Being a mother of a toddler and a new puppy, life can be very hectic!! Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT complaining. But sometimes making a good breakfast can be challenging. When that is the case I make myself a green smoothie (it doesn’t have to be green). The benefit to that is that my daughter LOVES them and it’s a sure fire way to get her daily dose of yucky veggies in. Did I mention I have a very picky eater?? But that is another topic all together.

What I love about smoothies is that you don’t really need a recipe, once you get the hang of it you can add whatever you like! Here is how I build mine;

1.       Base – this can be WATER, COCONUT WATER, COCONUT MILK, DIARY FREE MILK or a WHOLE MILK (if feeding a toddler). I use approx. 1 cup.

2.       Fiber & Omega 3s – 2 Tbsp. Flax seeds, hemp hearts or chia seeds. You can even add a fish oil supplement at this point if you wish. Just make sure it is toddler safe (i.e. not too strong)

3.       Greens – 1 cup of greens. This could be spinach or kale just make sure it is ORGANIC as they have a high concentrate of pesticides. I sometimes add a greens powder for added nutrients.

4.       Fruit – I use a mix of fresh and frozen fruit, approx. ¾ cup of low sugar fruit like berries or ½ cup of medium sugar fruit like pineapple and mango. NOTE: if I am going to the gym/working out at home right after I will use a banana and some nut butter for extra sustainability.

Blend and enjoy!

If you are drinking these smoothies alone (no toddler/baby) then you can also add some protein powder, but I do not recommend adding it if you are going to share with a little person. It is best to provide their protein intake with ‘real’ food rather than a supplement. It is easy to add in at the end if you want to do both, just serve them theirs first then stir in some protein for you. But to be honest, I’m a fan of eating my protein rather than drinking it. There is enough slow release energy in these smoothies with the flax/hemp/chia that you don’t need to worry too much about protein.