Healthy and Easy Smoothie Recipes

My breakfast pretty much every day after a training session is a smoothie. It’s easy and a quick option especially on those mornings when I have to dash out the door.

To save time, I prepare most of the ingredients the night before and then it’s all ready for me to blend up in the morning.

As most of my recipes feature bananas, I buy ripe bananas in bulk and freeze them, so I always have some on hand. Bonus: the frozen ones are also great for whenever I suddenly want to make banana bread.

Three of my favourite smoothie recipes on high rotation below:

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ½ banana
• ¼ cup blueberries
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp hemp seeds
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 serve protein powder
• 1 serve collagen
• 1 serve powdered greens
• ½ cup almond milk
• 2 shots of cold drip coffee (Dark City Foundry of course!)

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and whiz. Add water or additional almond milk if too thick.

Why I love this smoothie:

Blueberries are one of my favourite fruits so it’s fitting that they feature a lot in my smoothies. If you don’t have hemp seeds substitute with LSA or chia seeds.

Image by rawpixel on Pixabay

Macadamia Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 5 unsalted macadamia nuts
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp flaxseeds
• 2 tsp cacao powder
• 1 serve protein powder
• 1 serve collagen
• 1 serve powdered greens
• ½ cup almond milk
• 2 shots of cold drip coffee (Dark City Foundry of course!)

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and whiz. Add water or additional almond milk if too thick.

Why I love this smoothie:

After a run I’m always starving so this smoothie is a great filling option. Plus, cacao, banana and coffee are a really tasty combo.

Image by Antonio Janeski on Unsplash 

Avocado Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ¼ avocado
• 1 tsp cacao powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1-2 drops peppermint essence
• 1 serve protein powder
• 1 serve collagen
• 1 serve powdered greens
• ½ cup almond milk
• 2 shots of cold drip coffee (Dark City Foundry of course!)

Method:

Add all ingredients to a blender and whiz. Add water or additional almond milk if too thick.

Why I love this smoothie:

Sometimes it’s nice to have an alternative to a banana smoothie! I also love peppermint so have included some peppermint drops in the recipe, but if you don’t have any, it’s just as delicious without.

Image by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Hints and Options:

1. Instead of the 2 shots of cold drip coffee, maybe make some cold drip coffee ice cubes, perfect on a hot summer day.
2. Add some yogurt for a thicker consistency.
3. Add some chopped zucchini. They are flavourless and bonus extra greens.
4. If you feel you need more carbs add a tablespoon or two of oats.
5. I use unsweetened Pure Harvest almond milk (which is sold in Woolies and Coles) as it’s the cleanest almond milk I’ve found with the fewest ingredients. Always read labels as there are so many almond milks out there that add ingredients like sugar, oil and preservatives which I’d rather do without!

How to make coffee ice cubes