Smoothies……breakfast of champions

Smoothies are a popular and trendy snack, sometimes a meal replacement and once in awhile an opportunity to sneak every conceivable healthy nutrient into a power packed breakfast for a hard working husband. I am not sure when our ritual began but our morning smoothies have become our “empty nesters” breakfast of champions. They have evolved from delicious and refreshing fruit drinks to our current “as long as my drink does not look GREEN you can put anything in it that is good for me” and that is how our creative healthy smoothie tradition began. I usually create as I go each morning but since I am trying to teach my girls and now you, as our followers, the “HOW TO” behind my creations, I decided to actually measure everything this morning. As I was carefully measuring out the first ingredient, the Acai juice, the carton tipped a bit and as I reached for it, I spilled Acai juice all over the kitchen, down the cupboards, on my feet and all over the floor. After I cleaned up the mess I proceeded to complete the measuring of each ingredient and here is the result….I use a Vitamix but a heavy duty blender will work as well.

This recipe makes 4 cups (enough for 2-3 people depending on serving size) so adjust according to your need.

VERY HEALTHY SMOOTHIE
 
1 cup water
1/2 cup Acai or POM juice (you can use orange, pineapple or any other kind of pure fruit juice )
1 banana
1-2 Tbs chia seed (ground or whole seeds)
2 Tbs hemp protein or wheat germ or ground flax seed (hemp is my newest additive)
2 Tbs vanilla protein powder (I use Proflex powder that I order from Melaleuca.com)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (can be used instead of or in addition to protein powder)
1-2 Tbs almond or natural peanut butter (this is one ingredient my husband will NOT let me add)
1 Tbs coconut oil (optional)
1-2 cups spinach and baby kale (see note below)
1 large carrot
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup frozen berry mix
1 cup ice or more as needed to blend to the consistency you prefer

 Place all ingredients in an 8 cup blender container in order listed. Blend on low for 20-30 seconds and then stir and add water or ice as needed and continue blending 1-2 minutes, increasing speed until desired consistency is created.

Note: My oldest daughter, Rachel, gave me a wonderful tip. She makes veggie ice cubes to be used each morning in her smoothies in place of the 1-2 cups of kale/spinach. Check back next week when she shares her recipe on our blog and discusses more uses for these fantastic veggie ice cubes.

Do you have any secret recipes or creative ways to add nutrients to your favorite food items?

                                         

                                           

To learn more about superfoods and their benefits you can read the article “11 Superfoods You Should Know About” in Real Simple www.realsimple.com (http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/superfoods-00100000096401/index.html)

Kerry