Now I never used to think smoothies were a breakfast thing.
A drink for a meal just doesn't seem right to me. But in my sad little way transferring the smoothie from a cup to a bowl somehow makes it seem more of a breakfast. I have been having these everyday for the past two weeks and am still obsessed.
I simply stick to basic quantities and then put in whatever I fancy in the morning. Alternatively you can make this the day before and put it in the fridge to grab and go but I like to have it in a bowl.
These are ideal because they can be eaten on their own, simply as a deliciously sweet smoothie soup or I sometimes have them over cereal, like milk but packed with extra goodness! Granola and the banana-caramel smoothie is JUST the dream!
So here are the basic quantities and you can pimp it out however you wish. I have put my top four below using a base of banana, milk (which can be cows milk or any other mylk), nut butter and dates. Then I just add whatever I fancy.Other additions that work really well for added goodness are oats, chia seeds and yoghurt, so go wild! Adjust the sweetness as you like too by adjusting the number of dates
Each below serves 1
Method:
Place the dates in a bowl with enough boiling water just to cover them, leave to stand for about 2 minutes while to gather all the other ingredients.
Drain the dates, then place everything in a blender and pulse until smooth.
Pour over granola, cereal, porridge or serve on its own with a sprinkle of nuts, seeds and fruit. Enjoy!
Banana caramel
My fave and a classic, the dates really do make it taste caramel-like, especially when paired with almond butter. My
other favourite is using peanut butter to get that classic, yummy banana-peanut flavour.
1 banana
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp nut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 dates
(optional) 1/4 cup oats, add 1/4 more milk
(optional) 1 tbsp chia seeds
Green Go
The spinach and apple give a freshness to this, without a grassy flavour. Packed with iron from spinach, vitamins from dates and filling protein from the nut butter.
1 banana
1/3 cup milk (any milk works)
1/2 apple, roughly chopped
handful of spinach
1 tbsp nut butter
3 dates
(optional) 1/4 cup oats, add 1/4 more milk
(optional) 1 tbsp chia seeds
Choco
I'm not a huge fan of chocolate for breakfast, but I just thought why not. So if you like a cocoa burst go for this one. Adjust the sweetness and cocoa level as you fancy. Raw cacao powder is expensive so if you have it do enjoy all the goodness that comes with it, but if not just use regular cocoa powder, the taste is just as good.
1 banana
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp nut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cocoa powder/cacao powder
5 dates
(optional) 1/4 cup oats, add 1/4 more milk
(optional) 1 tbsp chia seeds
Berry burst
A fruit beauty, this will certainly brighten up your morning as you consume this vibrant magenta elixir.
1 banana
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp nut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
handful frozen/fresh berries
3 dates
(optional) 1/4 cup oats, add 1/4 more milk
(optional) 1 tbsp chia seeds
