There are several reasons I like to make smoothies for breakfast:

1. They are tasty.
2. They go together quickly.
3. They can be healthy (notice how I didn’t say they are healthy? Excess sugar and fat, I’m talking to you).
4. They are portable!

There are a few things I do the same with my smoothies almost each and every time.

1. Ice first.
   1. if I have a frozen fruit, I cut the amount of ice, subbing it for the frozen fruit, of course.
2. Next comes fruit. This is my only source of sugar. No kidding!
   1. Part of that fruit is half of a banana, minus the peel.  his adds a little creaminess and body
3. I add fresh ginger; because I like it a little spicy.
4. I add lemon or lime, including the peel. It intensifies the citrus flavor and I hear the peel is good for the liver so, win, win!
5. I add collagen powder (specifically Vital Proteins, unflavored). I find it frustrating that a lot of that expensive powder gets stuck in the bottom of the Vitamix cup when I am using the single serving glass to mix, so now I dilute it in a bit of water first.
6. I add almond milk.
   1. If out of almond milk, I add regular milk.
   2. If out of milk, I add a dollop of yogurt and water.
   3. If out of yogurt, I just add water.

And those are the usual suspects.

The unknowns are:

1. What kind of fruit?
2. Vegetables or no vegetables?
3. A little extra something? Cinnamon, nuts, cocao…?

I like to add something green, but typically only if I am not using berries. Kiwis are perfect with pineapple, and regular apple if you want to go green.

I wonder if there is a pea under here or if it’s in the smoothie?

Sleeping alfresco always makes me dream of meat for breakfast, not smoothies. Although my food is a bit on the smooth side.

A Smooth Smoothie

This smoothie has the sweet taste of summer with a peach from our neighbor’s tree (uh, shhh…) and gets its’ body from home-made almond milk rather than the typical banana. If you don’t have home-made almond milk, try adding 4 or five almonds in as well.

• Author: Stacey Bender
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: none
• Total Time: 52 minute
• Yield: single serving
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: Healthy

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

3–4 1-inch Watermelon “cubes”

2–3 Ice cubes

1 Peach (peeled, seed and skin removed)

1/2 Red Apple (such as Gala, Braeburn, Honey Crisp…); core removed, peel left on

(1) 1/2-inch sliver Key Lime (or 1/4 sliver regular lime), skin on

(1) 1/2 to 1-inch knob of Ginger Root (depending on how much you like ginger), skin removed

1-inch top cut from a Wheat Grass plant, cleaned and patted dry

1 scoop Collagen Powder (diluted in a few tablespoons water)

4 TB homemade Almond Milk (thick)

Instructions

In the order listed above, add the ingredients to a Vitamix and blend in “smoothie” mode.

Pretty simple, right?

Notes

To make home-made almond milk, soak 1 cup of almonds overnight in a bowl of water.  drain and rinse.  Add to a Vitamix with 2 cups water and blend.  It will be thickish which you can dilute with water as you use it. For this smoothie, I like to leave it thick and get the extra liquid it needs from the diluted collagen powder.