Queen of Smoothies

Why I’m the Smoothie Queen

If you know me, you’ll know that I LOVE my smoothies!  I have one pretty much every day.  Being someone who doesn’t eat meat, it’s a great source of protein because I usually add a plant-based protein to them.  However, I actually started making smoothies years ago back in my meat-eating days when I worked out with a personal trainer and he told me I should have a protein drink after my workouts.  

As I’ve learned over the years working with trainers or through articles I’ve read in health magazines, drinking smoothies & juices are great because your body quickly absorbs the nutrients.  I also juice, but I tend to prefer smoothies because I like that you get the fiber from the fruits and vegetables and it just makes me cringe to see all the pulp that gets “wasted” as a by-product of juicing.  

Over the past year I’ve become obsessed with “green” smoothies!  No one can argue that green vegetables aren’t good for you and I’ve found that consuming them in the form of a delicious smoothie has been amazingly easy and tasty!  The first time I tried it though, I wasn’t so sure it was going to taste good because the idea of it just didn’t sound appealing.  I was someone who never ate vegetables growing up as a child (unless you count potatoes and corn, and we all know they don't really count because they're starches).  The fact that I base most of my eating around plants now still amazes me today, but sometimes eating certain things still doesn’t come easy to me believe it or not.  Fast forward to my obsession with green smoothies...

About a year ago I found a green smoothie recipe on Pinterest (follow my boards at:  http://pinterest.com/TheBookofDonna/) and tried it.  The recipe used spinach & banana but I’m telling you, I was blown away that I couldn’t taste the spinach at all!  Once I got past the green color, it really just tasted like a banana smoothie!

Now I experiment all the time with all kinds of greens making up my own recipes.  Here is one of my favorites that I can’t get enough of lately!  If you like avocado, this is like a decadent avocado milkshake!  Now really, if you’re trying to eat more veggies, try to have it in the form of a smoothie.  According to the Book of Donna, it’s the easiest way to do it!  Enjoy!

Avocado-Spinach Smoothie Recipe

1/4 Avocado (frozen)

1/3 Banana (frozen)

2 cups Spinach (fresh)

1/2 cup Almond milk

1 cup Water

1 scoop Vanilla Protein

4 Raw Cashews

1 packet Stevia (optional)

3-4 Ice Cubes

Directions:

Place all items in blender.  Mix and enjoy!

*Tip - I usually freeze bananas ahead of time and put them in a freezer bag so they’re ready for smoothies!  Just cut them (I usually do 1/3 portions), place on a tray, let freeze, then place in freezer bag until ready for use!

*Tip - Did you know you can also freeze avocados?  Check out my Pinterest “Great tips!” board to find out how!  http://pinterest.com/TheBookofDonna/great-tips/