Morning Fuel

When a photo of my morning smoothie makes its way onto Instagram or Twitter, I seem to get tons of questions asking "what do you put in it"!? Because I'm pretty passionate about my morning fuel, I thought it would be fun to break it down and share my thoughts on smoothies. 

On a typical morning, I wake up, Mark and I drink coffee together for about 30 minutes, then I dress myself from head to toe in neon and workout. I don't have the biggest appetite in the morning, but after an intense hour or so of gym time, I know it's important to get some calories in- especially after working out on a nearly empty stomach. Protein smoothies have become a staple in my weekday routine because they hydrate, fuel AND cool me down. A good triple win in my book.

I start with unsweetened almond milk and a scoop of vanilla protein as my base. EAS Vanilla Whey Protein is my favorite. The flavor is great and it's very low in carbs and sugar. I buy this at my local market and I have also seen it at Target. I buy fresh bananas and berries in excess so that I always have them on hand. When my bananas start to get extra ripe, I freeze them in halves and freeze the berries whole. This also makes for an icy cold smoothie. I stick everything in the blender and mix it all up. If I want that extra chill, I throw in 4-5 ice cubes. Once my smoothie is blended to perfection, I pour it in my trusty Appalachian State Tervis Tumbler and sip with a straw. 
Here's a roundup of my favorite morning smoothies:

If you're not careful, a seemingly healthy breakfast can end up being loaded with sugar and extra "junk" that your body doesn't need. Fruit juices and even fruit flavored Greek yogurt, I try to steer clear of. I only buy natural peanut or almond butter, meaning the only ingredients are either peanuts or almonds and a minimal amount of salt. As for the Cocoa Powder, I stick to unsweetened. The natural sweetness of the other ingredients bring out the chocolatey goodness and it's super tasty. 


Blend, sip and enjoy!