Shakin' up breakfast!

I have been having a hard time with breakfast lately. I’m either finishing up my run and rushing to teach by 8am, or feeling groggy and not in the mood to eat. So, I decided that this week, I am going to make a little smoothie each morning. Smoothies make a great quick breakfast and are usually easy to stomach even if you aren’t super hungry. I found seven great smoothie ideas from “allrecipes.com”, which I modified to increase nutritional value. I posted the recipes below (each makes 2-3 servings), along with a little blurb on the health benefits of each. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Smoothie
Pumpkin is high in beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant!
Ingredients
1/2 cup canned pumpkin3/4 cup soy milk
1 banana½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
4 ice cubes

Directions
Combine ingredients in blender and puree until smooth.
Pour the smoothies into small glasses (this drink is rich) and garnish each with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or whipped topping. For a fun touch, add a pinch of cinnamon or a few colored sprinkles. Serves 2 or 3.

Zucchini Banana Chocolate Peanut Smoothie
This smoothie gives you a serving of veggies at breakfast. Plus, it is high in protein, which will help keep you full until lunch!
Ingredients
1 cup grated zucchini, frozen
3 large ripe bananas, peeled and frozen
2 tablespoons chocolate whey protein powder
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup soy milk

Directions
1. Blend the zucchini, bananas, powder, peanuts, sugar, and milk in a food processor until smooth, thick, and creamy.

Peach Mango Smoothie
This smoothie is an immune booster with its healthy dose of vitamin C!
Ingredients
1 peach, sliced
1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup orange juice, or as needed

Directions
1. Place the peach, mango, soy milk, and orange juice into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.

Banana Peach Filling Breakfast Smoothie
The oatmeal in this smoothie provides plenty of soluble fiber, which helps keep you full and is shown to reduce cholesterol levels!
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 banana, broken into chunks
1 peach
1 packet instant oatmeal
2 packets granular no-calorie sucralose sweetener (such as Splenda®) (optional)
5 ice cubes

Directions
1. Place the milk, yogurt, banana, peach, instant oatmeal, sweetener, and ice cubes into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.

Groovy Green Smoothie
This smoothie is full of iron-rich spinach, promoting blood health.
Ingredients
1 banana, cut in chunks
1 cup grapes
1 (6 ounce) tub vanilla yogurt
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves

Directions
1. Place the banana, grapes, yogurt, apple and spinach into a blender. Cover, and blend until smooth, stopping frequently to push down anything stuck to the sides. Pour into glasses and serve.

Heavenly Blueberry Smoothie
Flax seed is high in omega 3 fatty acids, which help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve eye health.
Ingredients
1 frozen banana, thawed for 10 to 15 minutes
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons flax seed meal
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2/3 cup frozen blueberries

Directions
1. Cut banana into small pieces and place into the bowl of a blender. Add the soy milk, yogurt, flax seed meal, and honey. Blend on lowest speed until smooth, about 5 seconds. Gradually add the blueberries while continuing to blend on low. Once the blueberries have been incorporated, increase speed, and blend to desired consistency.

Avocado Smoothie
Avocados are full of monounsaturated fat, which has been shown to improve cholesterol levels and decrease risk of heart disease.
Ingredients
1 avocado - peeled, pitted, and cubed
5 cubes ice
3 tablespoons white sugar (or 3 packets Splenda or Stevia sweetener)
1 1/3 cups milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice
1 cup vanilla yogurt or frozen yogurt

Directions
1. Place avocado, ice, sugar, milk, lemon juice, and yogurt into a blender. Puree until smooth.

Apple Pie Smoothie
This smoothie tastes like dessert! Plus it is rich in antioxidants and potassium.
Ingredients
2 (6 ounce) containers vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup pumpkin
Tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 banana, broken into chunks
1 can frozen apple juice concentrate plus 1 cup water or 2 cups apple cider
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground nutmeg
Directions
1. Combine the yogurt, pumpkin pie filling, banana, apple juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into glasses and serve.