We ended 2017 by making Grandma’s Famous Buckeyes, a recipe that’s loaded with powdered sugar, chocolate, and peanut butter. Aren’t those sweet morsels incredible? There’s a reason why they’re “famous.”

And now we’re going to kick off the year with a smoothie. A smoothie that’s packed full of leafy greens and protein-rich ingredients.

Friend, that’s what I call balance.

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email & I’ll send it straight to your inbox. And you’ll get new recipes & tips each week.

Save Recipe

 

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

As we enter a new year, a time when many folks make a resolution to “eat better,” let’s talk about real food for a minute. Then we’ll sip on this green smoothie, okay?

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Real food, the return to less-processed food and more “from-scratch” meals, is slowly gaining popularity in our society. The funny thing is that for centuries, real food was the only thing that existed. It’s wasn’t a popular way of eating; it was the the only way of eating. A meal that could be purchased from a grocery store shelf and cooked in under two minutes in a microwave would have seemed absurd to our ancestors.

Just a side note, I’m not against technology or even (ethical) scientific advancements (hey, I’m writing on a laptop and wear an Apple watch. And yes, I own and use a microwave).

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Somewhere in the process of trying to make food convenient and inexpensive, companies started to use fake ingredients (or chemically enhanced ingredients that our bodies no longer recognize as food), or lots of the same nutritionally-void ingredients (refined sugars, and processed corn and soy). Soon, markets and stores, which were once stocked with fresh ingredients, were overrun with these overly-processed and nutrient-deficient “foods.” And to makes these “foods” appear to be incredible choices, packages were carefully labeled with all sorts of healthy claims.

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Now, in 2017, we have an entire adult generation (my generation) that’s been raised on these “foods.” After years and years of being raised to think that food could only come from a store package or a fancy restaurant with a trained chef, a food revolution has begun. A revolution that’s about returning to fresh ingredients and nutrient-rich meals.

That’s the beauty of real food. It’s not a diet. It’s not about fad ingredients, like goji berries or hemp seeds (which ironically I use in this smoothie). It’s not about buying everything local and unpackaged. It’s simply about being intentional and mindful about the food we consume, and purposefully thinking about the ingredients used to make our food.

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

With that said, let’s kick off the new year with a simple, nutrient-rich smoothie.

I’ve found that smoothies are an excellent way for me to start the morning, especially when I’m up before my family and don’t want to eat a full breakfast just yet. A smoothie can be a great vehicle for packing a bunch of fresh and nutritionally-rich ingredients into a real food lifestyle (particularly first thing in the morning), like: probiotics (when you use yogurt or kefir), fiber and potassium (thanks to the whole fruits and/or veggies, and oats), and protein (from the nut butters).

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Today’s smoothie is my go-to smoothie on most mornings. This smoothie isn’t heavy (it doesn’t contain a bunch of fruit or hard veggies, or dairy), but it still packs a nutritional punch (in a good way) thanks to the leafy greens, banana, nut butter, and oats. Sometimes I’ll also add chia seeds, hemp seeds, or collagen, if the ingredients are available in my pantry.

After my morning Barre workout (which I’ve been trying to get in at least four days a week), and once everyone is awake and ready for school, I’ll enjoy a quick breakfast with the family before we all head out the door. I personally don’t find that a smoothie is enough to keep me satisfied until lunch, so I usually enjoy a couple of pancakes or an egg during this time.

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Cheers to a new year! A year of being intentional and mindful of the choices we make.

My Go-To Morning Green Protein Smoothie
5 from 2 votes

Green Protein Smoothie

A nutrient-rich protein smoothie made with spinach, nut milk, banana, and nut butter. 
Kristin Marr
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 2 people
Calories 475 kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the spinach, milk, banana, nut butter, and any optional ingredients in a blender jar. Blend on high until the leafy greens and ingredients are completely combined (there shouldn't be any green chunks). 
  • Add the ice to the smoothie, and blend for 30-40 seconds, until smooth and creamy. 

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 16gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 377mgPotassium: 1069mgFiber: 11gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 5700IUVitamin C: 27.1mgCalcium: 506mgIron: 4.9mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

This is my go-to smoothie nearly every single morning. This smoothie is packed full of leafy greens and natural protein (no fancy protein powders).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments

  1. Hello, this recipe looks delightful. I’m counting macros and am new to this whole process. Is the 475 calories per serving or 950 calories total or the two servings are a total of 475 calories?

  2. 5 stars
    Thank you for your Monthly Meal Ideas! I so appreciate all that you said in this post. I particularly agree with going back to eating real food. Thank you also for stating that the smoothie is not enough for you to hold you over until lunch. I found this to be true for me as well and gave up drinking them even though I liked the taste. You have inspired me! Keep up the great work!

  3. Off topic perhaps, but do you mind sharing if you do barre at home or at a studio? There are no studios where I live, so I am always looking for good at-home resources.

    1. Hey elle, I belong to a Pure Barre studio. I visit the studio 3-4 times a week and supplement with the Pure Barre online streaming (from my home) the rest of the days. I really like the 30 minute streaming workouts and they are a great deal ($19 for a full year).