Anatomy of My Smoothie

I've been drinking a berry smoothie almost daily for years. It started when I did ten weeks of Beachbody in 2014 (and hey, I lost some weight) and got hooked on their Shakeology powder. It just seemed like a much better breakfast than cereal or toast -- nutrition-wise. And I could drink it while making lunches and running kids out to bus stops.

I pretty much follow the same recipe every morning and just change around the fruit. So here's my very unprofessional, yet delicious, smoothie concoction.

Start with:

Frozen Spinach - about 3/4 cup

Frozen Fruit - almost 2 cups

* Note: I don't actually measure anything, so this is just a guess.

I've tried several different frozen veggies, including spinach, kale, boiled-then-frozen cauliflower, and found I just prefer the spinach.

I used to puree and freeze the spinach in an ice cube try for easy-to-use servings, but lately, I'm just freezing our leftover salad spinach and using that. (In the picture it looks like fresh spinach, but it's frozen.)

For the frozen fruit, I use strawberries and an assortment of berries and maybe mix in peaches, pears, apples, pineapple, mangoes, and/or acai. All depending on what I have frozen.

I always try to freeze any leftover fruit (just as it turns mushy) from the fridge, but when I do need to buy frozen fruit, I recommend the organic berry mix from Costco.

Then, I add just about a heaping teaspoon of the following:

Hemp hearts

Chia seeds

Bee pollen

Flax seed

And a scoop of 

Shakeology (tropical strawberry vegan) mix

The Nutrients

I keep most of these items decanted in glass jars in my fridge and shake them into the smoothie cup. You can't taste them, but they each add something really nutritious: The bee pollen is excellent for building immunity. The flax is fiber. The hemp is tons of protein. Chia is omega-3s. And much more.

Then, it's liquid time:

Kefir - 1 cup

Ice cubes - 2 cubes

Milk - to the full line (about 1/2 cup)

I use milk because ladies need calcium but you can add water, it's just not as thick. The kefir is indulgent because of all the added sugar, but it's a great source of probiotics and protein. If you're into weight loss, I suggest just using water or skim milk.

And that's it. Onto our (super-loud) Ninja to blend and you're done. Yay! The smoothie will keep me full for about four hours, or longer. (Unless Alice sneaks in and drinks half of it.)

Sidenote: I've started to use reusable straws (plastic or glass). I'm horrified by the amount of plastic in our environment, and plastic straws are a big issue since we use so many and don't properly recycle them. After seeing a video of a tortoise getting a plastic straw removed from its nose (so sad!) I'm jumping on the #StopSucking bandwagon, and encourage you to do the same. I used these glass reusable straws and they are awesome and actually clean very easily.

Here's the complete recipe. Again, I don't usually measure anything and I've gotten really good at the ratios. The tricky part is getting enough liquid in there. But once you get that, you're gold.

My Berry Smoothie Recipe

Frozen Spinach - about 3/4 cup

Frozen Fruit - almost 2 cups

Hemp hearts - 1 heaping tsp

Chia seeds - 1 heaping tsp

Bee pollen - 1 heaping tsp

Flax seed - 1 heaping tsp

Shakeology mix - 1 scoop

Kefir - 1 cup

Ice cubes - 2 cubes

Milk - to the full line (about 1/2 cup) *water works fine, too.

Add all ingredients to a blender or blender cup. Add the liquids last. 

Blend and enjoy!

For extra motivation, I suggest following Weelicious on Instagram. Catherine makes a different smoothie for her kids every day (Smoothie Challenge) and they're amazing, and her kiddos love them. I'm endlessly interested in the extra nutrients she sneaks into her cups, too. And, yes, at some point, I will buy her fabulous blender.



Related posts:
My other (not a cook/chef) recipes
More fun in the kitchen
My diet stories