My Favorite Smoothie

I have been making smoothies on a regular basis since the beginning of 2016. Smoothies are a fantastic way to pack a bunch (4 or more cups in a single serving) of dense nutrients into your body. I once timed myself and when totally focused, I can prep my fruits and veggies and be sipping my smoothie in approximately 8 minutes. Most mornings I am interrupted by the rush of the school & work routine so it takes longer, but if you are committed to your health and starting your day in the best way possible, you can make the time for a smoothie.

This smoothie is refreshing, loaded with all the good immunity boosting and skin brightening ingredients and…my kids love it. They do not eat greens right now so I have no problem when they end up stealing my smoothie. My 6 year old son thinks this is a clever game, to sneak sips of my smoothie. It is a game I always play along with! Here we go…

1 banana

1 cup of fresh or frozen mango

1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries

1-2 tablespoons of collagen powder (I use Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides)

1 teaspoon of bee pollen

2 packed cups of fresh spinach

Water

Super simple. You can mix and match fruits and vegetables. I use a Nutribullet and I blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. I didn’t indicate a water amount because I use the Nutribullet Max Fill line on the largest blending cup it comes with. There are easily two servings which I either share with my kids or husband or drink all by myself!

When you cook and create with this amount of fruit and veggies, I do not watch serving sizes. The calorie count is so low per serving that I never feel in danger of overeating! The more I eat, the more nutrition I put into my body. I eat until I feel full and I let my smoothies last me all morning. Kind of reminds me of Folgers, good ’til the last drop!

For real food supplements such as bee pollen, collagen powder, mushroom powders, hemp seeds, chia seeds, nut butter, milled flax, nuts, cacao nibs, coconut oil, cinnamon, goji berries, maca powder, nutritional yeast, spirulina, ginger, turmeric, etc. I usually just put in 1 – 2 servings per the package serving size. For example, one serving of collagen powder is 2 tablespoons, 1 teaspoon for mushroom powder and bee pollen, 12 almonds. Because I either drink the smoothie on my own or share with my kids, I stick to just the one serving as many of these add-ins are concentrated or have a strong taste.

Smoothies are my secret weapon to ensuring I feed my body well and don’t go running for the girl scout cookies, cheese, or potato chips when hunger strikes. Eating well is not simply a switch you turn on and off. For me, eating well involves a lot of self pep talks, a lot of talking out loud to myself while staring into the abyss of my fridge, a lot of self correction, mistakes and also, treating myself. Treating myself doesn’t mean giving permission to derail. It means being realistic and doing the best I can. I love potatoes, every kind of way, and that doesn’t exactly fit into my chosen lifestyle box. So therefore, I occasionally indulge in potatoes. They might look like french fries, they might look twice baked, or they might look like chips. Or, it might look like me saying not today!

*sips smoothie and smiles with delight*

xo, Jodi

Other great smoothie ingredients to sneak in…

Cauliflower, raw zucchini, avocado, chard, cucumber, berries berries berries, carrots, oranges, kiwi, dragon fruit (pitaya) which you can find at natural food stores in the frozen section.