Sunday! I love Sundays because I carve out 1 hour of "me" time to go to a Barre class. My family supports this one hour every week which makes it even more special. Through the week, we each identify the "one thing" that we really want to do for ourselves and the rest of us support that member of the family and ensure they get to do it. This class kicks my butt - really; and I love it! It breaks up my regular fitness routine and I sweat out all my stress.
To get geared up though, I have to fuel my body to make it through the class, and I want something pretty light. Usually smoothies are not pre-fuel for me, but refuel or snacks. This smoothie, however, is incredibly filling and ultra powerful with berries (antioxidants), beet, avocado (healthy fats; yes!), banana and coconut water. Oh, and a scoop of protein powder. Yep, this one is packed with everything I need to own my workout this morning!
As a bonus, this smoothie leans into the Sustainability Spotlight for using up some of the ingredients that I need to in my fresh arsenal for the week. We go shopping on Sundays with a list; that means on Sunday morning, I'm looking at ingredients that might be reaching the end of its life. I also minimize packaging with the frozen mixed berries (bulk buy). Who knew making sustainable choices and using up your "about to go bad" food could taste go delicious!
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mixed berries
(1) 1/2 in. thick slice (peeled) of a big beet (need about 2-3 oz)
6-7 fresh strawberries (hulled)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (Garden of Life - Plant-based Sport is amazing!)
1/2 ripe avocado
1 ripe banana (medium)
(1) 1-in x 1 in piece of fresh ginger (peeled & chopped)
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 cups coconut water (VitaCoco is a great choice, but many brands have aluminum can versions which I prefer due to the highly recyclable nature of the packaging which you can find at local Latinx stores).
Directions:
Add all ingredients in the order above into a high-speed blender (Vitamix is my work horse & I just select "smoothie" and walk away; for those that do not have a Vitamix, go to next step).
Start blender on low and gradually increase speed to high - blend until smooth (use a tamper or scrape down sides as needed)
Pour into glasses and enjoy!
If you liked this recipe, I'd love to hear it! Let me know if it fuels you on the "go" as well!
With love & hope for a better future for us all! - Jamie