Quick and easy breakfast smoothie recipe – clean eating for body, mind & mood

High in nutrition, low in fuss – this healthy smoothie recipe will get your day started in the right way 

Racing out the door and think you have no time for breakfast?  The problem with that concept? To be honest, I don’t believe it.  Often the truth is we don’t make the time, usually because we feel so slow & tired in the mornings that we just want that extra 10 minutes sleep – which means no time to make a nutrient rich breakfast.

So, we either have nothing for breakfast or perhaps grab something at the local café.  Often this later option can be higher in sugar & carbs (and usually gut & brain irritating gluten) and lower in good fibre, vitamins and mineral needed for lowering body and brain inflammation & supporting a good and healthy gut micro-biome (my pet passion).  So the cycle is at risk of continuing – we don’t eat well and then we don’t feel well enough to motivate ourselves to make nutrient dense brain anti-inflammatory foods – so we stay feeling unwell.

Like most of my recipes, this smoothie is in the category of “food as medicine”!  And it’s easy.

For this recipe, you’ll need a blender, portable hand blender or a vitamix…or similar contraption to blend successfully.  If doing this at home before you leave for work is a big NO, then consider taking all the ingredients thrown into a container with you (or organise it the night before), plus investing in a portable hand held blender to leave at work.

My philosophy with food and liquids is that ideally we should “eat our liquids” and “drink our solids”.  In other words when it comes to making a breakfast smoothie – take your time and chew it.  Digestion starts in the mouth, not in the stomach.

This recipe is also great for an afternoon snack for kids when they get home from school or halve the ingredients and use this smoothie as a “half meal” or snack, if you need the energy to keep you going before your proper meal time.

 

Berry Smoothie 

The aim is to make this smoothie with some form of…

Protein + fibre + good anti-inflammatory oils + high nutrient plant based ingredients.

Some of these categories will overlap or double up.  But in a nutshell, this is the general formula for a healthy meal.

 

Benefits at a glance:

• Anti-inflammatory (oils, cacao, all plant ingredients)
• Keeps your bowel regular (LSA, Lin-seeds, chia seeds, all plant ingredients, anti-inflammatory oils)
• Keeps you full and satisfied (Collagen fibre, all plant ingredients, Protein powder, chia seeds, LSA, Lin-seeds, oils)
• Balancing of blood sugar levels (oils, protein, plant ingredients, fibre)
• Good for leaky gut repair (contains no gluten or dairy so does not irritate lining of gut, collagen fibre is repairing on digestive system lining)
• Contains pre-biotic fibres for a healthy gut micro-biome – essential for good mental health, immunity and general health (all plant nutrient fibre, nuts, seeds etc)
• Adrenal tonic (Maca)
• Hydrating (coconut water as a base)

Ingredients:

Quantity for 1 person

• 1 cup filtered water (or coconut water for additional hydration)
• Small palm full of fresh or frozen berries (ideally choose mixed organic frozen for less pesticides)
• ½ or small banana (optional)
• Big handful of baby spinach leaves
• Protein powder (Great Lakes Collagen Fibre, or non sweetened Protein powder of your choice)
• 2 desert spoon LSA powder (Linseed Sunflower Almond meal)
• 1/2- 1 tea spoon Chia seeds
• Anti-inflammatory oil/fat of your choice (flax seed oil 1 desert spoon, coconut oil 1-2 t, olive oil 1 desert spoon, 1 x organic egg yolk, no white)
• Add raw cacao powder (1 teaspoon), Maca powder (1 teaspoon) and greens powder for extra boost of nutrition

Aim not to drink (eat) whilst too icy cold in temperature.  Room temp is best on digestion.

Additional options for ingredients:

For more recipes and ideas on how to deliciously “clean eat” for your body, mind & mood – go to the “search” tab under blogs and type in – recipes.