The term “Breakfast” is aptly named because with this meal you are breaking the ~8 hour fast your body went through while you were asleep. In this time, your brain has used up a large chunk of its energy supply and will be looking to replace it. This is why getting breakfast in the morning is so important. Your appetite may not be in the full swing first thing in the morning, so smoothies are a great, light alternative that go down easy and have endless possibilities for nutritious combinations.

Pro Tips:

-A little bit of spinach sneaks into virtually any smoothie very easily! I promise you, throwing in a half a handful of spinach leaves will leave no indication but the color and is a great way to squeeze in some micronutrients

-Overnight oats will make smoothies thicker, try pouring milk or water over your oats in a Tupperware container and refrigerating it for at least 4-6 hours

-You don’t have to have a Ninja to make good smoothies. Cooks Pro – Blender, available for roughly $50 at JC Penney’s, has worked for me and my family for years

Note:

Personally, I am aware that I do not digest large amounts of dairy well so I tend to lean toward alternatives, such as almond milk. I am listing these recipes as I would make them myself, but feel free to personalize them by adding dairy.

PB & Chocolate Banana Smoothie

• Plain Greek yogurt – 1/2c
• Almond milk – 1 c
• Frozen bananas – 1 c
• Cocoa powder – 4 tbsp
• Peanut butter – 1/4 c

Tropical Pineapple & Mango

• Plain Greek yogurt – 1/2c
• Almond milk – 1/2 c
• Orange juice – 1/2 c
• Lime juice – 2 tbsp
• Frozen mangos – 1/2 c
• Frozen pineapples – 1/2 c
• Spinach – 1/4

Super Berry Antioxidant Mix

• Plain Greek yogurt – 1/2c
• Almond milk – 1c
• Frozen blueberries – 1/4 c
• Frozen strawberries – 1/2 c
• Frozen raspberries – 1/4 c

Refreshing Cucumber and Mint

• Plain Greek yogurt – 1/2c
• Almond milk – 1/2 c
• Seltzer water / La Croix – 1/2c
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
• Honey – 2 tbsp
• Frozen cucumbers – 1/2 c
• Mint leaves – approx. 7 leaves / 2 tbsp
• Optional – orange zest

Banana Split

• Plain Greek yogurt – 1/2c
• Almond milk – 1 c
• Frozen bananas – 1 c
• Frozen strawberries – 1/2 c
• Frozen cherries – 1/4 c
• Cocoa powder – 3 tbsp
• Spinach – 1/4 c

Pear and Ginger

• Plain Greek yogurt – 1/2c
• Almond milk – 1c
• Frozen cubed pears – 1 c
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
• Ginger zest – 2 tbsp
• Optional – 1/4c ginger beer (for fizz)

Coffee / Latté

• Frozen coffee ice cubes (make coffee and freeze the night before) – 4-6 cubes
• Vanilla yogurt – 1/2 c
• Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
• Almond milk – 1 cup
• Oatmeal – 1/4c prepared
• Cinnamon – 2 tsp
• Nutmeg – 1 tsp

Special thank you to ‘Uncle Dale’ from the office for inspiring this post! I hope you enjoy the recipes, Dale!