I'm not super into healthy eating, but one of my favorite breakfasts/lunches is a smoothie. It's a great way to get a lot of nutrients in and is really easy on the go (I drink one in the car on my way to work!)
They opened a smoothie bar in our dining hall second semester and my friend Alyssa and I spent the entire semester getting a smoothie every day and perfecting our recipe. When I came home for the summer, my mom was shocked that I was now a connoisseur of smoothies but hey, that's what college will do!
This isn't really an exact recipe because I never make the same version twice. Also, I'm not including exact measurements because it depends on how much you want. I use a smoothie as a meal, so I like a lot, but my mom just has one with other food so hers are usually a little smaller.
Start with whatever frozen fruit you want. If you use frozen fruit, you don't have to use ice and it's a lot easier on you and your blender. I used strawberries, pineapple and blueberries in this smoothie.
One of the best tricks I learned from the ladies in the Vanderbilt dining hall is to put your fruit in the cup you want to drink the smoothie out of. That way, you end up with the perfect amount for your cup and you don't have to throw a bunch away.
I always put the strawberries on top in the cup because it means they will be on the bottom in the blender. Since they're the biggest, they're the hardest to blend.
The pineapple is delicious and adds sweetness, but it does make it a little more pulpy. If you really hate pulp, try using a banana instead.
I don't like blueberries. Honestly, I never have. I don't like them raw, I don't like them in muffins, I don't like them in pancakes. But I like them in smoothies. Blueberries are a "super fruit" so I guess they're really good for you and this is an easy way to get all those antioxidants without tasting it.
At school, they put juice in the smoothies. I love mine with apple juice because it makes it sweet. However, fruit juices have a ton of calories. Milk makes it creamier and adds calcium.
I always put a scoop of yogurt or Greek yogurt in my smoothies. With the milk, it makes it creamier, and it adds a lot of protein. I literally just use a spoon to scoop some straight into the blender, so I have no idea how much it is.
Important: put the yogurt straight into the blender. If you put it in the cup, it doesn't really come out.
If you want to add spinach or kale, now is the time to throw that in the blender, too!
Almost ready to blend! Notice that the strawberries ended up on the bottom and the blueberries ended up on the top! If your smoothie won't blend, add a splash of water just to get more liquid in there to get it moving.
The last thing I add before I blend is chia seeds. I obviously don't use very many because the blueberries also get kind of seedy. I wouldn't recommend chia seeds with raspberries because it's just too many seeds.
Chia seeds sound super fancy, but I literally buy mine at Target. You can pick up a package for a few dollars there and they last a long time.
I was in a hurry this morning when I grabbed my smoothie out of the fridge and forgot to take a picture of the finished product! It was delicious and a quick and fun way to start my day!
