As the name suggests, this is not the prettiest of drinks to start your morning with – pond scum comes to mind – but don’t let it’s aesthetics fool you. This is one yummy smoothie and full of protein, nutrients and all sorts of goodness. I start my morning with this 5 days a week and between this and a small handful of almonds, I’m not hungry again until about 1pm (& breakfast is at 6am).
Before I changed my diet to vegan I had one egg every morning because it was the only thing that kept my hunger at bay until lunchtime. I’m not a fan of being hungry because when I’m hungry I get very sleepy and start to yawn uncontrollably which is not a very impressive thing to be doing at work in front of your boss. Loud hunger stomach grumbling is another not-so-impressive thing to have going on at work – or anywhere in public really.
Anyway, back to the smoothie. The banana gives this smoothie a yummy sweetness without being too sweet to face at breakfast. You can easily play around with the ingredients. For the first few months, I made it without the spinach or blueberries. You can’t taste the spinach so why not add some extra green to help kick start your energy? Blueberries are in season in Australia at the moment and really cheap but you could swap them for another berry or use frozen.
Just in the last month, my non-vegan husband Darren has started having a smoothie for breakfast 3 times a week and he really likes them. He calls them ‘squishies’ though so smoothies have a new name in our house.
Here is just some brief info about the yummy goodness I mentioned earlier:
Spirulina – protein, Vitamin B12, Iron, Potassium, Calcium to name just a few. Also, according to ‘australianspirulina.com.au’ NASA have chosen the feed the astronauts in space spirulina and they plan to grow and harvest it in space stations in the near future – how cool is that?
Quinoa – High in fibre with calcium, magnesium, Vitamins B & E and low GI.
Flaxmeal – Fibre and omega-3 fatty acids.
Chia – Fibre, protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and vitamins B3, B1, B2. While I don’t speak ancient Mayan, I have it on good authority (Google) that chia is the ancient Mayan word for ‘strength’.
Almonds – Fibre, Vitamin E & B6, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, selenium and potassium.
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp spiralina
- 2 tsp flaked quinoa
- 1 tsp flaxmeal
- 1 tbsp flaked almonds
- 1 tbsp fresh blueberries
- Handful Baby English Spinach
- 1 med-large banana
- 1 cup almond milk
- Add all ingredients except milk into blender, or stick mixer and blitz until mixed. Add milk and blitz until combined. Scrape sides to make sure that all of the yummy goodness is in the smoothie and not stuck to your mixer. Blitz again if necessary and pour into a large glass and enjoy!
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