5 wholesome breakfast smoothies

If you're feeling like you've got a hectic morning and you would otherwise be skipping breakfast, we've got some smoothie recipe ideas for you today. There is exactly one month of summer left here in the northern hemisphere and smoothies are perfect in the summer months but also any other time of the year. I think they're perfect kind of as afternoon snacks but also like I said if you're in a rush you can just whip it together in a couple minutes take it with you to go and if you've got some more time to sit down and enjoy your smoothie at home I always like to top it with a whole bunch of granola to make it a little bit more wholesome and filling. So today we're going to be making five different smoothie recipes. It's just a really easy way for us to get in our daily servings of fruits and vegetables. I do want to take a brief moment to thank audible for partnering with us on today's video. I have been using audible for years and years to listen to some of my favorite audiobooks but we're going to chat more about them at the end. For now we're going to get started on making the smoothies. Let's first talk about a little bit of prep. To begin I always like to freeze some bananas and zucchini that I like to use in my smoothies. It makes them really frothy, creamy, really nice and cold and the more spotted that the ripe bananas are the more naturally sweet they're going to be. I like to cut each banana so that I know that four pieces equals one full banana and then I freeze them in a single layer on a plate and put it in the freezer and then when they're fully frozen I transfer them to airtight containers that I can then store in the freezer for a few weeks and when you do it like this it means the bananas and zucchinis aren't going to stick together when you need it for your recipe. That way you can just grab it and use it instead of needing to pry them apart from each other. The other thing you might want to consider is looking for plant-based milks that are fortified with calcium. By just looking at the front or the side of the label you should be able to see and if you're interested in learning more about why calcium is important for us we've written an article about it on the blog. I'm going to leave that link for you in the description box below. The first smoothie we're going to make is one my mom used to make for me all the time. It's a simple five ingredient incredibly delicious beautifully vibrant blueberry smoothie. So to the blender we're going to add two frozen bananas and one cup of frozen blueberries, two tablespoons of almond butter, a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and two cups of a plant-based milk. Here we use soy milk and then we're going to blend it and watch the vibrant and beautiful purple color emerge. Because it's just five ingredients this is a smoothie I whip together and usually take with me whenever I need a quick snack but if you've got the time you can turn it into a bowl and top it with a swirl of almond butter, some chopped up ripe banana, a little sprinkle of chia seeds or a sprinkle of coconut flakes, maybe some coarsely chopped roasted almonds if you'd like a little bit of crunch and some fresh blueberries. The fruits and nuts have fiber in it and there's fat and protein in the nuts as well and these three things help to slow our body's digestion of the natural sugars that are in this smoothie. If you want to learn more about sugar check out the video we made on it I'm going to link that for you here and in the description box below. This next recipe is for chocolate and coffee lovers made wholesome by adding some fruit and veg in the form of frozen banana and zucchini which trust me you cannot taste the zucchini in here at all. For our recipe we used a shot of espresso but if you don't have an espresso machine just use two teaspoons of instant coffee it's going to work just as well. We're then going to add some roasted cashews to make this smoothie creamy, thick and more nutritious. So we're going to add about one and a half frozen bananas to a blender along with half of a cup of frozen zucchini naturally sweetening it using three large medjool dates with the pits removed and then we're going to add a quarter cup of roasted cashews, half of a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, a tablespoon of cocoa or cacao powder, the shot of espresso and one cup of any plant-based milk. Here we're using oat milk. Then we're going to blend it on high until it's creamy and smooth and then pour it into a bowl top it with some granola. This one here is a homemade version I'm going to leave that link for you in the description and then we also topped ours with some banana coins, some coconut flakes and if you're feeling in the mood for an extra treat you can shred a bit of dairy-free dark chocolate on it for some presentation, maybe some raspberries and that's it. You've got yourself a snack or a meal in a bowl that's wholesome but yet so indulgent that it feels like a dessert. For the next recipe we're making this vibrant pink sunrise smoothie. It's loaded with three types of veggies and three types of fruits. It's rich in carotenoids and other antioxidants so we're going to begin by prepping the fruits and veggies, peeling an orange, coarsely chopping a carrot as well as a beetroot. To a blender we're then going to add one cup of frozen strawberries and half of a cup of frozen zucchini. One each of the orange, a small beetroot and the carrot as well as a cup of frozen raspberries. We're then going to add some wholesome fats to the smoothie by adding half a cup of roasted cashews and one and a half cups of a plant-based milk of your choice. Here we used coconut milk from a carton. Then we're going to blend it all up until it's creamy and smooth. The beets make this a beautiful fuchsia color and I personally love the earthy flavor that it imparts but if you're not a fan of beets just start with less or leave it out altogether. The smoothie is also not all that sweet which I prefer but if you want to add some more natural sweetness just add in some frozen banana or dates. And with all of the smoothies that we're sharing today we included at least three of the four food groups to ensure a varied source of nutrients. This smoothie in particular is loaded with veggies which is great for kids who love the bright and playful color but it's a perfect drink for adults too. This next smoothie is one that I make for myself all the time especially if I'm feeling a bit under the weather, if I feel like a cold is coming on. I like to add plant-based yogurt for the probiotics for a healthy gut microbiome. Fruits like oranges and frozen berries for the vitamin c and antioxidants. I add a bit of beetroot for the color mostly but I also like that earthy flavor. There's a chunk of ginger for the digestive relief that it can provide and I also like to add a nut butter for some healthy fats to slow our body's absorption of those sugars and of course the plethora of benefits that come from leafy greens like spinach. So to make this smoothie nice and frosty we're going to start by adding two frozen bananas to a blender along with an orange, a quarter of a raw beetroot again for color, one small chunk of ginger, a tablespoon of nut butter, here we used peanut butter, one large handful of spinach, half of a cup of frozen raspberries or any other berry that you'd like, and a quarter cup of plant-based yogurt. Here we used coconut yogurt and finally one cup of plant-based milk. Then blend it on high until it's as creamy as you can make it. Pour it into a glass or a bowl and if you'd like you can top it with some homemade granola just like we're doing here, maybe some toasted coconut flakes and some fresh raspberries. Because of the spiciness from the ginger and the earthiness from the beetroot, this smoothie does have some intense flavors. It might not be for everyone so if you already know you don't like those two ingredients, just leave them out. In that case the smoothie is going to be a lot more mild and sweet in its flavor profile. This last recipe is for all the mango lovers. It's just five ingredients and I don't know about you but mangoes are easily one of my favorite fruits so I think this smoothie is incredible. It's loaded with plant-based yogurt providing us with some beneficial probiotics. It's featuring some ground flax seeds which are a source of omega-3 fatty acids and spinach too of course for all of the fiber minerals and the other good stuff. So through a blender we're going to add two cups of frozen mangoes, two cups of fresh spinach, a cup of plant-based yogurt of your choosing. Here we used soy, two tablespoons of ground flax seeds and half of a cup of plant-based milk. Then we're going to blend it all up. This is a thick smoothie so you might need to give it a mix with your tamper or stop to scrape down the sides a couple of times and if you do prefer it a thinner consistency just add some more plant milk. Once it's all blended up you can take it with you to go or pour it into a bowl and top it with some fresh mango chunks, some kiwi slices, fresh blueberries, some toasted coconut flakes and finally a sprinkle of hemp seeds. It's thick, it's creamy, it's dense, it's super nutritious and there's that little hint and feeling of the tropics with all of those mangoes in there. Now even though we've covered five different smoothie recipes in today's video maybe you're hungry for more and if you are we've got lots of other smoothie recipes on the blog. I'm going to leave those links for you in the description box below along with a breakdown of all the other recipes we've covered today and again I want to thank Audible for partnering with us on today's video. I recently started to listen to this book and if you are a nature lover as much as I am you are going to love this one. It's called The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wallaban. He shares research findings about how trees communicate, how they support each other, how they share nutrients with each other through their root systems and when listening to the first couple chapters of this book my mouth was wide open in shock of how beautiful and intricate of a system it all is and it reinforces the importance of us taking care of our environment and of our forests and that's what I love about Audible that you can learn new and insightful things just while you're on your commute to work or while you're at the gym or cooking or cleaning. So if you're interested in giving this book a listen as well and the narrator's voice by the way is incredible for this book you can get it for free or any other book that you'd like plus a 30-day free membership by visiting audible.com forward slash pick up limes or check out the link in the description box below. All right guys I think that's it for today. Before you head out do let me know what your go-to smoothie recipe is. What is it that you put in there? I'm always looking for new ideas and inspiration for mine so I'll see you guys in the comments. Thanks a lot for watching. Pick Up Limes signing off and we'll see you in the next video.