There is something about summer that makes me crave berries. The endless fields of blueberries on our trip to Michigan totally inspired this smoothie recipe.  Everywhere you look, this time of year, they sell fresh picked blueberries in southwest Michigan.  Our vacation was such a different experience this year with three little ones. It was filled with joy and fun but in quite a different way than in past years. I love how we have this time together each year and how we can now share that with our little boy.  I always miss my daily smoothies when we are away so I made this one when we arrived home.  The creamy almond butter coupled with the sweet and tart berries blend into a creamy treat perfect for your morning routine!! I hope you enjoy. As always, please leave a comment if you try out our recipe! ENJOY!

Berry Almond Smoothie

1 frozen banana
1 cup of mixed frozen blueberries & strawberries
2 T creamy almond butter (unsalted)
1.5 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup of vanilla yogurt

Blend all of the ingredients together in a high speed blender until creamy. Makes two smoothies.

To make ahead: place all of the ingredients minus the yogurt and almond milk into a freezer safe container. Freeze overnight. In the morning add the contents along with the yogurt and almond milk to a high speed blender until creamy. 

I was wandering the aisles of Trader Joes the other day and I happened upon a new possible smoothie addition in the frozen fruit aisle, Acerola Puree Packets. I was excited to learn that each 3.5oz packet contained 1180% vitamin C! I thought it would be a perfect ingredient to incorporate for a new immunity boosting smoothie I was working on. My favorite thing about using Acerola puree is that they contain NO sugar, making it a perfect low calorie addition to my morning smoothie! 

Immunity Boost Smoothie (makes 2 smoothies)

1.5 cups of Unsweetened Almond Milk 
1 frozen banana 
¾ cup of frozen strawberries
1 Acerola Puree Packet (3.5 oz)
1.5 T nut butter (I use peanut butter) 
2 tsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp hemp seeds 

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients (minus the hemp seeds) into a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Divide into two glasses and top with the hemp seeds.  

Directions to Make Ahead:
Combine the banana, strawberries, Acerola packet, nut butter and ground flax into a freezer safe bag. Store in the freezer until ready to use. Add the contents of the bag along with the almond milk and vanilla to a high speed blender and blend until smooth!

I have been experimenting and doing lots of research with protein powders and vitamins this past week. As a vegetarian I am often searching for creative ways to add protein to my diet. I came across the brand Nuzest and I ordered a small pack of their vanilla pea protein powder with the intent on adding a couple of scoops to my smoothies. I really liked the idea of pea protein vs. soy!  It was expensive vs. other brands that I have seen, but I was fun to try something new. If you are making this smoothie, feel free to use ANY brand of protein powder. Please share in the comments section below and let me know what your favorites are so I can try them too! If you don’t have protein powder, just eliminate it from this smoothie and add raw hemp seed instead.  I also discovered some amazing peanut butter from Trader Joes, “Organic Creamy Peanut butter with Valencia peanuts.” It only has one ingredient, organic peanuts!! My trick with one ingredient peanut butter is to turn it upside down in your pantry so that the oils incorporate. Your peanut butter will be super creamy without all the oil on top and no need to stir!! I combined these new found ingredients with three kinds of berries and some oat milk and the results were fantastic!! I Hope you enjoy this Make ahead of Monday treat as much as I do and I hope it makes for a yummy start to your Monday morning! 

Ingredients
1.5 cups unsweetened oat milk
½ tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp vanilla protein powder (optional)
1 frozen banana
½ cup frozen strawberries
¼ cup of fresh or frozen raspberries
1T creamy peanut butter
1 acai packet (can be found at Trader Joes in the frozen aisle) 

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
   
   
   

Directions to Make Ahead

1. In a freezer safe bag, combine the frozen banana, broken up acai packet, frozen strawberries, raspberries and peanut butter and place in the freezer overnight. 
2. In the morning combine the contents of the bag along with the oat milk,  vanilla and protein powder extract in a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. 
3. Enjoy on the go in a reusable to-go cup!

This past fall I had the privilege of taking a 10 year college reunion vacation with my college roommates/best friends. We decided on Portland because it was a new place for all of us and one that we have heard great things about in the past.  For the first time in my life, my high expectations were truly exceeded, Portland was MAGICAL. If you know me well, you know that I am quite shy and that I don’t often talk to strangers, well not Portland Danielle, I was having full on conversations with uber drivers, feeding the homeless, asking baristas what their favorite drink was on the menu, actively looking for an opportunity to meet the members of my favorite band, Ages and Ages, and smiling while walking in the rain … Portland. Was. PERFECT! We stayed in the cutest AirBNB along a street packed with culture, unique shops, vegan and vegetarian restaurants, a kombucha bar and a double decker bus that was actually a tea place! We stayed up late doing nails, sipping tea, chatting and acting like we did when we all lived together. One of my roommates Traci is an incredible artist and she documented the joy of that trip perfectly in one of her daily drawings. She creates a Daily “Quipple” which is an inspirational drawing or quote and if you sign up, it gets delivered to your inbox every single day! In college she would literally document every single day with drawings of “us” that we housed in “the book.”  This was one of her inspirations for creating the Daily Quipple!  Please check it out, she’s AMAZING!  Click on the picture to see  more of her amazing work and to learn more of her story!!

Anyway, back to food.  My other roommate/best friend, Olivia, found this great smoothie place for us to have breakfast at and we went every day while we were there. I ordered the same smoothie each day and have been dreaming about that smoothie since our trip to Portland. It has been my mission to recreate it as best as I could... so, today, I decided to and.. WOW, I did it! This is my dedication to Portland, my soul city, and one that showed me one of the best vacations of my life!!! Cheers to soul friends, soul cities, health and happiness!

Ingredients (makes one large or two small smoothies)
1 frozen banana
½ cup frozen strawberries
1.5 cups unsweetened almond milk
1-1.5 T creamy peanut butter
​1 tsp vanilla extract 
1 acai packet (can be found at Trader Joes in the frozen aisle) 
Sprinkle of raw hemp seeds

Directions to enjoy right NOW!

1. Combine all of the ingredients minus the hemp seeds into a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy.
2. Top smoothie with raw hemp seeds and ENJOY! 

Directions to Make Ahead

1. In a freezer safe bag, combine the frozen banana, broken up acai packet, frozen strawberries and peanut butter and place in the freezer overnight. 
2. In the morning combine the contents of the bag along with the almond milk and vanilla extract in a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy. 
3. Top with raw hemp seeds and enjoy on the go in a reusable to-go cup!

I have a very fond memory of going to Chicago with my cousins from Arizona, my sister and my mom and grandma a few years ago. We stopped at Eataly and enjoyed an Italian lunch and then wandered around the sweets floor. We happened upon a drink that featured basil and blueberries and I'll never forgot how refreshing and energizing that made me feel.  I decided to recreate it at home and have been making it ever since for a healthy source of immune boosting antioxidants. I usually make this in the summer when I have an abundance of fresh basil in my garden and when fresh blueberries are in season, however, in light of the Coronavirus and flu that have us all feeling panic, I thought that it would be a good time to share this tonic. Blueberries are some of the most nutrient dense berries and I love using wild blueberries because they are even richer in antioxidants!!  (see article)  

Even though most of us are not headed into our normal work routine this week, I thought it was still important to share a recipe in hopes that it could provide comfort for your week(s) ahead at home. Taking care of our bodies is so incredibly important during this time of uncertainty. Stay healthy everyone! 

​Ingredients (makes one tonic)

1 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries
¼ cup packed fresh basil leaves
Juice from ½ of a lemon
1 cup of filtered water
2 ice cubes

Directions 

Place all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on high until juice like consistency is achieved. Enjoy immediately or assemble in the evening, store in the fridge and re-blend in the morning.

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For most of my life up until a recent heart surgery, I haven’t been able to handle the caffeine in coffee.  Instead I turned to green tea for a jolt of energy if I really needed it. Now that I can drink coffee I still prefer the feeling of green tea to the overly intense burst of energy I get from coffee. While I love sipping tea, I thought, why not incorporate it into a smoothie for a healthy breakfast plus a bit of energy. The results were both healthy and delicious!  I hope you enjoy this Energizing Matcha Green Smoothie packed with fruit and vegetables that can be prepared ahead for an easy morning breakfast! 

Ingredients

1 cup almond or oat milk
2 T vanilla greek yogurt (use vegan yogurt if you’re vegan)
1 green apple cut into cubes
1 frozen banana 
¼ - ½ teaspoon of food grade matcha powder 
1 T of nut-butter 
1 handful of frozen or fresh spinach 

Directions to make RIGHT NOW  (makes 1 smoothie)

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth. 

Directions to Make Ahead 

1. Combine the frozen banana, nut-butter, spinach, matcha powder and cubed green apple in a freezer safe bag and freeze overnight. 
2. In the morning, add the contents of the bag along with almond milk and  greek yogurt to a high speed blender.
3. Blend on high until smooth! 

I found a recipe for a “cake batter smoothie” by Oh She Glows almost 10 years ago.  I fell in LOVE with that dessert smoothie/shake and shared it with all of my family and friends as an alternative for a shake like dessert!  As the years went on, I found that I was craving the flavors of this smoothie in the morning, so I adapted it to make it suitable and healthy enough for breakfast, but... trust me, it doesn’t taste healthy at all!  My sister recently told me that it was a life-saver for her in the early stages of her pregnancy when she couldn’t stomach very much. I hope you enjoy this delicious Make Ahead of Monday favorite!!! 

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened almond or oat milk
1 frozen banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 T cocoa powder
1 T Peanut butter** 
1 T raw hemp seed*
1 handful of fresh spinach 
2 ice cubes


Directions to Make Ahead of Monday -

1. Combine the banana, cinnamon, cocoa powder, peanut butter, hemp seed, spinach and ice cubes in a sealed zip bag and place in the freezer overnight. 
2. The next morning, add the contents of the bag along with the vanilla, and almond milk to a high speed blender and blend until smooth!

Directions to make RIGHT NOW -

1. Combine everything in a high speed blender until smooth and ENJOY! :-)

*Notes 
*We like peanut butter best because it has the most protein content among the nut butters, but other nut butters taste great too! 

** Raw hemp seed can be found at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. It’s a great source of plant based protein and can be added to smoothies, and cereal.

Tis the week before Thanksgiving break and as a teacher, life is CRAZY. Everyone is ready for a break. I created this smoothie to give you a taste of Thanksgiving break days to come. I hope you enjoy!  

Ingredients 

½ cup of almond milk
⅓ cup of pumpkin puree
1 frozen banana
⅛ cup of raw pecans
½ tsp of cinnamon
¼ tsp of pumpkin pie spice
4 ice cubes
1 tablespoon of cacao nibs
1 tablespoon of raw hemp seeds
Optional - a dollop of maple syrup (it doesn’t need it, but I know some like it sweet)
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Directions
Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend on high!

To make ahead - Add the banana, pecans, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ice cubes, cacao nibs, hemp seeds to a bag and freeze the night before.  In the morning, add the contents of your smoothie pack along with the almond mile and pumpkin puree to the blender, blend on high and enjoy! 

I know it’s strange to post an ice cold smoothie when it’s only 42 degrees outside, but there is something about a good smoothie, and this my friends, is a good smoothie! It’s creamy, naturally sweetened, is packed with protein, greens, and antioxidant abundant blueberries!!   The great thing about this smoothie is you can make it ahead! By freezing all of the solid ingredients ahead of time, you can enjoy a satisfying smoothie any day of the week with half the prep time!  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients (makes enough for one smoothie) 

½ cup of frozen wild blueberries  (I used Trader Joes and I highly recommend them)
1 frozen banana
Handful of fresh or frozen kale or spinach 
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
1 tablespoon of raw hemp seed
1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla yogurt 
1 cup of almond milk (unsweetened)
½ teaspoon of vanilla (optional) 

--- Directions to make ahead --- 

Add the wild blueberries, banana, kale, peanut butter, and raw hemp seeds to a freezer safe bag and place in the freezer until you are ready to make the smoothie.  If you want to make enough for the entire week, repeat this step five times and place the ingredients inside five freezer safe bags.  

When ready to enjoy, add the yogurt, almond milk and vanilla along with the contents of your smoothie pack to a high speed blender and blend until smooth! ENJOY!