Looking for a healthy breakfast idea? Ever seen me walking around with my big green Stanley thermos and wonder what is inside it?
This is a version of a smoothie that I have adopted as a typical morning meal. In my blender I put the following:
1 small apple (cut in chunks)
1 cup of almond milk
A HUGE amount of green leafy vegetables (I use spinach, kale, chard, mustard greens, beet greens, or a mix of several of them). Probably around 4-5 cups (loosely packed)
1 banana (usually frozen)
1/4 cup of almond butter
1 cup frozen berries (my favorite is just strawberries for taste, but sometimes I use blueberries or a mix of different berries)
1 Tbsp of whole chia seeds (can use whole flax seeds as well)
Add water/ice to desired consistency
**Need variety? Throw in a handful of carrots or substitute part of an avocado for the almond butter.
Blend for about 1 minute (to emulsify frozen fruit and to grind chia/flax seeds down appropriately)
It typically makes about 3 pints, depending on how much water/ice I add. I drink one pint immediately in the morning (while driving to work) for breakfast. I put the other two pints in a thermos to save for a mid-morning snack and an addition to lunch (splitting it over the morning). I will not lie: I would not say that this smoothie tastes delicious. It is not horrible to drink, but is not like your traditional all-fruit smoothies that are all deliciously sweet. However, this smoothie makes you feel GREAT. After drinking it consistently for a week or so, if you skip it one morning, your body notices it and craves the refreshing leafy greens. It also leaves me full and satisfied every time.
What is so great about it? It contains around 6 servings of fruits/vegetables, which is a great start to the day. Dark leafy greens are sometimes hard to incorporate into a quick breakfast (and many of us don’t even eat them throughout the day), and yet they are so important for our health (B vitamins, Vitamin K, C, and E, fiber, antioxidants, and small amount of omega 3 fatty acids). There are healthy fats (almond-based products and chia/flax seeds), a good amount of Omega-3 fatty acids (chia/flax seeds), and a lot of fiber from the dark leafy greens, almond butter, apple and berries, which is guaranteed to make you “regular”. Depending on your frozen fruit choice, you can also get a healthy amount of antioxidants to go along with those contained in the leafy greens. And, it is vegan and gluten-free friendly!
Through case studies and anecdotal evidence, I have seen long-term daily consumption of this smoothie reduce LDLs, increase HDLs, decrease weight, decrease resting blood pressure, and rid the body of overall massive body-wide infection untreatable by other medications (results are if you are replacing other food choices, not adding this to your current morning foods).
WARNING: This contains MANY serving of fruits and vegetables and healthy fats, which means it also contains MANY calories (upwards of 700-800 calories). Sometimes I will lessen the almond butter to 2 Tbsp, which will drop it to 600 calories. This really is about half my calories for the day when I drink it, that is why I divide it up throughout the morning.