Green Smoothies - Breakfast of Champions!

Last year I did a post about breakfast cookies and green smoothies. I was happy to tell everyone that breakfast could be easy and quite portable if necessary. I still adore the breakfast cookies, but I have to say green smoothies have been my go to weekday breakfast since I took a temporary full time job. They are fast and easy to make. They pack an excellent nutritional punch and can be consumed right away or taken to go. Win - Win - Win I say!

I am not big on breakfast first thing in the morning and certainly not at 7 AM. Instead, I try to start my day with a warm lemon water which has great health benefits. Half of a fresh squeezed lemon, a 1-1/2 cups filtered water and topped with 1/2 cup boiled water provides me with a good start to achieving my daily requirements of vitamin C, helps to promote a healthy digestion system, and is a tasty way (once your taste buds get used to it!) to get some water into the bod after 8 hours of sleep! As a side note, lemons are acidic and can be hard on tooth enamel so I usually drink my lemon water out of a straw... just in case. While I am drinking my lemon water, I make our lunches for the day and blend a green smoothie for 2 to tuck into our lunch bags (my favourite way to transport is in a 500 ml mason jar with the canning lids). Later in the morning, around 9:30/10:00 am my tummy is ready to welcome the green smoothie breakfast I packed in my lunch bag. My husband quite enjoys his as a mid morning snack since he likes his cereal first thing.

Over the past several months, I have perfected my version of the green smoothie. I think it has the perfect amount of sweetness. When my daughter was home for a visit, I got a two thumbs up too. This smoothie recipe can be made in a regular blender but it reached new heights of healthy decadence in my Vita-mix!

When I started blending smoothies, green or fruity, I had a heck of a time not ending up with a blend full of smoothie big enough to feed a small army. Finding the right quantities  and proportions for the ingredients was key, after all, there is only so much smoothie one can drink at one time. Sometimes my smoothie was so thick that I had to thin it down with more liquids or the too thin so I would add more fruit/greens. Before you knew it, my blender jar was overflowing.  Not a good thing! Now after several years of smoothie making, I have managed to eyeball the fruit/greens ratio to liquids so I can consistently make a smoothie for 1, 2, or 3.

My recipe for my favourite green smoothie is pretty consistent in yielding essentially two 500 ml mason jars, the perfect size for breakfast or a mid morning/afternoon snack. This recipe is based on my blender jar which is 64 ounces when I measure out the spinach. If your blender jar is smaller, you may want to add a handful or 2 more greens once you've reached the 1/3 mark. You can also use a little more or less maple syrup too, depending on your taste. I find that if my pineapple is nice and sweet and my banana is quite ripe, I need only 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup.

 

Ingredients

Fill your blender jar about 1/3 full of baby spinach, organic please, and gently packed

1 slice 3/4" or 1" thick pineapple ring, fresh or fresh frozen; not canned

2 Tbsp hemp hearts

1 medium/large banana, preferably with many brown spots (I keep a stash in my freezer)

1 medium avocado

2-3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 to 1 1/2 cups milk of your choice (dairy or non), a little more depending on personal preference.

Method

Add the ingredients to you blender in the order given.  Start with 1 cup of the milk.

Blend on high, stopping if necessary to scrape down the sides and make sure the ingredients blend.

Add the remainder of the milk as necessary. Continue to blend on high until your smoothie is smooth. You may wish to add a little more milk at this point if you prefer your smoothies less thick.

Pour into drinking vessels of choice. I like using the 500 ml wide mouth mason jars with the canning lids if I am taking my smoothie to go!

Substitutions and Options

Hemp seed can be substituted for 2 heaping tablespoons of almond butter or peanut butter 

Spinach can be mixed with some kale, for my tastes, I would only switch out about a handful because kale has a strong flavour. Typically, I use more spinach than kale, but if you like the "extra green flavour", add more kale than spinach.

Maple syrup can be subbed with a good quality raw honey, local if you can get it.

No milk, no problem - cold filtered water or cold green tea will work too!

Tips

When fresh cored and peeled pineapple is on sale, I buy a bunch and then slice it. I then lay the slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat sheet and freeze the rings. Once frozen, I transfer them to a freezer bag.

As Kermit the Frog says... "it's not easy being green"! This green smoothie is creamy, tasty and an excellent start to your day OR as my husband can attest, it is also a great mid morning snack. This is truly a guilt free pleasure any time of day!

No Breakfast Skipping For Me (Anymore)

Lately I have opted for liquid breakfasts.  I like to start my day with a big glass of not so cold filtered water; a good way to get the insides working followed by a cup of green tea to get my mini caffeine fix.  Since starting my food journey, I try really hard to start my day with breakfast. Lately, I have become quite taken with  my homemade juices, orange and green and of course my green smoothies.  My new Breville juicer gets plenty of work and as I mentioned in my last blog post, my blender has seen more mileage in the past few months that it has seen in the last 20 years.

Despite the fact that I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I have never been big on it as I find it hard to face food until around 10 or 11 in the morning. Subsequently, I have forever been a breakfast skipper, traditionally opting for a large double double to give me that get up and go! I have found that my juices and smoothies are the perfect start to the day for this kid. These liquid breakfasts provide quick access nutrients for my body.  I feel better, think better and am better prepared for the day. 

 

Often, if I have opted to start my day with a juice, I am a little peckish around 10 so I have found that a whole grain pita bread is a welcomed mid morning snack. Other snack options might also be a homemade sweet potatoe muffin or a breakfast cookie (recipe below).  I have recently discovered that a natural organic peanut butter sprinkled with chia seeds is really good and certainly gets me to lunch! The other day, I also had a little leftover dairy free chocolate pudding kicking around, so I thought I would try it on my pita toast sprinkled with some almond slices. YUM YUM YUM!   A bite of one and then a bite of the other. A match made in heaven!  Next time, I will make it easier to eat by actually spreading the peanut butter first, then spreading the chocolate pudding on top of that and finishing off with a sprinkle the almonds and chia seeds. 

 

If I have started my day with a green smoothie, I am usually good till lunch.  Smoothies tend to be more filling and long lasting. My favourite green smoothie contains a frozen, ripe banana, kale, spinach, almond butter, a little honey or maple syrup for some sweetness and some almond milk to blend. YUM! Green smoothies are an excellent way to get more raw greens into me quickly and easily! 

I have also discovered Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie are amazing and even though they do contain added sugar, they are certainly a MUCH better choice to those crappy made for you oatmeal bars. They even freeze well so you can make sure you have plenty on hand!These kid friendly cookies are tasty AND healthy.  Shhhh don't tell the kids!  They work as a quick sit down breakfast or because of their portability, these little morsels can be taken for breakfast on the go!   Who wouldn't say "Yes please" to a cookie or two for beakfast?  They also make a nice addition to a boxed lunch for a healthy dessert or snack.

The recipe I use does contain butter and eggs plus some added sugar. In the spirit of my food journey, I have started making some tweeks to the recipe to take this recipe from good to great. In the meantime, until I have tested my tweeks, the recipe as I have posted is lovely.  As a note,  I would definitely drop the sugar down a bit more, especially if your bananas are super ripe.  Please enjoy and let me know what you think.

Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies (W.I.P.)

 

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup coconut oil; 1/4 cup butter this time)

3 ripe bananas, mashed (mine were medium in size)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I added 1/2 a cup]

2 whole eggs (next time I will try flax eggs; 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water)

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 tbsp flour (I made 2 tablespoons of oat flour by processing large flake oats in my food processor)

1/4 cup almond milk

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup dried cranberries, nuts or a combination (I used 1/2 cup pecans, 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, topped up to 1 cup with cranberries)

 

As a special treat, I tossed in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, but you can omit this if you prefer!

DIRECTIONS

Mix first 3 ingredients together in a bowl.

Add eggs and mix.

Add remaining ingredients except nuts and/or dried cranberries

After dough is mixed add nuts and or cranberries.

Batter will seem too wet, but don't worry  

Drop by heaped and packed tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  

Flatten with fork to about 1/2" thick, patting edges to keep the cookie together and rounded.

Bake at 350° F. for 12 to 15 minutes.

Let the cookies cool for one or two minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to cooling rack.

Cool completely. 

 

Yes sir-ee.  No more skipping breakfast for this kid!  My next goal is to try out some home made granola.  I have a few recipes I want to try.  I will keep you posted.