Smoothie time!

This summer my mom saved up her money and purchased The Caddy.  I love my caddy! I do too! But its not a real caddy it is a VitaMix.  The Cadillac of blenders. Professional chefs on TV use it. It can blend and pulverize anything. Literally anything. But this post is not about the VitaMix, it is about smoothies.  Which work so much better if you have a great blender. Yes, well, moving on...

Anyway, this summer we have been trying out all sorts of smoothies and all natural juices and we wanted to share our favorites with you! This is how I add protein to my diet which as we all know is very important.


Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chocolate Smoothie (Gina's absolute favorite treat)
1 ripe sliced banana
1 scoop of whey protein
1 T. nut butter (peanut, almond, or hazelnut)--this is healthy if you use all natural butter with no added ingredients except salt
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
stevia or honey to taste
a sprinkle of cinnamon
1 c. cold water
1/2 c. ice
put all ingredients in blender in this order and blend until desired consistency


Mint Choco-nut Dream from Maximized Living (both of us really enjoyed this one)
1 to 2 scoops whey protein
1/4 to 1/2 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 T. mint flavored greens powder (which we didn't know what that was so we used a handful of fresh mint leaves)
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 to 1 tsp of stevia
1 T. coconut oil (opt)
add cold water and/or ice to desired consistency
mix in blender


Berry Protein Smoothie (the standard smoothie for uninspired breakfasts)
a handful of frozen berries (freeze these yourself from fresh so that there are no preservatives)
1/2 c. organic whole milk or coconut milk (whole is better than skim because it isn't processed like reduced fat milks are)
1 scoop whey protein
handful of dark greens like spinach or kale if desired
mix in blender 


Frozen Strawberry Grape Juice from VitaMix cookbook (Brig's favorite treat)
1 c. green grapes
1 c. red grapes (sometimes I just use one kind because of what is on hand)
1 c. frozen strawberries (again frozen yourself)
1/2 c. ice cubes
put in blender in this order and blend until desired consistency, makes 4 cups


these make wonderful desserts that you don't have to feel guilty over! and I'm all about desserts! Plus, you can add other fruits or veggies if you have a hard time fitting in all your daily servings in! Really, how many salads can one person eat in a day anyway?


PS--I am saving up for a VitaMix myself when I move out...very expensive, but very worth it!