Our (almost) 1,000 calorie smoothie recipe.

Justin always had a crazy fast metabolism, but, ALS speeds that up since your muscles are working so hard to survive and so you need even more calories to sustain your weight. He could pound an entire pizza in college or eat 2 pounds of steak easy. So, when doctors told him to pack on the calories by eating whatever he could stomach I think I saw him smile a little and secretly say "now this part, I can do!"

He is known on the streets of Italy as always having TWO gelatos in his hands at all times!

From Day 1, we were told that the biggest life-saving asset would be a matter of how much weight we can keep on Justin. We were told to eat ice cream, eat fast food, eat ANYTHING with max calories. We were discouraged from strenuous exercise and cautioned not to follow fad diets like paleo, keto or low-carb, as promising as they sounded.

We listened to some of this advice, but definitely tweaked it over the years to make it work for our crew depending on the season and Justin's need.

The first few years we definitely focused on low-inflammatory, high-quality protein, and fatty foods... I was making SO MANY "from scratch" staples like waffles, tortillas, protein balls etc. that it felt like I took on a part time job! Learning a new way of "eating" is also time-consuming, expensive and exhausting, but we felt like nutrition was a priority we wanted to focus on.

It hasn't been completely sustainable as symptoms have become more demanding of my time and Justin's taste buds and gag reflexes have changed, and so our menu has shifted.

Currently, we try to prioritize quality for produce, dairy and meat, and choose nutrient dense/high caloric foods whenever possible. We also try to limit sugar, but quite honestly Justin would eat a cheeseburger or steak over a cannoli any day (not me!). Give me all the sweets!

We would both call ourselves foodies, and loved going to restaurants and trying new food when we travelled. So, I'm always trying out new recipes that are nutritious and delicious. We have to be careful with certain textures and avoid foods with rough edges or crusty tops, anything too chewy, stringy, or hard ... our options have become quite limited but a staple we wanted to share is our smoothie recipe which we try to get in every day between meals.

This packs in the extra calories, keeps his blood sugar stable, and is tasty, and is nutrient dense!

ALS HIGH CALORIE SMOOTHIE RECIPE:

1-2 scoops protein powder (we like Vanilla Kachava or Organic Vanilla Orgain)

1-2 scoops of Collagen peptides

2 Tbsp of Chia seeds

2 Tbsp of Hemp seeds

2 Tbsp of TAG (or any supplemental powders we're using at the time)

1 handful of organic spinach

2 Tbsp cup of coconut cream out of can

1 frozen banana

15Ml of Qunol Liquid Tumeric

2 Tbsp of organic cold-pressed Avocado oil

1 cup of organic frozen mixed berries

Add as much coconut water as necessary to get to the consistency you like!

Just making this smoothie every day can be time-consuming! One way we have made the smoothie making process more efficient is by pre-mixing the protein powder, seeds, and AKG and putting them in these cute containers.

Some friends also upgraded our blender to a Vitamix to make the blending more consistent and smooth which has worked wonderfully for us!

We hope you enjoy it and that it helps add HEALTHY calories to your journey!

Good food + good people + good setting is kinda our favorite thing ever.

Rachel's creperie, Luca Restaurant, Morocco, Morrocco, La Giostra in Florence, La Carraia Gelato in Florence

Save this recipe card below!!