Back in the Saddle Again!

After five moves in three years we are finally settling in our home! We are  unpacking boxes that have been in storage for years and I feel like a little girl at Christmas! I am most excited about my kitchen tools, pans and dishes that I had almost forgotten about! Slowly a sense of normalcy is creeping back in our lives and I love it!

I thought it would be most fitting to resume my blog with our favorite breakfast. We do not tire of this power start to our day! Call it a green monster, kale smoothie, iced coconut ginger drink, fruit shake or whatever, we just call it our “green drink” (How original is that?)

It changes with what I have in my fridge, but there are a few constants…

• Banana
• Kale or collard greens
• Parsley
• Unsweetened coconut or almond milk
• Plant-based protein powder
• Ice cubes
• Chia seeds, hemp seeds or flax seeds
• Fresh ginger

The other options are organic grapes, cucumber, kiwi, berries, papaya, pineapple, vanilla, lemon or lime, carrot, celery or zucchini. Can you see how creative you can be with this fantastic and healthy nutritious breakfast? With this powerhouse drink you will find that you no longer have that late morning energy crash.

Not all smoothies are created equal. Many fruit smoothies that you buy are no more nutritious than a ice-cream shake or malt. They are loaded with sugar and other artificial ingredients. We are busy people, who need filling nutrient dense smoothies that will give us unlimited energy, boost  our metabolism and keep us satisfied until a mid morning snack or lunch. If you Google  green smoothies, you’ll find all sorts of recipes and lists of benefits.

OK, I will admit, sometimes the finished product looks like green sludge, but honestly the taste is amazingly fresh!

Here is what my smoothie looked like today…

Organic kale from my CSA basket, parsley, fresh ginger, papaya, banana, organic grapes, 1 scoop protein powder and coconut milk… There are no magic amounts, a handful of this and that…sorry. I usually cut about a 1” piece of ginger.

This is our favorite protein powder, plant-based and loaded with every vitamin  and mineral we need. One scoop is 13 grams of protein. Click here to order it from Amazon.

Then I added 1 T. each of flax seed and ground chia seed.  Depending on how thick or cold you like your drink, add ice-cubes (I usually add 4-5) and 1-2 c. coconut milk. Blend until pureed.

This is a complete meal, but for a treat this morning I took a couple of my homemade whole-wheat pecan cinnamon rolls (check out upcoming blog on these gems!) out of the freezer, warmed them up…a NICE compliment to this green drink!