Things I "Like": Breakfast Smoothies

Over the past few weeks I've fallen hard for breakfast smoothies. Despite my love of breakfast food, I'm not a big morning eater. On the weekends I can go hours without eating, but during the week I have to choke something down, otherwise I'm super cranky. And since nobody wants Cranky Emily lecturing them on improper comma usage, a nice breakfast smoothie has helped bridge the gap along with upping my daily intake of fruits and veg.

Additionally, though the benefits of running this blog are pretty obvious, sometimes my pants don't fit. When I complained about this recently, James said "Stop baking all the time." Of course, then he emailed me a recipe for dessert pizza, so it's something we both need to adjust to.

As for smoothies, I've been experimenting with different bases and add ins, but usually include the following: almond milk or water, frozen fruit, and a handful of fresh spinach. Sometimes I'll add avocado to create a creamy texture and flax seed, chia seed, or more leafy greens for an extra fiber kick. Part of the fun is coming up with different mixes, which never gets boring, and it's a good way to use up any produce that's on the verge of expiring. 

The smoothie pictured above was made with 8 oz almond milk, a spoonful of almond butter, about a 1/2 C-1C of frozen blueberries, a handful of baby spinach, and about a tablespoon of chia seeds. James says it looks like swamp water, but I assure you it tastes much better. You can always add honey or agave nectar if you like your smoothies a bit sweeter.

Green Lemonade is a great blog for recipes and No More Dirty Looks just featured a post on the beauty benefits of morning smoothies.