Coconut Goji Chip Smoothie

Living outside of the city can have its setbacks when it comes to finding healthy, vegetarian fare. And until the juice bar craze set in, there were pretty much no local restaurants that I actually felt good about eating at. I guess there still aren't since we're talking about drinking here rather than eating, but I'll take what I can get. I think about this quite a bit, and often wonder why on Earth I'm still slumming in the suburbs. City living seems more my speed. It would be nice to step out of my comfort zone, explore a new territory, get out of the house a little more. But then how could I keep up this lazy, homebody facade I've seem to mastered in the past 28 years? And the mere thought of having to put on real pants everyday seems a little inhumane. I do love walking, but walking in 20 degree weather, or when it's snowing, or raining, or not sunny and 70? I wore a down jacket while vacuuming my more than comfortable 75 degree house yesterday. The struggle is real.

This recipe was inspired by one of my favorite smoothies at a local juice bar, The Green Light. They opened up shop in the town next to mine about a year ago, and it's been really nice not to have to drive 30 minutes for a green juice. Besides having delicious skin and body loving superfoods and drinks, everyone working there is so nice and knowledgable about health and wellness. The owner and his partner are so passionate about this lifestyle, that I'm always learning something new when I stop in. I have them to thank for my love affair with wheatgrass. And although daily juice bar trips can really put a dent in your wallet, when you make your health a priority, it doesn't seem to hurt so much. You might stop spending money on things that don't have as big an impact on your well being...until you see a Target.

Coconut Goji Chip Smoothie

The addition of frozen watermelon adds such a great slushy 

texture to a smoothie, while really bulking it up for little calories and 

lots of skin loving vitamins and antioxidants. I stock up over the 

summer, and freeze it by the bagful. 

1 1/4 cups coconut water

1 banana, frozen

1 cup diced watermelon, frozen

1 tablespoon goji berry powder (or 2 tbsp whole berries)

2 tablespoons cacao nibs

Blend everything together, and enjoy! Top with additional goji berries, cacao nibs, and coconut flakes if you're feeling extra fancy. Sip, slurp, and dream of summertime. xx

Mint Chip Smoothie

Another 90° day, another smoothie. Does anyone else feel entitled to frozen treats in the warmer months? I mean especially here in New England. We shiver through almost half of the year, and when June rolls around, we deserve some ice cream. In my case it's endless variations of fruit and vegetable combinations in my Nutri-Bullet. I've already shared my go-to morning super smoothie, but here it's less about packing in the vegetables, and more about superfood-ing (definitely not a word) a popular ice cream flavor. I've always been a vanilla girl. Since childhood, I've rarely strayed from my vanilla-in-a-cup-with-rainbow-sprinkles ice cream order. That being said, I don't think I've ever tried actual mint chocolate chip ice cream. Maybe a taste or two before realizing it's no where near as good as straight vanilla (in my opinion). You should also know that as a kid, I did not have the healthiest or most adventurous of taste buds. You would be quite astounded when comparing the way I eat now to the way I ate then. Sweets ruled my world. Vegetables did not. I had an aversion to salad. Not that they didn't look delicious, I really just didn't like crunchy vegetables. I used to dream of being a salad eater (true story). Salad eaters seemed to be apart of this exclusive foodie club that I wanted membership to. And somewhere along my journey to adulthood (and addiction to the Food Network), I learned a thing or two about food, and really fell in love with cooking. My diet has been cleaning itself up since college, and I think I'm at a really good place now. When I eat food, I think of what it can do for me. I rarely, if ever, put something in my body that isn't going to benefit me in some way. I'm far from perfect, but when it comes to nutrition, I try my very hardest to stay on track. You only get one body, and I want mine to be its best version long into my old age - looking great in a bikini when I'm 50 won't hurt either. 

Back to the situation at hand: I can't really be a judge to the comparison of this smoothie to mint chocolate chip ice cream. But I think with a little common sense, I can take a guess as to what I'm working with here (mint flavored ice cream + chocolate chips?). I think my combination is pretty spot on. Has anyone else tried adding frozen watermelon to their smoothies? You'd be quite pleased with the outcome. It imparts a very subtle sweetness, but what it does to the texture is magical, turning any smoothie combination into more of an ice cream. I usually enjoy my smoothies through a straw, but if you're looking for something thicker and spoonable, I'd say decrease your almond milk amount, and maybe use a whole frozen banana. Play around with it, and see what works for you. I almost always add protein powder to my smoothies, but it definitely alters the taste and texture. Leave it out if you're going the ice cream route. I also topped mine with this raw, chocolate granola, mostly because it's addicting, and also because I was heading to the gym after and some extra calories couldn't hurt - not that I'm in any way an animal at the gym. I just love excuses to eat more.

Mint Chip Smoothie
Inspired by The Chalkboard Mag

3/4-1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 banana, frozen
1 cup watermelon chunks, frozen

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons cacao nibs, divided

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

2 cups spinach, packed (I squeeze in as much as possible)

1 scoop protein powder (optional)

2 tablespoons chocolate granola (optional, I use this one)

Add all the ingredients, except for 1 tablespoon of the cacao nibs and the granola, to your blender and give it a whirl. I usually blend everything but the spinach, then pack in as much spinach as possible for round two of blending - I find I can fit more in this way (the Nutri-Bullet isn't all that big). Stir in the remaining tablespoon of cacao nibs, top with some granola, and enjoy your frozen treat, guilt-free.