Smoothies! Can we talk about them for a minute?
I have this weird and possibly annoying personality trait that requires that I share, nay, SHOUT FROM THE ROOFTOPS, when I discover something eye-opening or life-changing or otherwise wonderful. So naturally, I feel the need to share my smoothie obsession with you in hopes that you might experience this eye-opening, life-changing wonderfulness too.
I am one of those many people out there in the world who has a hard time eating enough fruits and vegetables because, well, I just tend to prefer the salty crunchy snacks and things like bread and cereal and, you know, stuff that does basically nothing for your health except keep you alive and slogging through every day, never feeling your best and certainly never feeding your body the best. Sound familiar?
A couple months ago I decided to start replacing breakfast with a nutrient packed smoothie, mainly because I wanted to lose the 3-4 pounds I had gained and I thought this would be a great way to start each day on the right track.
Now fast forward two months, and I am STILL having my daily morning smoothie, and I can honestly say they've kinda changed my life a little (a wee bit dramatic, but true!). Just this simple act of starting my day on the right foot helps set the tone for the rest of the day, and of course the nutrient-dense salad-in-a-glass itself gives me this punch of energy and overall motivation to continue clean, fresh eating throughout the rest of the day. I lost those few pounds, saw great improvements in my skin and moods, and generally feel much lighter and like my body is working at top capacity instead of always plugging away on its lowest setting.
The wonderful thing about smoothies is that they incorporate the finest, freshest ingredients, and there is literally no end to the variety you can enjoy each day. All of my smoothies are "green" in that they include a nice handful of some type of leafy greens, but they are sweet and easy to enjoy because they also incorporate delicious fruits and natural sweeteners like honey or agave nectar. Depending which fruits you throw in on a given day, your smoothie may be more of a sludge color then a pretty green like in the first above photo, but sludge-color or no sludge-color, it will still be delicious and nutritious and you'll be doing your body a huge favor.
While smoothies are definitely filling, you'll be hungry again a couple hours after breakfast, so have some healthy snacks planned to get you through to lunch. My current favorite mid-morning snacks are:
+ Whole grain toast with smashed avocado and sea salt
+ A handful of dried figs
+ A handful of raw nuts like almonds or walnuts, with a little fresh or dried fruit
+ A healthy muffin
+ A small bowl of muesli or granola with milk or yogurt
+ A small bowl of healthy cereal
As for smoothie recipes themselves, there are literally endless ones you can find on Pinterest and other sites (here's a whole slew of them!), but I find that this is a pretty fool-proof group of measurements you can use to make one single smoothie that fills a mason jar:
1 cup of coconut water or milk-of-your-choice. I rotate between unsweetened vanilla almond milk or rice milk and coconut water
1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit
1/2 frozen banana or 1/2 small avocado
1/4 cup yogurt (I prefer vanilla Greek yogurt for protein content)
Sweetener to taste: Honey, agave nectar, stevia, chopped dates (I put about 2 tsp of honey in each of my smoothies)
1 to 2 Add-ons:
Bee pollen (1 tsp)
Chia Seeds (1 TBS)
Hemp seeds (1.5 TBS)
Ground Flax: (2 TBS)
Ground Cacao or Cacao Nibs (1 TBS)
nut butter
cinnamon
turmeric
vanilla
ginger
..or any number of other super foods and power-packed ingredients you can learn about online and purchase at health food stores or more health-conscious grocery stores!
Here's a great graphic I found on HERE that basically illustrates what I just wrote above:
It's important to remember that you really can't mess up a smoothie, so don't be intimidated. Some will be thicker than others, some will be thinner than others, so just adjust accordingly if needed (add ice, frozen fruit, or yogurt to thicken, or add water/milk to thin). I think it's more enjoyable to drink them with a straw, so have some on hand!
Here's my current favorite smoothie recipe, since peaches are so delicious and in-season right now!
Peach & Greens Smoothie
3/4 cup coconut water
1/2 cup ice
1 whole, very ripe peach cut into chunks (de-pitted, of course). I prefer it un-frozen because it's more flavorful
1/2 frozen banana
1 packed cup or handful of spinach (or Kale or Collards)
2 tsp honey
1 TBS chia seeds
1 tsp bee pollen
Blend in a blender and enjoy :)
You'll never waste fruit again - just freeze anything you have that's about to be over-ripe, and use it in your next smoothie!
DO IT! :)
