The Easy Green, or Breakfast Time Is Smoothie Time

So, per the last post, this is a continuation of my Whole30 recipe series. This one is super simple, and, in all honesty, if you can't come up with six or seven smoothie recipes off the top of your head, I am disappointed. The possibilities are endless.

superskinnyme.com, whose name I abhor, has a whole post about how to build a smoothie.

If you go to Pinterest and type in smoothie, you get a vast sea of smoothie recipes.

They're everywhere, really. So even if you can't think of six recipes off the top of your head (where's your imagination?) there are plenty of places to go to find some killer ideas.

http://www.superskinnyme.com/how-to-make-a-smoothie.html

 I like two different types of smoothies:

1) A "Filling Smoothie" that's packed with protein in the form of nut butter, yogurt, egg yolks, or milk, or...

A Filling Smoothie with banana, strawberries, almond butter, yogurt, and milk

2) A "Refreshing Smoothie" that's got a lighter profile and includes things like green tea, fruit juice, or coconut water.

A Refreshing Smoothie with spinach, strawberry, banana, and coconut water.

I tend to like thicker smoothies, so I like using more frozen fruit than fresh. If I know I want a smoothie for breakfast, I usually pop one or two bananas in the freezer the night before so I have a nice base for creating a smoothie the next morning. I also love the big bags of organic frozen fruit you can find at Costco. (On our last trip, we found 4 lbs. of organic, whole strawberries for, I think, $10!)

This smoothie recipe came from finding the liquid base actually. We recently took a trip to Whole Foods and decided to have lunch there. (Their grilled rosemary, red pepper chicken thighs from the hot line is killer and paleo. Score!) Wee One picked out what he wanted and Husband picked out some pizza, then we realized we needed drinks. Usually, I'd go for one of the various coffee drinks, a kombucha (which I hate the taste of, but like the health benefits), or a--you guessed it--smoothie. This time around though, I went for a coconut water.

Now, I'd had coconut water before, a plain one, and thought it tasted something like salty, sweat-covered feet. And that's really putting it very lightly. I was not a fan. At all. But I saw this brand and remembered my food philosophy. (My food philosophy being that you must try something at least twice before deciding you don't like it. Two bites, two drinks, two different flavors, whatever it may be--it must be twice.)

I grabbed the coconut water and was so vastly pleased with it, I had to get another one the next day. The coconut water has a (much less sweaty) salty element, which I suppose, is because of the Electrolyte qualities of the liquid. The peach and mango puree adds the right amount of sweetness needed, and mellows the somewhat off-putting coconut water flavor.

After downing the entire container, I realized I had to put it in a smoothie.

So, I looked at our Publix and found that they carried the peach mango flavor, did a happy dance, and brought it home. This is the (absolutely delicious) smoothie that resulted from my new obsession.

Easy Green Smoothie
(makes enough for three adult smoothies or two adult and two toddler smoothies)

One 17oz. container Vita Coco Peach-Mango Coconut Water
7-9 frozen strawberries
2 handfuls fresh spinach
2 frozen bananas
1 pinch coconut palm sugar (for toddler taste buds)

Blend all together in a blender and serve it up!

I usually serve up enough for myself and the Wee One, then pour the rest into a zip-lock bag to freeze. When I want a smoothie for the next morning, I pop the bag into the fridge before bed and take it out to the perfect consistency the next morning.

If you're keeping up with my progress, I'm happy to report a 9lbs. loss since starting my Whole30 journey! According to the Whole30 site, you aren't supposed to weigh yourself during the 30 days, but I find that if I see a difference in my weight, it only serves to fuel my determination.

Also, if you're interested in helping me get through the 30 days, I have a wishlist on Amazon full of delicious things, cookbooks, and exercise accessories.

Until next time, Kitchen (and Cardio) Comrades!