Breakfast Smoothies

I'm not a natural morning person. But I try to be, most of the time. That means that I have a slow start in the morning. I move slowly, think slowly, and have to pry myself out of bed. Which is hard. To pry yourself. Maybe hire someone to do it for me...

Anyway, on the days that I'm especially dragging, I don't want to cook breakfast. I always get an energy boost after a good breakfast and my morning vitamins/supplements (I take CVS brand women's multi for active mind and body, which has an energy blend. I also take a vitamin B complex.), but what am I supposed to do when I don't have the energy to cook? It's a vicious cycle. The old me would raid the fridge for leftovers from dinner to be popped in the microwave (usually things like leftover pizza...) or pour a bowl of sugary cereal. But not anymore. Now I make a smoothie. It's the easiest, quickest way to get quality nutrition into my body. And they're easily digestible, because the fruit and veggies are pulverized into a nice, cold, smooth... well, smoothie!

 I use the Nutribullet, which is awesome. I know there are more expensive, fancy blenders out there, but personally, I don't need all the bells and whistles. I want quick, simple, and efficient, and that's exactly what the Nutribullet is. I invested in it right after my first ostomy surgery (while I was still in the hospital), and I've loved it since. I'm very protective of it, haha. If you're serious about making smoothies, you'll want to make sure you're using a blender that can crush frozen fruit and ice efficiently.

So, what kinds of smoothies are good for breakfast? Well, just about any of them. But here are my favorites.

If you normally have a bowl of sweet cereal or oatmeal, try this one:

Chocolate Banana

Ingredients:
-1 whole (large) banana (I use frozen, it gives the best consistency)
-1/2 cup of chocolate almond milk, lactose free chocolate milk, or chocolate milk (you can also use the regular varieties and add a little chocolate syrup to taste)
-1/2 cup ice
-1 teaspoon coconut oil (virgin, non-processed, cold-pressed, organic is optimal)

Directions: Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. If you need to add more liquid, go ahead. I like mine thick, so I can eat it with a spoon. Like cereal. Haha. If you're wondering, the coconut oil is very nutritious and good for you, and it's great for an energy boost to get you going. I had this one this morning, and if I hadn't, I probably would have dozed back off to sleep (it's raining right now) and not be writing this.

Pineapple under the Sea

Ingredients:

-1 ripe banana
-2 leaves of kale
-1 cup of pineapple juice
-1/2 cup of pineapple chunks
-1 cup of almond milk, coconut milk, lactose free milk, whatever floats your boat
-1 teaspoon of coconut oil
-1/2 cup ice

Directions: The directions are pretty much always the same. Put your ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If you want it thinner, add more juice, milk, or even water. If you want a bit of a tropical twist, add in a tablespoon of frozen orange juice concentrate (or to taste). I call this "pineapple under the sea" because of the pineapple, the green from the kale, and Sponge Bob, of course. This one can really kick start your metabolism and get you going in the morning. Oh, and for the pineapple, I use canned packed in 100% pineapple juice. Just make sure you read the labels and make sure there are no added sugars.

Morning Caffeine+

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup your choice of frozen fruit (I like to use the berry medley, but all of them are great)
-1 single serving cup of vanilla yogurt (you can also use Greek, which is healthier but tastes different)
-1/2 cup ice
-1/2 cup strong green tea

Directions: You know the drill! Throw that stuff in and blend! For the green tea, of course I brew my own. Don't use the store-bought Nes-Tea stuff, it has all kinds of sugars and such. You want 100% green tea, nothing else. Read the ingredients of the tea bags before you buy them as well. It should say "green tea leaves" and that's it. I heat up 3/4 cup water over the stove til it boils, then pour it into a cup, then add my tea bag. You don't want to actively boil the tea bag itself because it can kill off some of the nutrition. The 3/4 cup is usually reduced to 1/2 cup by the time I take it off the stove. I allow my tea to steep for 10 minutes or so, then squeeze the tea bag dry (gotta get every bit out of it), and then it's ready to go. This smoothie will give you your morning caffeine in a whole new, and healthier, way.

There you go, my current top 3 breakfast smoothies. I'll add more as I experiment and find new ones. Here are a couple extra tid-bits you may find useful:

- For those of you with ostomies, the chocolate banana smoothie, or any one with a banana, will help thicken up your output. My pouch cooperates with me so much more with I have a banana smoothie.

-Yogurt is your friend. Greek yogurt is your bestie. Greek yogurt is way better than the regular stuff. It has a lot of live cultures/probiotics that help regulate your bowel and are healthy for your digestive system in general. Plus, it's loaded with protein. But not all Greek yogurts are created equal. Some are actually really terrible and full of filler material, plus lacking the healthy active cultures. I'm doing a post about this soon, but for now, all you should know is: buy Chobani. I'll educate you on why later. But if you compare its label to the label of, say, the Dannon Green variety, you'll probably figure it out on your own. Don't let Dannon's tempting flavors fool you.

Alrights, guys, I hope this has inspired you to always get a healthy breakfast, even if you aren't a morning person!

Take care! Until next time.