June 2, 2011

Morning Smoothie

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My new habit is eating a morning smoothie. I even got J into it.

It's a fresh, easy, delicious way to start the day. It may sound cliche, but I'm always trying to find easy ways to get more vegetables and fruits into our diets, and smoothies are a great one.
I also love them because they're so adaptable. You can add lots of different things - fruit, yogurt, any kind of milk, juice, vegetables (though I haven't tried this yet), ground flax seeds, nut butter etc.

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Here's how I'm making mine these days:

I ripe banana
About 1/2 cup frozen fruit (we usually use berries)
About 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
a few spoonfuls yogurt
Enough milk or liquid to make it smooth and drinkable

Blend it up and enjoy!

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We bought a new immersion blender recently, with a more powerful motor, so it makes this really easy. I find the combination of ripe banana and yogurt, plus some frozen fruit, makes the perfect consistency: thick enough, creamy and frothy. I always use plain yogurt (my fave) and I never add sugar - the fruit is sweet enough.

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I've been buying Fairwinds Farm goat milk at the Italian Centre and using that in my smoothie. I tasted it on its own and was surprised to find it tasted just like cow's milk to me - no funky sharp taste like most goat's cheese and yogurt has. It blends up into a creamier mix than our other standby, almond milk, but almond milk makes the smoothie a bit sweeter. The goat milk is expensive, but it's really great to have on hand for recipes that just don't work as well without dairy.

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To last through the morning without getting too hungry, I usually combine my smoothie with a bowl of whole-grain cereal with milk and raisins, or some gluten-free toast with peanut butter or avocado. Yup, I like a hearty breakfast.

What do you like in your smoothies? Do you add vegetables? Let me know, I'd love some other ideas!

8 comments:

Melanie said...

spirulina!
and pea protein.

this makes me want a smoothie right flipping now.

Anne said...

YUMMMM! Tell more about the immersion blender....

Martha said...

Cashews...and mango. I made smoothies yesterday here. I have that same Bob's ground flax seed... I use it mostly in pancakes!

Martha said...

I soak the cashews in water first.

Sherri and Gerry said...

yes, spirulina. I rarely add milk, just fruit and water, but the milk will give you more protein. I have made some smoothies with just spir & carrots/celery & water, also yummy.

amette said...

I tried this one today -- http://jenloveskev.com/2011/05/31/marathons-smoothies-and-lnd/ -- my first green smoothie ever! I think I need to tweak it, because it is NOT creamy. I'll probably add some yogurt next time and see what it's like. Great flavours, though!

Maki said...

I love the idea of smoothies but I'm one of those person's who like to actually chew something for my meal. Whenever I've had smoothies or shakes for breakfast or otherwise, I feel unsatieted, though full. Strange.

BTW: love the header picture!

Anonymous said...

A really easy way to start adding veggies to your smoothie is baby spinach - its packed full of good stuff and you can't even taste it! (If you don't believe me, do what I did....start with a few leafs and build up to a handful or two). It will change the color of the smoothie to a nice bright green, (unless you use blueberries).

I also recommend substituting half of your flax with chia (or salba...same thing, one is generic and therefore cheaper).

I'm an almond milk user, so i'm excited to try goat milk :)