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Hi lovelies!
It’s FRIDAYYYYYYYYYY!!! MAN has it been a long week. I remember I woke up Tuesday and thought it was Friday, if that gives you any indication of exactly how long a week it was haha. BUT we’re finally here! After today, the weekend is here. Woohoo!!
A couple months ago, I started really trying to eat healthier and have a more balanced diet. I know it might come as a shock to some, but I’ve always had trouble getting my daily fruit and veggie intake simply because of one small fact…
I do not enjoy eating healthy.
I don’t like healthy foods like salad or salmon, I don’t like healthy drinks like V-8 or really many juices. I DO like fruit, but it’s never something I really reach for when I go to grab a snack from the kitchen.
The best way I can describe it as is “The Gilmore Diet.” (Where are all my Gilmore Girl fans??) Basically, my diet normally consisted of take-out food, poptarts and some sort of chocolate dessert that was covered in ice cream every night. While it was obviously fun eating this way, I honestly just started to feel sluggish and all around, not super great. I started trying to live a little healthier in small steps…
I started taking fruit to work as a snack. I started only eating “real” dessert on the weekends and eating fruit or drinking smoothies for a late night snack on the weekdays. Slowly but surely, I started to feel better. I felt like I had more energy, I didn’t get as many headaches as I normally do (always been a huge issue for me), and I felt happier and more confident in myself.
I really started drinking smoothies in the morning time right before the stay-at-home order was issued here in Austin. Once that happened, I honestly felt it was a lot easier to make morning smoothies and make myself want to eat healthier throughout the day since I was stuck inside and couldn’t go out and really exercise like I normally would at the gym. I even bought a new, better blender to make my morning smoothies and started looking up new recipes to try and experiment with so I wasn’t always drinking the same kind every morning.
I tried out quite a few different ones, and I’m happy to now share some of my favorites with all of you, that I drink every week for breakfast! Tag me if you try the recipes out for yourself!!
#1: Blueberry & Banana
This is one of my top favorites that I drink the most! This is probably one of the more filling ones as well since it has both banana and peanut butter in it. I’ll always use unsweetened almond milk if I’m making it for breakfast, but sometimes if I have a sweet tooth at night and I want a little healthy snack, I’ll sub in about half the amount of almond milk for regular milk and sub the other half for a little scoop of vanilla ice cream! It makes it creamier and is the perfect healthy snack if you have a late night sweet tooth. (If you really want to go for yummy but still healthy, I would recommend using no-sugar added ice cream!)
#2: Pineapple & Strawberry
This is actually probably my other favorite smoothie recipe! I love this one because it’s light, it’s tangy and it reminds of something I would drink outside, on a hot summer’s day while laying by the pool. It’s very tropical and since it’s base is orange juice instead of milk or a milk substitute, the taste is lighter and sweeter. If you love fruity, tropical drinks, I can almost guarantee you’ll love this one!
#3: Banana, Spinach & Chocolate Protein
This smoothie is one of my OG recipes haha. I’ve been drinking this same smoothie recipe since I was in my early college years! It’s a great one to drink in the morning if you’re wanting to stay full until lunch, or after a workout if you’re wanting a good recovery smoothie. Not to mention, putting spinach my your smoothies has always worked WONDERS on my skin! It’s always clear and glowing when I put spinach in my smoothies!
Side note: This chocolate protein powder is also one of my all-time favorites. I’ve used it for about 5-6 years now and have yet to find one I like better! It’s a protein powder more focused on trimming and slimming than bulking up though, just so you know. I’ve also just mixed it with water in my blender bottle before after a workout and made sure to shake it up really well and it tastes really good just by itself!
#4: Strawberry & Kiwi
Can you really go wrong with a strawberry-kiwi combo?! I feel like that’s one of those combinations you really can’t lose with! This is another super tropical smoothie that’s great for the summertime because it leaves you feeling full and satisfied, but still light. It also tastes so GOOD, I mix it with orange juice and it’s just an all around yummy smoothie.
#5: Strawberry, Raspberry & Blueberry
Lastly is the “berry blast smoothie”! I love berries in a smoothie, they add sweetness and color, two of which really make a smoothie for me. This one is a fun one to make for kids too I think because it has a rich purple color that I think is really pretty! (I guess that doesn’t really matter in a smoothie, but come on… pretty smoothies are always more fun to drink.)
So there are my top 5 fave smoothie recipes! I’ll switch them out and sub certain things sometimes if I’m out of something, but these are normally how I make my smoothie packs when I prepare them. I also wanted to include a few quick tips to help make your smoothies yummy and pro-level!
Use frozen fruit.
It almost completely eliminates the need for ice and gives the smoothie a nice consistency.
Focus on consistency.
If the smoothie is too liquidy, blend a few ice cubes. If it’s too thick and can’t make it through a straw, add a little more liquid base.
Don’t over or under blend.
I always keep an eye on my smoothies when they’re blending so I can see how the consistency is turning out. I like mine thick but not so thick to where I have to eat them with a spoon.
Thanks for reading lovelies and don’t forget to tag me if you make them so I can see you and your smoothies! Until next post, Xx.
