Smoothie!

I've decided to add some staple family recipes to the blog now and then -- so I can just point to them when I pass them on. The genesis for this particular recipe? Eric.

Who else? :)

Berry smoothie

• 1 cup frozen berries -- blueberries, straweberries, mixed berries
• 0.5 TBSP sugar or a little more, to taste
• 1 scant scoop protein powder (Use the whey! I like Whey Factors brand. Go with vanilla! If you don't have protein powder, add a little vanilla extract for the flavor.)
• 0.5 cup some kind of milk: cow milk, soy milk, almond milk, chocolate hazelnut, hazelnut...you get the idea

I like my smoothies highly drinkable as opposed to frozen, so I try to remember to throw the berries, sugar, and sometimes the milk in a mason jar the night before -- and put it in the fridge. (Othewise, I thaw the berries in the microwave for 45 seconds.) In the morning, I add the remaining ingredients and use my immersion blender to mix it all up right in the jar. I drink it straight from the jar, too.

This recipe has around 167 calories in it. I added it to calorielookup.com at one point -- though I think the recipe included more sugar and less protein powder back then.

Sometimes I add half of a frozen banana for fun.


Berry-kale smoothie

• 1 cup frozen berries -- strawberries or straight blueberries work best, in my opinion
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped kale that has been deveined
• 0.5 TBSP sugar or more, to taste
• 1 to 2 TBSP nut butter -- peanut butter, almond butter
• 0.5 cups milk -- again, any kind

See above. Blend it all up and drink. In this case, I ready it all the night before and just blend in the morning.

For both of these recipes -- resist the urge to take them to go. I have never successfully had one without getting the berry seeds in my teeth or a smoothie mustache or both. :)