Chocolate Almond Green Monster

One of the warmest mornings we’ve had all summer had me craving something cool for breakfast today. I made this shake with milk since I had already had my coffee for the morning, but I think using chilled coffee or espresso here would be divine. I wanted this to be extra chocolaty so I added some dark unsweetened cocoa powder. Since cocoa is supposed to be good for your circulatory system, all the more reason to add some to your chocolate protein shakes, right ? If you’re wondering what those weird little blackish seeds are in the bowl… those are chia seeds. I wanted to take a picture of them so you could see what they look like. Feel free to substitute frozen fruit for the ice and enjoy after a workout or for breakfast!

What You Need:

¾ cup milk
½ frozen banana
3 cups baby spinach, packed
1 serving chocolate protein powder
1-2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa (optional or to taste)
¼ tsp almond extract
2 Tbs chia seeds
5 ice cubes
1 Tbs natural peanut or almond butter (optional)

What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.



Serves 1



Bon Appétit!
Mary

Tropical Green Monster

This is a tropical version of my green filled protein shake that I have featured a few times already. When I was a kid, my favorite juice was pine-orange-banana. If I added a bit of orange juice concentrate, I think it would taste almost exactly like my beloved P.O.B. juice. This creamy smoothie hits the spot on a warm summer morning. I promise, you can’t taste the spinach!

What You Need:

1 ¾ cup milk
1 large frozen banana
2 cups frozen pineapple
2 servings vanilla protein powder
4 cups fresh spinach
2 Tbs chia seeds



What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Serves 2


Bottoms Up!
Mary

Green Mocha

As you can see, I’m obsessed with putting spinach in my protein shakes. This girl can’t resist getting a few servings of greens in! For this shake, I used chocolate almond milk to intensify the chocolate flavor, because I love chocolate. Feel free to use which ever milk you like. If you really like coffee, add 5 tsp of the extract or start with 3 tsp and then go from there.  In hind sight, I wished I'd added a few more ice cubes for a thicker shake.

What You Need:

1 ¾ cup milk

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

2 frozen bananas

6 ice cubes

4 cups raw spinach

3-5 tsp coffee extract, to taste

Optional: 2 Tbs chia seeds, 2 scoops green super food

What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Serves 2

Bottoms Up!
Mary

Good Bye Acai, Hello Chia: Mango Vanilla Green Monster

Don’t be frightened by the title (or the picture)! I know it looks like swamp sludge, but I PROMISE that you cannot taste the spinach at all. This shake is great for breakfast or for post workout muscle fuel because it’s easier for your body to digest liquids and who doesn’t like a yummy shake after a tough work out. I’m a huge fan of Sun Warrior’s protein powder which can be ordered online at Amazon and the same goes for the chia seeds (yes, like the chia pet you had as a kid). Chia seeds are one of the latest crazes as far as super foods goes. Good bye acai, hello chia! Here’s a link that will tell you more about the many benefits of this ancient super food. http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/content/en/dave_foreman/chia.jsp

What You Need:

1 ¾ cup milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
2 servings vanilla protein powder
2 cups frozen mango chunks
1 frozen banana
3-4 cups raw spinach
Optional: 2 Tbs chia seeds and 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract



What To Do:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Serves 2

Bottoms Up!
Mary