How to Have a Smoothie Every Morning

Morning's are hard, especially for me. But I am the kind of person who needs to eat breakfast, not because I'm hungry, but because I drink a lot of coffee and usually get the jitters if I don't eat anything. Not only did I discover that smoothies were an easy way to get in my morning fuel, I found it's a great way for me, a vegetarian, to get my protein, vitamins, and essential carbs to get me through my morning. Also, researchers suggest that if you are trying to lose weight you should always eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. I'm not watching my weight, but I do notice that when I don't have my smoothie in the morning I end up craving some carb-packed junk food by 11 am. Whether your counting calories or looking for nutrition, I've perfected a recipe and method that will make it easy for you to have a delicious and extra nutritious breakfast every single morning.

What you will need:

• 1 package frozen chopped spinach (optional)
• Bananas
• Orange juice
• Green tea
• Any fruit of your choice

Method:

The key to having a smoothie for breakfast every morning is preparation. You must spend a little time preparing your ingredients so that during the week, when you are dragging yourself out of bed, the work required to make a smoothie is very minimal. If you are watching your calorie intake, then you can completely omit the orange juice and substitute green tea. Even if you are using a good O.J. that is not from concentrate and has no preservatives, it does still contain high amounts of sugar and calories. I like to use a mixture of green tea and orange juice, because of the antioxidant benefits of the green tea, and the sugar from the juice. I also noted that spinach is optional because most people get scared when they see a green smoothie. If you are skeptical, try it without the spinach first. Then try it with the spinach, I really can't taste the difference and I think adding the spinach is a great way to get in that extra Vitamin A and other nutrients that are good for your skin. As for the fruit component of your smoothie, you can choose anything you like or that is in season. During the summer I would get whatever fruit looked fresh and inexpensive and then freeze the fruit individually before packaging. Since it is now fall, I can't find any fresh fruit for a decent price. I have found that I can buy a large bag of frozen mixed fruit at the grocery store. Ok, now prep work.

1. Thaw the 10 oz. box of chopped frozen spinach, divide in the the ice cube trays, and freeze. (Each cube is 1 oz, so it only filled 10 of the cubes)

3. Slice 1 banana per smoothie bag, here I prepared 6 smoothie bags, so I used 6 bananas. Freeze sliced bananas individually on a sheet.

4. If you have fresh fruit, place on a sheet and freeze individually. If you do not, use a 1 cup measure to scoop frozen fruit.

5. Once all ingredients are frozen separately you can now combine them into zip lock baggies. Each baggy should contain the following:

• 2 cubes spinach
• 1 cup fruit, chopped and frozen
• 1 banana, sliced and frozen

6. Prepare your mixing liquid.  I do this by keeping a pitcher of brewed green tea next to my orange juice. I use half green tea and half orange juice. If you are watching calories use all green tea and no O.J.

Now that you have your smoothie bags prepared, stick them in the freezer for the morning. When you are ready to make your smoothie, dump the contents of one baggy into your blender. Cover with your mixture of liquid and blend on high. 

By freezing the yogurt and fruit ahead of time, your smoothie will be the perfect, creamy consistency without adding any ice and have the correct measurements every time,  all while making your life a little easier in the morning. Enjoy!