Winter Blues Cabin Fever Smoothie

I have the February blahs big time. Detoxing might be part of it. Like a lot of people I decided to clean up my food act after some holiday indulgence. Lack of light is probably contributing as well. In the north we are short on sunlight in the winter months in addition to spending most of our time in doors when the -40c weather hits which can leave a lot of people SAD (seasonal effective disorder) and grumpy - me included.
Cabin fever is a common northern saying for the half crazed folks who wander out of the isolation of their cabins into town in the spring after making it through another long dark cold winter. So as a nod to that I like to call this smoothie my Cabin Fever Smoothie :)

 Cabin Fever Smoothie (magnesium-rich)
(magnesium rich foods help to raise serotonin levels - low levels can contribute to the blues)

• 3T Powdered Raw Cacoa
• 1C Coconut Milk (Not the kind in the cans which is high in fat - I use the So Delicious unsweetened kind which is more of a milk than a heavy cream you get from the canned kind) 
• 1/4 T of Cinnamon
• 1 Large Kale Leaf (take out the woody stem)
• 1 Medium bunch of Parsley
• 1T of Cashew Butter or 1T of Coconut Butter
•  1 Banana
• 1/2 C frozen cranberries

Blend all together in a high speed blender I know, I know it looks very "green" but, trust me it is delish. It tastes like bananas, chocolate and coconut. Give it a try if you are feeling down and let me know if it works for you!

* NOTE: foods rich in the hormone melatonin, tend to decrease serotonin levels (magnesium increases serotonin). Some people supplement with melatonin when they are having problems sleeping (me included) so keep an eye on this if you are feeling down. I'll write a bit more about serotonin, melatonin and feel good foods in my next post.