My kids don’t like to eat much first thing in the morning. Brunch mid morning, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and (later in the evening) supper – sure – just not a large meal immediately upon waking. (They are a bit like Hobbits at times.) My youngest used to enjoy a glass of warm chocolate milk, but I made him kick the habit because of all the sugar that’s typically in most chocolate milk mixes (even homemade, it’s tough to get the flavor the boys want without all the added sugar).
Instead of chocolate milk, I’m now making him breakfast smoothies. Have you ever watched Iron Chef or Top Chef and noticed those high powered blenders with the black bases and plungers that they use for everything from ice cream to sauces? Those bad boys are Vitamixes, and they can blend just about anything. After learning about them from a friend and pining for one for several months, I finally took the plunge and ordered one last year. Now I use it almost every day. I originally bought it with nut butters in mind (and it does work for that), but I use it more for smoothies than anything else. It can blend frozen fruit into a smooth and creamy mix that has a texture like a really good sorbet. It’s like eating ice cream for breakfast, but it’s good for you.
To make Duncan’s probiotic breakfast smoothie, I start with about one cup of homemade unsweetened yogurt or milk kefir. Then I add about one frozen banana. (I freeze the bananas in chunks, so I just throw in several pieces.) Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, 1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen tart cherries, one teaspoon amalaki powder
As you can see, it’s pretty thick. You could use any combination of fruit, this is just what I happen to have in the freezer. The color is really bright, but it’s all from the wild blueberries and tart cherries. The banana adds natural sweetness. I’ve tried to sneak in some celery or other veggies, but Duncan’s not interested in those in his smoothie just yet. I figure this is still a lot better than pop tarts or sugar laden breakfast cereal. We go picking cherries in Door County so I stock up on those at a good price, and I buy blueberries in bulk when they’re in season and freeze those, too.
If by chance you find yourself in the market for a high powered blender, I highly recommend the Vitamix. I liked it so much I became an affiliate, which means that if you order using the banner ad at the bottom of this post, you get free shipping and I get a small finder’s fee. They’ve got a seven year warranty, so even though it’s a little more expensive than your basic blender, you’ll get your money’s worth. They also have a safety circuit breaker, so if you do something that is overheating the motor, it shuts itself off until it cools down instead of damaging the unit. I found this out when I tried to grind too many sprouted wheat berries while making a large batch of Essene bread. I thought I had killed it (yes, I didn’t read the manual), but I contacted customer service, and they explained the feature. It’s back in action and still running great.
Do you make smoothies – breakfast, green or otherwise? What do you like to put in yours?
Get Free Shipping on Your Vitamix
That looks wonderful! I do one with Cherry, frozen blueberries, vanilla kefir, a couple of ice cubes, and some pomegranite juice. I add a tablespoon of Spirulein vanilla protein shake mix and blend and it keeps me full until lunch time.
That looks really good! If/when I get a new blender, I'm going to come back here and click on your affiliate link. :^)
BTW, I told my counselor friend I'm now drinking whole milk (albeit only about one cup every other day). It was a good thing he was sitting down…and I wish I'd have had a camera handy to document his expression. :^)
Good to "see" you, Brigid. I just bought some spirulina and have been working up the courage to try it. It's so green! It's funny, I would have pictured your smoothies including bacon.
Tina – whole milk? Wahoo! It's a step in the right direction. Thanks for thinking of linkin'.
It's not like I want to go overboard with ads (that drives me nuts on some blogs), but if I can share something I like and earn a little bit, it's a good combo.
I do about the same, but add an egg, almond butter, coconut oil and ground flax seed, frozen mango is good
That sounds like a good dose of extra healthy protein and fat. I finally got some good mango this year, and it was wonderful. I always thought I didn't like mango, but I hadn't had one that was properly ripened.
Yep, ya wait 'til the mango weeps, then it's good to eat! In case you haven't seen a mango weeping, look at the stem end, right around the stem will be glossy sorta sticky fluid (small amts, we're not talking needing hankies, here). That's a weeping mango. Go forth and gobble!
One of my personal favs for mangos is to blend (in my Vita, of course – yahoo, you are "one of us"!!) a mango with about a cup of kale or chard leaves or both, and about 1/2 c or so of water to make it go. It's geen for sure, but you only taste MANGO!! It's also known as Green Mango Pudding…thick and spoon worthy.
Fun post – LOVED the intense purple – yum!
I like mangoes, peaches, pineapple and berries all blended with milk kefir and yogurt. I have found that the probiotics complement each other as far as their action in my body. The yogurt makes the smoothie creamier.
My grandkids like to use whole grain waffle strips to dunk into the smoothie. Healthy source of energy and delicious at the same time. Like dessert for breakfast. Speaking of which, raspberry and a bit of grated dark chocolate can make you almost feel guilt in a probiotic smoothie!
CandyJane – I had noticed the droplets, but didn't know what to call them. The pudding sounds lovely. I still have some kale left in the freezer – hopefully enough to hold me over until the new greens start producing.
bears – that sounds wonderfully tropical.
Sometimes I throw cacao nibs and cherries in my smoothies, ala "chocolate covered cherry:…mmmmmmm….
Pingback: Home Remedies for Stomach Flu Symptoms (Skip the BRAT diet)Common Sense Homesteading
Pingback: Gluten Free Banana BreadCommon Sense Homesteading