My "Perfect" Go-To Smoothie

It took me a number of years to perfect my "Perfect" Go-To Smoothie and today, I want to share it with you.

Below, I share the recipe.
And below that, I detail out each ingredient so you may understand how I came to this "perfect" smoothie, and also so that you may understand how to adjust the smoothie to your preferences.

Lauren's "Perfect" Go-To Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 Cups - Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1 handful (around 1 Cup) - Spinach
• 1 Scoop - Sun Warrior Protein Powder, Chocolate Flavor
• Heaping Cup - Frozen Pineapple or Mango
  Note: The smoothie pictured was actually blended with a frozen Blueberry/Mango mixture.. hence the purple coloring. This was used based on what was available at the grocery story. This substitution is still very good, but 100% pineapple or mango is my preference

Directions

1. Pour the almond milk first, using the blender itself you will measure out 2 cups
2. Add spinach 
3. Add full scoop of protein powder (the "scooper" is included in each tub of powder) - Making sure to carefully plop the powder directly in the center of the blender
4. Plop in the frozen fruit
5. Blend slowly at first so that the frozen fruit breaks up. Once it sounds blended, start to increase the power. Once the power is high, blast it there for a full 15 seconds (I count in my head, 1-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, etc).
6. Pour and enjoy! 

All the Details (I promise, they matter)

Ingredients

• 2 Cups - Unsweetened Almond Milk
• You want a simple base and I highly recommend a non-dairy milk (for health reasons, which I will write about another day). I find almond milk to be the "cleanest" of all non-dairy milks, however if you prefer coconut, oat, or soy milk, go for it! Just make sure it isn't sweetened. The sweeteners that are used in non-dairy milks tend to be (pardon-my-french) crap, and they will take your smoothie from "sweet" to "I have a toothache" in a flash.
• 1 handful (around 1 Cup) - Spinach
• What I love about spinach the most is... well, two things:
  1. It's incredibly nutrient dense (high in iron, B vitamins, potassium, and more)
  2. YOU CAN'T TASTE IT IN A SMOOTHIE. Seriously. If you're afraid of trying spinach in a smoothie, DON'T BE. That said, you can of course, put too much in and overpower your smoothie.
  
  So stick to around a cup or cup and a half. I have found that to be the perfect amount for two reasons:
  1. Flavor: using too many greens is a mistake that many people make. Someone decides they're going on a health kick, so they blend up a greens-heavy smoothie, and suddenly they're convinced that all smoothies "taste like grass." Don't fall victim to this rookie (albeit well-intentioned) mistake.
  2. Too much spinach in the morning, gives me an upset stomach: This isn't true for everyone, but bad things happen if I have a spinach-heavy smoothie... Ahem, I'll save you the details. BUT, I want to mention this because I think it happens more often than we know, and people are just too embarrassed to admit to why they actually gave up on smoothies.... !
• 1 Scoop - Sun Warrior Protein Powder, Chocolate Flavor
• This stuff is delicious. There are of course, many flavors out there to choose from, but I find the Sun Warrior Chocolate to be just the right balance of flavor and sweetness. Vanilla protein powders, for example, have a tendency to be overly sweet. That said, not every smoothie is a match for Chocolate flavoring, so keep in mind the overall flavor palette when selecting your protein flavor. Or, just choose a totally different protein source! Nut Butters for example, are a great alternative.
• I would also like to note: I used to make smoothies without protein powder, because I thought that all the fiber from the fruits and veggies I was using (it was a completely different recipe, very heavy in both greens and veggies) would fill me up. IT DID NOT. For someone else, the fiber alone, may be filling enough. You have to decide what's right for you, but I'm all about the protein powder. 
• Finally, I highly recommend Sun Warrior brand protein powder. Not only does it taste great, but it is (in my opinion) the cleanest vegan protein powder on the market today. 
• Heaping Cup - Frozen Pineapple or Mango
  Note: The smoothie pictured was actually blended with a frozen Blueberry/Mango mixture.. hence the purple coloring. This was used based on what was available at the grocery story. This substitution is still GREAT, but 100% pineapple or mango is my top choice
• When I learned about putting pineapple and/or mango in my smoothie, it was an absolute GAME CHANGER. It's common to find frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, etc) in the store, but tropical frozen fruits can be a little less common. I'm not sure if this is why I never tried them, or that I just simply didn't think about it, but the fact is: They're d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.
• As I mentioned, it can be difficult to find tropical frozen fruits and you may have to make substitutions for your smoothie (as I did for the smoothie in this post) but if you can just get a few chunks tropical fruits mixed in there, it makes a difference.*
       *If I really can't find tropical fruits, frozen strawberries are my back up. 

Directions

1. Pour the almond milk first, using the blender itself you will measure out 2 cups
   Starting with liquid helps keep your blender from clogging up
2. Add spinach
   I like putting the lighter ingredients at the bottom, so the other ingredients weigh them down and this makes sure they are properly blended... I don't know about you, but I can't stand finding un-blended lettuce in my smoothie...
3. Add full scoop of protein powder (the "scooper" is included in each tub of powder) - Making sure to plop the powder directly in the center of the blender
   If you carelessly throw it in, you're  likely to wind up with streaks of dry powder on the sides of your blender (if you've done/do this, you know exactly what I'm talking about) Which is a waste of perfectly clean, Vegan Protein source, as well as being a pain to clean up.
4. Plop in the frozen fruit
   This weighs everything down and keeps the blender from clogging up. I find that putting frozen things in first (be it ice or fruit) causes my blender to go into overdrive and sometimes get stuck.
5. Blend slowly at first so that the frozen fruit breaks up. Once it sounds blended, start to increase the power. Once the power is high, blast it there for a full 15 seconds (I count in my head, 1-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, etc)
   This is the best way to get the perfect blend! Trust me, it has taken something like 7 years to nail this. So just do it, ok?
6. Pour and enjoy! 

I love this recipe because it's simple, quick, and delicious. It requires few ingredients that are easy to keep on hand and pairs great with a nice mug of coffee. That said, I hope you'll give this smoothie a shot. If so, let me know how it goes by leaving a comment below.

Wishing you good great health,

Lauren