I have never been a coffee drinker. For some reason, it brings out all sorts of unpleasantries in me, like the jitters and anxiety, instead of that jolt of energy that people seem to be unable to go without in the morning. Because of this, I have looked for other ways to give myself a boost in the morning, and I have found it in the form of smoothies. I think a lot of people shy away from smoothies and juicing because it sounds much more complicated than it is, while in truth it takes no more time to make one than to brew a cup of coffee, and is a really affordable breakfast.
After drinking daily AM smoothies for a while now, I can honestly say I feel like something is missing when I go without. All the vitamins and minerals blended into a cup of goodness just makes the world seem like a brighter, cleaner place. All it takes to make a smoothie is a nice blender and some fruits and veggies, and you are good to go. Two of my favorite foundations for smoothies are banana – which adds sweetness and a creamy texture, and spinach for its high nutritional value. And no, spinach doesn’t make it taste weird or bad- you don’t even know it is in there, besides the color.
Here is one of my super easy, go-to morning smoothie recipes to get you started! Makes one smoothie.
1 ripe banana
1 to 2 cups of raw baby spinach
1/2 a cup of filtered water
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
Put this all into a blender and blend away! I try to use as much organic produce as possible, keeping in mind the “dirty dozen” when shopping. I mostly buy Whole Food’s 365 brand frozen fruit in the winter, bananas wherever I can get them, and organic spinach. Buying the ingredients that last my husband Ron and I close to a week amounts to about $15 dollars, and we are all set for breakfast. Can’t beat that!
The recipe above is a super simple recipe to get you started, but once you are comfortable with it, start experimenting away with your own renditions! The possibilities are endless…. enjoy!
