Hello wonderful friends!
I am still pretty new to this whole blogging thing and I want to keep it fun and true to myself :) One thing I absolutely love doing in the mornings is making a smoothie. I usually like to make a fruity green smoothie, but with these pretty simple ingredients around the house, I have been making this one pretty often too. It is packed with protein, which is important if you like to work out, and it really fills me up until lunch without getting that mid morning hunger! My chocolate peanut butter milkshake seriously tastes like dessert for breakfast :P If you are obsessed with chocolate and peanut butter as much as I am, your'e gonna love it.
Also, I think it is interesting to learn as much about the food that we eat as we can! I decided to do more research into what these ingredients had to offer and I was pleasantly surprised to find that many of them have digestive/ immune system benefits!
I use a NutriBullet, which is easy for clean up, gives you a good portion sized container to drink out of, and its really powerful to blend your milkshake or smoothie really smooth!
The best thing about smoothies is that you grab a bunch of stuff, throw it in the blender in any order you want, then mix it up! I'm horrible at cooking and measuring and following recipes so woooooo! This is my kind of "cooking" :P
So throw this stuff in:
1. 2 scoops of Orgain, Organic vegan protein powder creamy chocolate fudge flavor.
I think we got this from Costco. It has a really rich chocolate-y flavor and easily dissolves and doesn't taste powder-y and gross. Also, it is all plant based organic protein! 21 grams of protein and 3 grams of net carbs. AND its vegan. Score. Check out www.orgain.com for more nutrition facts.
2. One banana
I love bananas!! Bonus if your banana is getting a little brown and old- it makes it sweeter! If your bananas are getting old, peel them and stick them in the freezer. When you toss your banana in your smoothie it will make it cold without ice! Bananas are a base for all my smoothies because it makes it creamy and it has a neutral flavor that goes good with anything. Also, among the countless benefits of bananas, did you know bananas act as a prebiotic, stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria in the bowel. They also produce digestive enzymes to assist in absorbing nutrients.
3. 2 Tbsps of PB2, Peanut Butter powder
I like this stuff because it is healthier than normal peanut butter because the freshly roasted peanuts are pressed to remove 85% of the fat and calories. Also, I don't know about you but trying to scoop peanut butter into a smoothie is usually a huge mess and it thickens the smoothie a ton, which I don't like.
4. 3 or 4 Tbsps of Old Fashioned Oats or Rolled Oats, or whatever oats you want.
Adding the oats gives the smoothie thickens it up just enough, will blend smooth, and guess what... more protein!!
Also... Did you know, that oatmeal helps immune response to infection? In laboratory studies reported in Surgery, beta-glucan significantly enhanced the human immune system's response to bacterial infection. Beta-glucan not only helps neutrophils (the most abundant type of non-specific immune cell) navigate to the site of an infection more quickly, it also enhances their ability to eliminate the bacteria they find there.
According to study leader Jonathan Reichner of the Department of Surgery at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, priming neutrophils with beta-glucan helps these immune defenders quickly locate the bacterial mother lode within infected tissue. And this more rapid response to infection results in faster microbial clearance and healing. Since our non-specific immune defenses are the body's first strike forces against invading pathogens, starting your day with oatmeal may boost your immune response in addition to your morning energy levels. -whfoods.com
5. Almond Milk or Fat Free milk
Fill up your blender with your choice of milk until all the ingredients are submerged and them some. If you are lactose intolerant then almond milk is the way to go in my opinion. Do your digestive system a favor and go for the almond milk! I used almond milk because it is sweeter and it is what I had around so I used it. I filled mine up to the max line on the NutriBullet cup. I like my smoothies a little thinner and more drinkable but you can play with the consistency by adding less milk!
6. Next, just blend it all up until smooth! You might have to stop it and shake it up a little bit to get all the powder to mix in. Really, you can't go wrong blending this smoothie for too long. I like mine really creamy and smooth!
7. Add 1 big Tbsp of chia seeds as YES another protein source! Stir them in and you won't hardly notice they are there, but you will notice the energy these little guys pack! It's the perfect addition, because it has no flavor of its own. Chia seeds are one of natures’ true super-foods. They have more calcium by weight than milk, more magnesium than broccoli and are packed with the same protein found in meat. They also are a good source of Omega 3 healthy oil and fiber to help your digestive health.
So, there you have it! I added a little fresh cherry on top because that is what they do in a restaurant right? Cherry and whip cream! Just pretend your Chia seeds are whip cream :P I hope that this yummy smoothie is easy for you to whip up and you like it as much as I do!
Light and Love,
Meagan
