Protein Power: "Kale Me Up" Banana Berry Smoothie

 [Part of a series called Protein Power.]

Lately I've been in a smoothie mood.  How about you?  

Maybe it's because we are over our heads busy trying to get our house ready to sale & I don't want to mess around with a lot of prep time in the kitchen.  Or maybe it's because it's spring & I can't seem to get enough greens (& smoothies are an easy way to get more in).


Whatever it is, right now I'm lovin' smoothies & I throw in as many greens as I can to add lots of nutrients without impacting the taste too much.  Plus, they're easy, filling, & of course, nutritious.

I go in phases (like right now) where have to have a green smoothie every day.  Especially a green smoothie, like this one.

Today for my "breakfast,"  I had this smoothie, a huge bowl of my breakfast slaw, & a piece of gluten-free toast topped with 1/4 of an avocado, mashed.  Food like this makes me one happy momma.  

Easy Breakfast Slaw

I should also mention that I go through phases where I don't have a smoothie for months & months.  In fact I had "green smoothie" burn out for awhile where I couldn't even look at a green smoothie.  

Further, I'm not one of those who believes green smoothies have to be a part of a healthy lifestyle.  I like them--sometimes I include them in my diet when I feel like it, & sometimes I don't.  

So, what kind of greens to put in the smoothie?

I've found kale, chard, or spinach to be great choices for green smoothies, but whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, use mustard greens. You've gotta take my word for it.  I did that once & it was like drinking a mustard milkshake--yummy, right?

I did a post on plant-milks awhile back (actually I think it's been a few years) & the post is seriously outdated.  I really need to do an updated post.   So much has happened in the non-dairy milk world.  It's exploded with variety & options.  

Take coconut milk for example.

It used to be that you could only get coconut milk from a can (or a coconut), & you would never dream of actually drinking it like cow's milk.  But now, it's all over the place.  

I'm sure Jillian Micheals as the coconut milk spokesperson doesn't hurt their cause, either.  I actually really like Jillian Micheals.  Yes, she's a bit abbrasive & she caters to a certain type of audience, but I think she's done a lot of good in helping Americans get real about fitness & health.  Doesn't hurt that she's all for a vegan milk, too.  

Which, speaking of milk, see how rich & creamy it is?  

I went to the store today & had to get some of this stuff because I noticed that So Delicious now has a 45 cal/cup version with no sugar added.  

I love my almond milk, but this stuff seriously competes.  

It doesn't have a chalky taste (like Rice Dream, the one plant-milk I really do not like), it's not high in calories, it includes MCFA's (medium-chain fatty acids), which are good for you for a number of reasons, contains no sugar, & most important:  it tastes good!

I also added a half a scoop of Garden of Life's raw protein powder (which added about 4 grams of protein), but I didn't include this in the recipe below.

If you're new to green smoothies or have a sensitive palate, try halving the amount of kale in the recipe.  I don't mind a little kaley flavor, but I know some people might not be crazy about it.

If you're one of those, use 1 cup instead of 2 cups.

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"Kale Me Up" Banana Berry Smoothie
GF, SF
Serves 1-2

Here's what you need:

• 1/2 c. mixed frozen berries
• 1 frozen banana (it tastes much better if the banana is frozen, makes it more creamy)
• 1 c. ice (about 6-8 half moon cubes)
• 1 TBS. stevia in the raw (or 1/2 TBS. agave, which will add calories & sugar)
• 2 c. kale
• 1 TBS. hemp nut seed
• 1 1/2 c. coconut milk 

This is what makes it sweet 

Kale is a super food!  You want to eat more of this stuff.

The berries will add anti-oxidants, to help make your skin glow!

This is about 2 cups of kale.  

To make:

Blend all ingredients except for 1/2 of the hemp seed.  (I blended mine on the whole juice setting of my Blendtec.)  Top with remaining hemp seed & enjoy!

  

Nutrition Info:  Entire recipe:  340 calories, 11 g protein, 59 g carbs, 10 g fat, 9 g fiber.

Nutrition Notes:  If you want to lower the fat content, use a low fat non-dairy milk instead of coconut milk.  Even though coconut milk is high in fat, cup for cup, especially if you get the low cal kind, it can be 1/2 the calories of a conventional soy or rice milk.  If you want to up the protein, add another tablespoon of hemp seed, or a scoop of your fave protein powder, and/or use soy milk (which is naturally high in protein).

This recipe, submitted to Diet, Dessert, & Dogs blog, here.

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Have you tried So Delicious coconut milk?  What do you think of Jillian Micheals?

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