Slurp | Greenie Smoothie — SOL

It is Saturday, and therefore, I have been making this Greenie Smoothie for six days in a row. For breaky - a.k.a breakfast. And that is a huge personal accomplishment for me.

Yes, even a yoga instructor can struggle with getting those greens in.

I am not naturally drawn to green smoothies (shocker!) and it took me some time to finally find the recipe that worked with me + the flow of my life.

Cause mornings generally tend to be cray cray hectic + on top of that, I have to make this cray cray smoothie with all of these ingredients? And then completely clean a huge blender ???

Um, no.

When I first entered into the 'smoothie trend', I found myself making my AM smoothie right after my morning workout or yoga flow, and right before hopping into the shower, to then rush to work... I hands down did not enjoy making green smoothies, did not even know how to make a really good one, and definitely did not enjoy cleaning a blender.

So, I was like the majority of the population.

The blender I used was not as efficient as a blender needs to be to blend up whole veggies + fruit with liquid to concoct a delicious treat. Mine more than not mashed the veggies with the fruit into what would be a blended salad for an infant. So, it was gross.

I felt like I was drinking a salad for breakfast. Blah.

I turned to fruit instead. I made so sweet + delicious smoothies - but they were completely high in sugar (from all of that fruit) and really nothing else. A smoothie was suppose to fulfill many nutrients (for me at least, that was what I was expecting) and it wasn't. I continued to alter my go-to smoothie recipe, only to feel defeated by the amazing + beautiful + almost witch-crafty drinks I found on Insta.

I went grocery shopping, hoping that what I was lacking were other ingredients I didn't have. For instance, I did not have any form of coconut in my house, and I went out and bought coconut shreds + coconut milk + coconut water + coconut oil...basically all the things coconut. And don't get me wrong, I definitely still use these ingredients for a lot of things, not just smoothies. But that wasn't what I was missing. I was missing pin-pointing what nutrients I wanted my smoothie to achieve + research that information + and then conquer a new go to smoothie recipe.

I started pinning tons of smoothie recipes, mostly including green smoothies, but never made them. Didn't get the ingredients. Didn't try. Just didn't do anything.

So I entered into a rut with smoothies. Not a bad place to be, but when you are surrounded by healthy #nomnom drink ideas, you, or rather, I, felt like I was missing out.

Still, even after more research, I finally had a sense of what it was that I was missing.

The components of a smoothie.

I believe that in order to craft a beautiful + delicious + well-rounded + healthy smoothie, for your individual body + wellness + health, you need to do your research. And I didn't want to. I avoided it. At most costs. But once I turned around to reading about what MANY people had done, I am closer on my path to an answer. A solution. And it is a delicious solution at that :)

What really changed my approach to this seemingly healthy #nomnom was this site. Here, the smoothie formula was totally broken down for me. I finally got it!

I no longer needed to cram every single fruit I could imagine into this giant blender, to only be MORE hungry twenty minutes later.

I had a formula that served as the backbone of my smoothie witch-making morning routines, which allowed me to be as creative, and also, as simple as I wanted. Depending on my morning/my day ahead/my previous workout out/anything I could account for!

Also, a little tip I will share in the recipe completely changed how often I make my smoothies now! Hence, making this specific recipe everyday for the last week.

So without further ado.

The Greenie Smoothie

Ingredients :

+ 1 cup of frozen spinach leaves

+ 1/2 cup (or less) of a frozen fruit

+ 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

+ 1 scoop of PerfectFit Vanilla Protein Powder

+ 1 tablespoon (or more) of my sol | ful seedy blend

Process :

+ Place all ingredients into your choice of blender

+ Blend + Blend + Blend

+ Then drink up!

I have a very specific way in which I layer my Ninja Blender cup, because it ensures that the spinach leaves are finely blended up! If you are interested, please continue to read.

I really prefer to smash all of my frozen spinach leaves into the bottom of my blender cup first. My lovely fitness-loving cousin told me about freezing a whole pack of spinach leaves (or sometimes I buy a container of spinach + kale, and literally throw it into the freezer) to make sure that the veggie does not go bad. Um, hullo? Where has that tip been my whole journey of developing the Greenie Smoothie ??? One of the main reasons, besides the others that I already listed, that I was not making green smoothies regularly was because the spinach would go bad on me. In the fridge. I would do my weekly grocery shopping - buy a ton of spinach cause I was so making green smoothies that week - to only finally get to make the smoothie + the spinach leaves were all wilted. And slimy. You know what I am talking about. So, when my cousin made me a green smoothie bowl + I asked her why she had bags + bags of spinach in the freezer, it all made sense. It was cost effective - efficient - and healthy. All of those aspects definitely appealed to me.

Back to the Greenie Smoothies. I add the frozen fruit of choice, which lately has been pineapple for its digestive properties, liquid, in this case, unsweetened almond milk! Then, the powders : protein powder + my sol | ful seedy blend.

This protein powder because it was created by my favorite fitness ladies + it is a clean protein powder, made with ingredients I would be happy to consume for my body. And, probably, most importantly - it's gluten-free + dairy-free ! And organic + non-GMO.

So yum. So good.

Oh, and no added sugar.

So, win-win!

I love love starting my day with a serving of protein - whether it is in the form of a protein powder scoop in my AM smoothie, or a dollop of peanut butter on gluten-free oats, or a mixture of a couple of egg whites and one yolk - it's crazy important to get that macronutrient in the beginning of your day to prepare yourself to have ample energy throughout the rest of the day.

My sol | ful seedy blend came to life when I was living in The Dirty T - and had to share a pantry with my roommate. With me being the true food snob that I am (sorry but not sorry) I needed all the space I could have for my pantry staples. When I had three glass mason jars separating each different seed - think chai seeds + flax seeds + hemp seeds - I knew I could condense that space to make up some more space for my coconut and olive oils ;)

I thought since I usually add all three seeds to the same things - minus when I'm feeling vegan + make a vegan egg mixture for baking - why not keep them in the same container? Hence, I save space in my pantry + I crafted a seedy blend.

That's where my sol | ful seedy blend originates. Trying to create more space for more healthy #nomnom pantry items.

I add this sol | ful seedy blend for its many yummy properties. Combining all seeds - I get a mixture of added protein + fats - including omega 3 + fiber. This added boost ensures that I am FULL from this smoothie, and come my mid-AM snack, I'm not ready to naw my hand off.

And lastly, I like to garnish the smoothie with bee pollen + a lemon slice. You know what, you could even add a slice or two of a full lemon, that's right, to the smoothie - pre-blend - blend it, and have the yummy freshness of the lemon, along with all of the other smoothie ingredients. And the bee pollen ? Well, it is known to help with local allergies (so, buy local!) + provides protein + a slight sweetness that you get without added sugar.

With that breakdown - hope you find yourself wanting to try this recipe out? Or maybe make your own? Just you do you.

And make this smoothie.

Oh, and another tip : add a scoop of coconut oil (yes..coconut oil!) to this mix because it will add more fat to your slurp - which is a good thing! It keeps you full longer + helps lubricate your growing cells, that make up your body, that make up you!

Just an added tip if you find yourself making this smoothie + possibly worried that you will be hungrier twenty minutes later.

Annnnndddd don't forget your cup of warm green tea. We're amping up the greens in the AM!

P.S.

If you need help starting on your own research/continuing your own research on yummy things to slurp, including those green smoothies, check out my Pinterest board : || slurps ||