Today I thought I’d do a slightly different post on my
morning smoothie!
I made this the other morning with my very helpful
boyfriend taking pictures and thought I’d share it with you guys. I make a
smoothie most mornings as it’s a great way to get some of your 5 a day in you,
plus its really tasty and surprisingly filling – especially if you add some
oats. Got my boyfriend hooked on making these too so here’s what I put in mine.
For fruit I started with some strawberries, blueberries
and a banana. I always find a banana is a really good base for a smoothie as
its thick and tasty and seems to make all smoothies nicer. They are high in
potassium, B6 and are actually a good source of carbs so they help to keep you
fuller. You can add any fruit you fancy as well as/instead of these, I
sometimes add pineapple mango etc. and you can also use frozen fruit! Go crazy!
I then added some Kale and a squeeze of Lime. Both Lime
and Kale contain loads of vitamin C, which “helps
in the production of Carnitine which helps your body metabolise fat” so there you go! Whilst we are on the metabolism boosting
benefits, I also chuck in a pinch of cayenne pepper, which a) gives it a spicy
kick to wake you up and b) helps boost your metabolism.
Instead of Kale you can
also add spinach, which works well, and both are great as they are dark green
leaves with tons of vitamins and minerals.
Now I added milk to
my smoothie but you could use non-fat Greek yogurt, soy milk or if you would
rather feel free to use a juice instead such as apple or orange. Pretty much
anything goes! The milk and yogurt have great pro biotic benefits and are a good
source of calcium but equally juice is full of vitamins, just watch the sugar!!
I also put in my Actimel which I have every morning anyway so it’s just handy to chuck it in!
Add some ice at the
end – bit of extra H20 - and give it a
good Whizz.
I’ve used the Ninja which I actually picked up off QVC (embarrassing) but it’s brilliant and not only works as a blender, it’s great for chopping things up such as onions etc., making salsa is a doddle and it’s super easy to use and clean. You can also get it with lots of fancy attachments for pretty much anything you can think of and I would highly recommend.
Here’s the super
duper one here:
My smoothie, as you can see, came out pretty thick, creamy and yummy. You can alter the ingredients to make it taste fruiter, creamier, veggier?!... So just try and experiment!
Some extra things
you can add which are really good for you are:
Echinacea - This is a fantastic immune booster and I used it a lot after having a bout of glandular fever (or mono as Americans call it.)
Echinacea - This is a fantastic immune booster and I used it a lot after having a bout of glandular fever (or mono as Americans call it.)
Ginger – a great anti oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Anyone with stomach problems, ginger is proven to help relieve and soothe any gastrointestinal distress.
Oats – These are fantastic to add as they release energy slowly to keep you fuller for longer and help keep your sugar levels much steadier through the morning.
Protein Powder – For those of you training or just trying to get some good muscle toneage you can add a protein powder which helps to pack on the muscle and will go down very well with gym buddies! Vanilla flavour ones are delicious!
Beetroot - helps increase blood flow and is proven to help lower blood pressure and help fight heart disease - snazzy! (Plus it turns your smoothie an amazing colour…)
There you have
it, I hope this has inspired someone out there to start making a morning
smoothie! It really is SUCH a good way to start your day.
Enjoy!!!
