Summer Smoothies

Saturday morning was an early wake up call - earlier than most Saturday mornings - and it didn't even involve a race! Instead I headed to our local CBS affiliate here in Denver to accompany my co-worker and friend, Andrea, along with an incredibly impressive college junior, Nadeen, who is a Greenhouse Scholar, to talk about the organization and Venus de Miles, which is happening next Saturday in Longmont (there's still time to register - or volunteer!)!

After some early morning fun with these lovely ladies in the studio, Andrea and I took a foot tour of Downtown Denver to burn off some nervous energy and work up a little sweat! 

I'm usually a solo runner but these past two weekends I've switched it up a bit. Its been a nice change to have someone there to push me as I'm coming back from my latest injury. It's mostly a mental wall I'm dealing with right now but I can't give in as easily when I'm running with someone else! 

As soon as I got home I was in front of our fridge pulling out ingredients for an ice cold smoothie. As often as possible this summer I've been enjoying green smoothies. My mornings are rushed, my commute is long, and I tend to fall out of the habit once the weather turns cooler, so every chance I get I'm blending up some goodness.

There's just something about a smoothie that is ultra satisfying on a hot day after a tough workout. I sometimes pair it with a handful of nuts if I need a little crunch, but other than that, it can be the perfect post-workout meal.

Of course, I'm a huge fan of the green smoothie and have found that Trader Joe's Power Blend works wonders. For some reason it seems to blend more easily than spinach alone, so it's been my go-to this summer.

If you're still on the summer smoothie kick, or are looking for a few new ideas, I'd love to help you out. These are two of the "recipes" I've been going to often this summer. 

The fine print: I don't really have any hard & true recipes, aside from the initial amount of liquid - I just eyeball it and see where it takes me. That said, most of the time I seem to end up with about 12 ounces. Also, I only use frozen fruit. This way I don't have to worry about adding ice, which makes it cold but doesn't really help the consistency.

Tropical Greens

• Banana
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Pear
• Avocado
• Power Greens (ripped/chopped into smaller pieces)
• Almond Milk
• Coconut Water
• Plant Protein Powder (I used Whole Food's Plant-Based Fit Protein, Vanilla-Cinnamon)
• Ground Flax Seed

Sometimes I have to add a little bit of water to get the consistency right, but only a tiny bit at a time because you can't go back!

Chocolate Covered Summer Green Smoothie

• Banana
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Power Greens
• Almond Milk
• Coconut Water
• Chocolate Pant Protein Powder (I use Chocolate Vega Protein & Greens)
• Ground Flax Seed

Greek yogurt used to be a staple ingredient in all of my smoothies, and when we moved to a mostly vegan diet I was worried that they wouldn't have the same creaminess as they used to. Thankfully I've found that as long as I keep banana in the recipe and don't use too much liquid, then it works out perfectly! 

What are some of your go-to smoothie ingredients? * Do you eat differently in warm months compared to cold months? * How do you make sure to get a healthy breakfast during the week?

You can find a few of my other smoothie recipes here, here, and here!

*Update: In the original version I accidentally listed coconut milk as an ingredient when it should have been coconut water. Sorry about that!*