Healthy Smoothies to Start Your Day
Everyone tells you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and they’re right. Eating in the morning will allow your metabolism to rev up and start working. In turn, this will allow you to burn more calories throughout the day. And while this is great, we can all admit that there are days when we end up skipping breakfast. It probably has nothing to do with the lack of desire to eat and everything to do with a lack of time. Time shouldn’t stop you from getting in a delicious and healthy breakfast even when you’re on the go.
Smoothies are a great way to get a tasty “meal” with tons of nutrients. Just think about all the ingredients that go into them. It’s easy to start out with your favorite fruits, but don’t go overboard. You don’t want your smoothies to be overbalanced with sugar. Any type of berry (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries) work well in smoothies, but you might have a taste for other fruits like bananas or pears.
It’s also important to get in your vegetables! While many vegetables can easily add a bitter taste to your smoothies, opt for spinach or kale. They are ripe with vitamins and rich in fiber which not only makes them filling, but they are also low calorically.
Lastly, you might want to add some superfoods to your smoothie as well. These foods are extremely rich in nutrients. While you might already have a few in your smoothie with kale or blueberries, there are even more you might add to your smoothie. The list continues with chia seeds, matcha, goji berries, cocoa, and almond butter.
Now that you have the pieces and makings of a delicious smoothie, here are five delicious smoothie recipes that are perfect for starting your day off right.
The Ultimate Healthy Breakfast Smoothie
If you’re looking for tons of protein, fiber, unsaturated fats, and even more benefits, this ultimate smoothie from CookingLight might be what you need in the morning. With a mixture of fruits, vegetables, superfoods, and more, it follows the smoothie formula perfectly. Here’s what you need:
1 medium banana (fresh or frozen)
½ cup sliced strawberries, blueberries, or chopped mangos
¼ cup 2% plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon almond butter
½ cup baby spinach
½ cup unsweetened almond milk
While this is all you need for this smoothie, if you’re feeling a little fancy and even more nutritious, you can add basil leaves, mint leaves, and chopped ginger to the smoothie party.
Now take all of your ingredients, toss them in the blender, and mix!
The Best Breakfast Smoothie
It seems that many people seem to think that they’ve mastered the best breakfast smoothie and we’ve found another one. Coming to you from FitFoodieFinds, this smoothie is packed with some filling ingredients. Here’s how to make it.
Take the following ingredients:
1 banana, frozen
1 cup of strawberries, frozen
2 tablespoons rolled oatmeal
¼ cup protein powder
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 cup almond milk
Now, take all of your ingredients, blend, and enjoy!
Avocado Pineapple Smoothie
Every smoothie recipe doesn’t have to follow the fruit, vegetable, and superfood formula to a “T,” but that doesn’t make it any less perfect for breakfast. You should make your smoothies with ingredients you love, and if you often start your mornings with avocado toast, this could be the smoothie for you. A sweet recipe from sweet potato SOUL, these are the ingredients you need:
1 – 1½ cups ripe pineapple
1 ripe avocado
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
½ - 1 cup water or coconut water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Take all these sweet, delicious, and nutritious ingredients and blend! With this recipe, you can adjust the number of pineapples you use depending on your sweet tooth. Feel free to play around with how much liquid (water or coconut water) you add to make it as thick or thin as you’d like.
Freshly Minted Berry Smoothie
We all know that mint is a refreshing taste that acts as a great pick-me-up in the morning. If you want a delicious mix of mint and berries, you might consider trying the Freshly Minted Berry Smoothie from Vitamix. With just a few simple ingredients, one cup of this smoothie only has 150 calories with 7 grams of fiber. Here’s what you need to get started.
Ingredients:
2 cups almond milk
2 kiwis, peeled
2 dried dates, pitted
1 cup kale, chopped
1 cup mint leaves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups frozen mixed berries
Put all of your ingredients into a blender and mix! Pour and enjoy.
Green Monkey Smoothie
Clean Eating Mag knows how to make smoothies. They start you off with their Green Monkey Smoothie by recommending that you freeze all the ingredients beforehand. In the world of busy professionals, this is a must for busy mornings. With 11 grams of fiber, 17 grams of sugar, and 415 calories, you can be sure this smoothie and its ingredients will keep you full until lunch. And here’s why.
Here’s what you need:
1 small banana
2 cups spinach
2 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder
2 tablespoons natural unsalted peanut butter
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
2 large pitted dates, optional
1 teaspoon moringa powder, optional
1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
We know what you’re thinking. Don’t freeze the milk. Freeze your ingredients beforehand and when you’re ready to make your smoothie, add the frozen ingredients and milk to the blender.
Now, you have no reason to miss out on breakfast again! If you don’t have time to sit down for toast or an egg-white omelet, you can still have something delicious. You won’t have to settle for all the calories that come in your favorite Starbucks or Dunkin Donut treats, either. Always remember fruit plus vegetables plus superfoods equal a happy morning!
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