Smoothies for Breakfast!

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by Calvert Cafe & Catering

When we changed how we ate, I totally expected to have to give up Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms. What I didn’t expect was for Cheerios to be off limits. (Yes, even multi-grain. Check the ingredients. Boo!)

This seriously limited the breakfast options for this cereal loving family. We started eating eggs, but we couldn’t handle that every day. I’d rejected the idea that a healthy smoothie could actually taste good, especially if it included ingredients like spinach and kale.

When I went to a nutrition class at 180 Chiro, however, they made chocolate strawberry smoothies for us to try. (No greens included. Whew!) It tasted fanstastic, and it looked easy to make, too! This would make a great to-go breakfast for those days when we had to be out the door, or just didn’t want to eat eggs…again.

Our first few attempts at smoothies were kind of failures, though, and I got discouraged. The kids thought they were gross, and I had to admit, they didn’t taste nearly as wonderful as the ones Casey had whipped up for us.

I didn’t want to eat eggs every day, though, so we kept experimenting and looking for recipes that we would like, and I’m happy to report that after just a couple of tries, we discovered how many strawberries were just sweet enough, and how little milk kept it to a milkshake consistency. Now, we really do just toss a few ingredients in the blender, hit the button, and have breakfast.

To make your own fruit smoothies, start with these basic ingredients, then experiment to find what tastes just right for you.

Unsweetened coconut milk: Use about ½ to 1 cup. Almond milk works fine, too.

Protein: 1 scoop. Whey protein powder is the easiest, but if you don’t want to use that, consider adding cottage cheese, nut butter, like raw almond butter, or another protein source. If you do go with protein powder, check the ingredient label! A lot of these powders add artificial sweeteners that are terrible for you.

Sweetener: 4-6 drops of liquid stevia is plenty, since you will also be adding fruit. One of my kids prefers just a little apple juice instead.

Unsweetened chocolate (optional): My husband, Dale, actually puts chunks of extra dark—like 85-90% dark—chocolate bar in his, but I just throw in a scoop of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Frozen fruit: Toss in about a handful. Using frozen fruit keeps the smoothie cold and thick. You can buy your fruit frozen, or cut it up and freeze it yourself. We actually peel and freeze bananas individually on a cookie sheet, then cut them up and throw them in the kids’ smoothies. We also buy frozen strawberries in bulk at Sam’s. Dale finds a variety of fresh, organic berries there as well, and he freezes them on a cookie sheet, tosses them in baggies, then adds them to his smoothies. Use whatever fruit you want, although anything ending in “berry” is the best.

If you'd rather start with more specific recipes, check out our family’s three favorite smoothie recipes at Kid-friendly smoothies.

Go ahead and blend up a protein-rich breakfast to go this week!