What’s in your morning routine? I make my bed, splash my face with cold water, drink a giant glass of lemon water, and try to forget about the giant bag of dark chocolate chips I’ve been meaning (and failing) to hide from myself. I try my best to start things off well, with some clarity and conscious eating… that’s because it’s easy to reason with my relaxed morning brain. By the time dinner rolls around it’s nearly impossible to talk my brain out of popcorn, wine, and handfuls of chocolate chips. Morning is my power hour. Dinner looks like a breakup rom-com where a heartbroken girl eats her weight in everything ever.
It’s a new Monday. It’s a new week. Let’s start things off feeling great! The morning is on our side in three major ways.
I love that three completely different smoothies can come from this display of ingredients.
It’s all about color! We’re talking about the deep green of kale, bright yellow of pineapple, pretty purple blackberries, and beets that are just dying to stain your fingertips magenta.
Our constants, our rocks, our anchors in the storm will be frozen banana chunks and cold Almond Breeze Almond Milk.
I’ve coaxed you into putting greens in your smoothie before, haven’t I? This Kale, Spinach, and Pear Smoothie started this whole green smoothie kick in my kitchen.
Pairing pineapple with kale really brightens the flavors and makes the smoothie feel like a tropical kale vacation. Wait. That doesn’t tempt you? Don’t worry. This smoothie doesn’t taste like a salad in a blender. The kale flavor really mellows when pulverized in the company of pineapple and vanilla almond milk.
Kale, Pineapple and Almond Milk Smoothie
makes 1 large or 2 small smoothies
1 banana, sliced into chunks, frozen is ideal
1 heaping cup fresh pineapple chunks
1 giant handful of coarsely chopped kale leaves, center rib removed from the kale
1 cup cold Almond Breeze Almond Milk
1 tablespoon honey (optional, but nice for added sweetness)
Remove kale leaves from their rough center stalk and coarsely chop. In a blender, combine banana, pineapple, chopped kale leaves, almond milk, and honey (if using). Blend until smooth and no big kale bits remain. Add more almond milk if the smoothie is too thick for your taste. Enjoy immediately.
We’ve gone down the green road, now let’s talk purple.
Blackberries are both tart and sweet. They’re moody, and I respect that. I paired blackberries with a vanilla goat’s milk yogurt, and oat flour. Oat flour is made by placing old-fashioned oats in a small spice grinder until pulverized into a powder. It helps make me feel full and totally eases any belly unrest. An extra kick of vanilla from the almond milk, and pure vanilla extract really bring home the vanilla and berry theme.
Vanilla, Blackberry, Oat and Almond Milk Smoothie
makes 1 large or 2 small smoothies
1 banana, sliced into chunks, frozen is ideal
1 heaping cup frozen blackberries
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used goat’s milk yogurt)
1 cup Almond Breeze Almond Milk
2 tablespoons oat flour (old-fashioned oats ground in a spice grinder)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a blender, combine banana, blackberries, yogurt, almond milk, oat flour, and vanilla extract. It’s easy. Blend until smooth. Add more almond milk if the smoothie is too thick for your taste. Enjoy immediately.
Did you think for a minute that I’d leave you a smoothie with strawberries and bananas and call it a day? Noooo way. Not around these parts. I’ve added roasted, cooled, and peeled beets to this smoothie. It’s added fiber, folate, and major magenta coloring. I’ve also thrown in freshly ground flax seeds for some good omega action.
This smoothie is packed with good, but doesn’t taste like drinking a beet salad. It’s sweet, pink, and filling. It’s totally my new favorite.
Strawberry Beet Smoothie
makes 1 large or 2 small smoothies
1 banana, sliced into chunks, frozen is ideal
1 heaping cup sliced strawberries, frozen is awesome
about 1/3 cup steamed beets (I used two about half a large beet)
1 heaping tablespoon flax seed meal
1 cup Almond Breeze Almond Milk
In a blender, combine banana, strawberries, steamed and cooled beets, flax seed meal, and almond milk. Blend until smooth. Add more almond milk if the smoothie is too thick for your taste. Enjoy immediately.
Sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
These look fabulous – allllll of them! I’m on a smoothie kick right now, so this is awesome!
allie@sweetpotatobites
these all look like great combos! I’m especially curious to try the beet one since I’m normally not a big fan of beets.
FashionEdible
I love the colors in all these smoothies! So pretty to look at. I’m a huge smoothie fan and I have to admit to liking the plain old strawberry/banana concoction, though your versions sound delicious!
Nabeela
Really love this post. I have a soya smoothie nearly every morning full of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, a little flaxseed and of course some banana! Been trying to get myself to try veggie ones, but I’m going to try the beets with strawberry one tomorrow morning for sure!
Louise @ Kitchen Fiddler
Thanks for the encouragement to ignore the bag of chocolate feves that is open on MY counter this morning! These all look wonderful–and that first mirror shot is particularly cool!
Amy
Drinking a green smoothie as a I read this this morning! I am the same way – morning time is healthy time. When I come home from work, hand me a glass of wine.
Nicole
The vibrant colors of these smoothies against the black background is just stunning. I’ve been on a smoothie kick lately due to the warmer weather, and I’m so glad to have found some inspiration for new fruit/veggie combos! Thanks, Joy!
Stefanie @ Sarcastic Cooking
You inspired me to make a smoothie for breakfast! Now which one to make???
Katy @ Katy's Kitchen
I can totally relate to that feeling of trying to hide that bag of chocolate chips in the morning. It’s definitely a lost cause by dinner! I love the colour those beets add to that smoothie, and that first pic is so cool!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie
Awesome flavors! I have been making the same smoothies for awhile now it’s good to have a new one to try!
Caitlin
HAHAHA I JUST DIED… “Dinner looks like a breakup rom-com where a heartbroken girl eats her weight in everything ever.”
Also, this is the perfect post for me to read this morning. This morning involved a 2.5 lb weekend weight gain from straight up cake (we had our wedding cake tasting and the sweet girls from the bakery sent us home with little mini cakes.. thanks a LOT!)
so i made a monday morning smoothie of kale and coconut milk to counteract all the cake. (the coconut milk went all over the kitchen when I shook it. and i wanted a bite of cake..help)
Lydia
Do you mean “beets that are dye-ing to stain your fingertips magenta”?? *cracks self up*
Lydia
lupinelydia.blogspot.com
Susana DeVoe
I’m starting tomorrow! That’s it, I really am.
Thanks joy.
Belinda @themoonblushbaker
I am not a big smoothie fan but the last one with beets has captivated me. I make my own almond milk with southern Chinese almonds, which I blend in the morning for the next day. So there is always almond milk in my house!
Hannah Jade
Breakfast smoothies are the very best wake up. I believe in spinach.