a smoothie a day

Last week I decided to try a new smoothie every morning for breakfast. I always feel better when I start the day with something light, and I love eating fruit! Since we're right at the brink of fresh fruit but not quite there, smoothies are the best way for me to eat fruit and it still tastes good. We have bags of different kinds frozen, so it isn't too hard! I always avoid bread in the morning - toast, muffins, etc... I don't always skip it, especially if my mom has made it special, I just feel better when I don't have it first thing after waking up. Saturday mornings are our exception. Everyone's home so we have biscuits, gravy (regular and chocolate), eggs, bacon, and homemade jellies galore.

If you follow me on Pinterest, you've seen me bombarding your home page with smoothie recipes! I tried a brand new one almost every day this week and, with the exception of one, I loved them all! And that one I didn't like, I really didn't like. It was an oatmeal smoothie that just didn't taste right, and I didn't take a picture of it, either. I ate that one Tuesday, so I've substituted Tuesday's recipe with my all time favorite oatmeal smoothie that I once ate for breakfast five days in a row!

Here are my five days of smoothie breakfasts. I started on Monday....

Monday | Mango Banana Green Smoothie

  (good for hair, skin, and nails)

• RECIPE•

Makes one serving.

1-2 handfuls of greens (I used kale and spinach)

1 handful of frozen mango

1 whole, frozen banana

coconut water or liquid of choice (I used orange juice)

blend, blend, blend!

Like most smoothie recipes, this one doesn't have exact measurements because it really needs to be tailored to your thickness and consistency preferences. Just wing it and enjoy! It doesn't taste like it looks, I promise. :)

Tuesday | Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie  

(for energy)

• RECIPE •

Makes one serving.

4-5 ice cubes

1/4 cup of dry oats

1 frozen banana

1 tsp. or so of peanut butter or PB2, a peanut butter with all the oils removed (I use PB2)

1 small scoop of vanilla protein powder, totally optional and be careful about using protein powder!

blend, blend, blend!

I like to drink this one on Sunday mornings because it fills me up a little more and my stomach won't growl in church if the service goes long! Be prepared for the oat-y texture. You can't really get rid of it in the blender and some people don't like it. It doesn't bother me!

Wednesday | Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie

• RECIPE •

Makes one serving

1/2 cup of milk (skim or almond)

1/2 cup of cottage cheese (low-fat)

2 Tbs. of honey

1/2 tsp. of vanilla

1 cup of berries - your choice! I used strawberries because that's what we have, but raspberries would be awesome, too!

blend, blend, blend!

This recipe sounded a bit odd to me at first because of the cottage cheese, but I'm a big fan of it anyway so I decided it was worth a try. I was shocked at the wonderful cheesecake flavor! So, so good - not the healthiest of my recipes, but a little delicious mid-week splurge. :)

Thursday | Peach Smoothie 

• RECIPE •
Makes one serving.

2 peaches - or eyeball your frozen peach slices like I did
1 frozen banana
1 cup of plain, vanilla, or peach yogurt
1 tsp. of honey
1 handful of ice cubes (unnecessary if using frozen fruit) 
your choice of liquid, mine is always milk - skim or almond for smoothies
blend, blend, blend!

YOU NEED TO ADD THE HONEY! I didn't and this was so bland. But it's very good, just make sure you add the honey. :)

Friday | Sunny Hawaiian Smoothie 

• RECIPE • 

Makes about four servings. Just "guestimate" the amounts if you only need one serving.

1 cup of orange juice (I used orange/pineapple/banana juice because it's what we have and also my favorite juice)

1 can of crushed pineapple, with juice

2 frozen bananas

2 tsp. of honey

1 cup of vanilla, coconut, or plain yogurt (I used vanilla because I like the creamy flavor it adds)

blend, blend, blend!

This was a great way to end my "week" of smoothies because it turned out to be my favorite one! My favorite fruit juice has been orange/pineapple/banana for years, and it tasted almost like that but in smoothie form. :)

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I hope you enjoyed this and are in the mood for a healthy smoothie now! Let me know if you try any of these and what changes you make - that's the wonderful thing about smoothies, each one can be customized to suit your taste buds! (But don't you dare leave out the greens in the first smoothie just because it looks "gross"! Our bodies need those dark green veggies and I promise you, your mouth won't know it's tasting vegetables!)

On top of smoothies, I've been trying to work myself up to drinking a gallon of water a day - so far I'm up to 1/2 a gallon a day, and I've drunk at least that much for 4 days in a row. I know a half a gallon doesn't sound like much, but it sure does feel like it to me!! We've leaped right over spring in my area, and the heat and humidity of  southern summers are creeping in so everyone's cutting back on the sweets, starches, and sodium! So far I've heard of calorie counters, soft drink cutters, sweets rejectors, and gluten-free dieters. Everyone seems to be working out and exercising - including me (gasp!) ...and that's just the people I know!

What are your health/fitness goals for summer? Eating more of one thing and less of another? Upping your cardio time? Give me some ideas of things I can do besides eating more fruit and water. I'm all ears (eyes?)!!

My April recap might be a little late, but I do have a sewing post in the works so stay tuned! I hope everyone is having the loveliest of springs! :)