Many people ask me my secret to staying thin. A great way to help maintain a healthy weight while staying full throughout the day is to enjoy a breakfast smoothie in the morning rather than eating processed foods such as fruit yogurt, cereal, or pastries. When you go grocery shopping, pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. Make sure to prepare or freeze them at night so they are ready to go in the morning, helping you to get out of the door quickly. Below are some of my favorite smoothie recipes to make.
A few of the recipes call for Medjool dates. I personally don't like the taste of Medjool dates, so I use Deglet Noor dates for a sweeter taste. If you forget to freeze your fruits and veggies, you can add ice instead.
The Chunky Monkey Smoothie is my favorite, and the easiest to make, so I have that every day.
The Glowing Green Smoothie was a bit chunky and time consuming to make. Trust me, it will taste like fruit, not vegetables, but it is very thick for sure.
The Melon Refresher had a bit of a bland taste. I felt like it needed sugar, which defeats the purpose of a healthy morning smoothie. Next time I'll try adding some dates as a natural sweetener. I also use greek yogurt.
The Pumpkin Pie Smoothie tasted like a watered down version of a pumpkin pie. I loved it, but my husband thought it was pretty weird.
The Spicy Tropical Green Smoothie was delicious, but time consuming. Also, please note that there is a difference between coconut milk and coconut water.
The Strawberry Peach Smoothie was nice and creamy, but there was nothing spectacularly special or unique about this recipe.
Once you get the hang of breakfast smoothies, have some fun and add other ingredients. Be creative and make your own unique recipes! Try adding cooked and then cooled oatmeal, ground almonds, chia seeds, kale, and spinach. Different plant-based milks change the flavor of your smoothie as well. Try coconut milk for a sweet tropical flavor, sunflower seed milk or hemp milk for a earthy flavor, rice milk or soy milk for a milk flavor, and almond milk for a nutty flavor.
What are your favorite ingredients to add to a smoothie?
-Sarah
From “Forks Over Knives” by Del Sroufe
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more as needed, or water
2 medium frozen bananas, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup pitted and chopped Medjool dates, or to taste
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder.
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Add more almond milk as needed to achieve a smooth consistency.
Ingredients:
1/2 cups water
1 head organic romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 stalks organic celery
1/2 head of a large bunch or 3/4 of a small bunch of spinach
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1 organic banana
Juice of 1/2 fresh organic lemon
1/3 bunch organic cilantro (stems OK) (optional)
1/3 bunch organic parsley (stems OK) (optional)
From “Smoothies & Juices” by Christine Ambridge
Ingredients:
1 cup plain yogurt
3 1/2 oz galia melon, cut into chunks
3 1/2 oz cantaloupe melon, cut into chunks
3 1/2 oz watermelon, cut into chunks
6 ice cubes
Pour the yogurt into a food processor. Add the galia melon chunks and process until smooth. Add the cantaloupe and watermelon chunks along with the ice cubes and process until smooth. Pour the mixture into glasses and decorate with wedges of melon. Serve at once.
From “Forks Over Knives” by Del Sroufe
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more as needed, or water
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup ice cubes
4 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.
From “Forks Over Knives” by Del Sroufe
Ingredients:
2 cups tightly packed spinach leaves
1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 small tangerine, peeled and pitted, or juice of 1 lime
1 cup coconut water
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Enjoy cold.
From “Forks Over Knives” by Del Sroufe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen peach slices
1 1/2 cups unsweetened plant-based milk, plus more as needed
1/2 cup pitted and chopped Medjool dates, or to taste
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Add more plant-based milk as needed to achieve a smooth consistency.
