I would be lying if I told you I make smoothies everyday for their taste over their health benefits. Truth be told, I sometimes pack in so many greens and other random ingredients (like beets and pumpkin) that it is sometimes a challenge to finish the whole thing.
It's not that I don't believe in enjoying food and smoothies, I just find it such a lost opportunity to pack in nutritious produce if I don't take it to that next level. I find it difficult to get in my veggies and salad in the winter months especially, so I just feel so much better about my day when I start it with a greens packed smoothie.
That said, every once in a while, I indulge in a smoothie that is more tasty than healthy. I leave out the greens, I use soy milk instead of water, add extra banana and some peanut butter and or cocoa, and in the end the thing tastes more like a milkshake than a smoothie. Mmmmmmm mmmmm good...
Well, today was the perfect day to try out a smoothie in the middle of the road. It's not PACKED with greens (although it could be), but it's also not overloaded with calorically dense, nutritionally light foods either. Since I was out of soy milk and unable to make my daily double latte, it was the perfect excuse to sneak some espresso into my smoothie. Coffee and breakfast in one- cha ching!
2 shots of espresso (or, 1 cup brewed coffee - just reduce other liquid)
water or milk or choice to thin to desired consistency
1 teaspoon coconut oil (use only if using water as thinner over milk)
2 tablespoons "power" mix (I use chia seeds, hemp hearts, buckewheat, and flax seeds)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (regular is more antioxidant packed, but dutch processed is tastier)
2 frozen "green cubes" (pureed spinach/kale frozen in ice cube tray)
1 tablespoon almonds or almond butter
Optional: I added some frozen berries in for some more antioxidants, but not enough to affect the flavour.
Blend until creamy, and enjoy!