their menu was a Tropical Chai Chia Smoothie, which had a much different flavor than any other smoothie I tried.  The recipe below is my version of a this smoothie.   

½ c. frozen mango

½. c. pineapple

2 c. coconut water (or water)

2 c. spinach (or kale)

½-inch slice of fresh ginger root

2 tbls. Flax seed

6 dates

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. fennel seed

1/8 tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp ground clove

(1) Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender until thoroughly incorporated.

Note that you can use all fresh fruit.  In that case, replace 1/2 c. of the coconut water (or water) with ice.