Today we’re talking about breakfast smoothies. But these aren’t just any breakfast smoothies. Each of these incorporates some vegetables and protein into the mix. Lately it’s been a goal of mine to start every weekday with some vegetables, but salads just aren’t appealing at 7:30am, so I usually turn to a veggie-based smoothie.
We are working with BodyLab on this post (sign up for their #BeTheGirl challenge with JLo now!), and we used their TastyShake Classic Vanilla and Decadent Chocolate Fudge whey protein powder to add a little creaminess, great taste, and protein to these shakes. I’ve mentioned on the blog before that I used to think protein powder was just for men. I’m so glad I got over that mindset because adding a little protein powder to my morning smoothie really makes all the difference. It’s so good!
I’ll share with you my all time favorite green smoothie. But if you’re anything like me, then you probably get bored of eating the same thing everyday. I like to shake it up (pun intended). So here are five of my current favorite breakfast smoothies. With a little bit of prep on the weekend, you can have these ready to go in under five minutes every morning during the week.
My number one tip for making vegetable-based smoothies is to blend the vegetables well with a little water in a food processor and then freeze into ice cubes. You can make a whole tray of just spinach or kale, or make a tray of different vegetables if you want to try different smoothie flavors throughout the week. If you do this on the weekend (I usually do this Sunday afternoon or evening), then you’ll be ready for the whole week.
I do this with spinach, kale, carrots (with a handful of unsweetened coconut flakes tossed in), and beets. For bananas and avocados, I simply remove the peels, cube, and then freeze in a ziplock bag.
I love freezing vegetables (and fruit) for a lot of reasons. First, it makes putting your smoothie together in the morning a snap. Second, you can prep a lot at once so you aren’t making vegetable ice cubes every night. And third, it ensures that your vegetables won’t go bad before you can consume all of them. I always feel bummed when I buy a big bag of spinach and 1/3 of it gets gooey before I can get around to using it all. Freezing it helps prevent this but still locks in most of the nutrition.
OK, let’s make some smoothies!
1. Beet and Strawberry
First up is a surprise favorite. Blend together 1-2 frozen cubes of beets, 5-6 whole frozen strawberries, 1/2 to 1 scoop TastyShake Classic Vanilla protein powder, and 8 oz. cashew milk.* Let this blend on high for a couple minutes so the smoothie gets well mixed.
*Throughout these recipes I use cashew milk because I prefer it, but you could use almond or soy milk instead if you like. Whatever you use, I do recommend keeping it unsweetened because the flavor of these is SO good without any added sweeteners. 🙂
2. & 3. Spinach and Banana (chocolate OR vanilla)
I probably make this one the most. To make this one you’ll need: 1/2 frozen banana, 2-3 frozen cubes of spinach*, 1/2 to 1 scoop TastyShake Classic Vanilla protein powder, and 8 oz. cashew milk. Blend well. This one is actually the most green in color, but I think tastes the least vegetable-y. Weird, right?
To change this one up a little, simply swap out the vanilla powder for chocolate. So good!
*I most often use spinach, but you could easily use another green leafy vegetable that you love or that’s in season, like kale.
4. Chocolate Avocado
This one is the creamiest. I swear it almost tastes like a chocolate milkshake! For a chocolate avocado smoothie, simply blend together: 1-2 frozen avocados (lately mine have had major dark spots inside, so I usually open two but only get about one avocado out of them), 1/2 to 1 scoop TastyShake Decadent Chocolate Fudge protein powder, and 8 oz. cashew milk.
Avocados are so good for you and they make smoothies super creamy. If you’re not a fan of bananas, you can use frozen avocados instead in the last recipe—just so you know. 🙂
5. Carrot, Coconut, and Orange
This one is super light and bright tasting. It’s almost like a juice, but you don’t need a juicer. For a carrot, coconut, and orange smoothie, blend together: 2-3 cubes of frozen carrot/coconut, juice from 2 oranges, and 1/2 to 1 scoop of TastyShake Classic Vanilla protein powder. Blend well!
Mix up your morning routine and add some protein and vegetables to start your day! xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
72 Comments
I lost two careers, USMC & LE, due to Ulcerative Colitis. I had my entire colon, portion of my small bowels, and the top small portion of my rectum. Then they implanted a j-pouch. I’ve had a 13 inch scar tissue wrapped around my intestines removed along with a large polyp that grew in the pouch. I’m unable to eat vegetables and then I came across your recipes. Now I can get my veggies and it tastes great! Two questions, the first is a bit silly I think. For the avocado smoothie, is it frozen cubes or entire avocados? Second, do you offer any other recipes ?
Thank you
nice healthy and colorfull 🙂
Yummy, I must try each and every one of these smoothies!! ? How are they calorie wise? An average do u know?
I love the idea of shredding and freezing veggies in an ice cube tray! BRILLIANT 🙂
I also love adding walnuts, cashews or pecans to my smoothies and juices! This is especially essential for vegetarians and vegans. One of my faves is:
– 1 banana
– 1 orange
– 1/2 hadful coconut flakes or shreds
– 1 handful pecans or walnuts
(My mouth just watered)
Sheer Genius!! Vegetable Cubes! LOVE it!! I hate waste, whether its food or money, and produce gone gooey before you can use it all is both! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! You just made my life simpler and more frugal! 😀
P.S. Love your site!! Sooo many great things on here!
I am such fan of smooothies!!! I like banana and strawberry and really adore kiwi+spinach+apples. Yuuuuummy)))
Hi Cathy! Just cut the avocado into pieces and place it in a ziplock. 🙂 -Jacki
Mmmmh, I will try every single Smoothie 🙂 The Pictures are so beautiful 🙂
How do you freeze your avocado?
I didn’t know you could freeze avocado.
Cathy
Love this post! One question about using beets, do you steam them? peel them? I love beets but I usually roast them and then peel them. That sounds like a ton of work for a smoothie.
Let me know. Thanks for the great inspiration!
Chris
These sound so awesome…a different one for Monday thro’ Friday! Just what’s needed.
http://johndhartil.blogspot.co.uk/
This idea of ice cubes is just genius!
Thank you!
These sound delicious. And preparing frozen ice cubes is a great tip.
LindaLibraLoca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking
I just moved into my own apartment and have been wanting to start this! This post was meant for me :} thank you so much for sharing! I can’t wait to try this!!!!!
Moi!
Best tips are practical.Cubes are so good idea!
Thank’s to you and let’s Shake !! Healthy, tasty summer.
Best regards to Finland
T.jan k
These look delicious but they are not vegetable based smoothies, they are fruit based smoothies with some veg. I must continue mt search for vegetable based smoothies.
I am new to the smoothie rage. I like your idea of freezing your veggies in ice cube trays. But I have one question do you put the cubes in freezer bags once they are frozen. I promise I am not an idiot but didn’t see it in the blog.
In the smoothie using avacado, you say 1-2 avacado — isn’t that an awful lot? Also, do you freeze them whole, peeled or mashed and cubed in trays? Thanks.
What a great idea to use protein powder in the smoothies and blending together the veggies and freezing them to save on time is a genius. I will have to try these out. x
The chocolate avocado and spinach and banana smoothies look so delicious!
Great idea for prepping before the weekdays!
The freezing your ingredients into ice cubes trays is such an awesome idea! I used to make baby food that way, it never occurred to me to use this for smoothies, thanks for the tip! 🙂
love the ice tray idea!
xx nikki
www.dream-in-neon.com
loove this!! thanks for sharing 🙂
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
Yum! Thanks for posting this. Such easy tips for a healthy and quick breakfast!
www.adventurousappetite.com
Do you make homemade cashew milk? If not, what brand do you use? Thanks!
Thanks for this! I’m trying to eat more veggies and add variety to my smoothies so this post was perfectly timed! 😀
http://www.misadventuro.us
Freezing the veggies in an ice tray is BRILLIANT!
♥Heather and Melissa
yum this is exactly what I needed, I’ve been making green smoothies and juices everyday but am running out of ideas…
The ones with banana or orange juice are much sweeter than the others, with or without the protein powder. For me, more than sweetness they add a little more flavor (vanilla or chocolate, depending). But you can always add a little honey if you like. 🙂
-Emma
You can add a lot more cubes if you like. When I was adding spinach raw I usually used 1/3 a bag at a time, which is around 2-3 cubes. But the more veggies the better so go for it! 🙂
-Emma
I had the same problem. Now I try to freeze almost anything that’s about to go bad. You can even freeze veggies for other purposes (like soups or adding to pasta sauces, etc.). Just keep in mind that for most standard ice cube trays each cube is around 2 tablespoons. It can be easy to add too much if you’re freezing fresh herbs so just keep those proportions in mind. 🙂
-Emma
Yes, vanilla extract or cocoa powder would work well. Go easy on the extract though, a little goes a long way plus many extracts are made from alcohol. You likely won’t be using that much so I wouldn’t worry, but just a heads up. 🙂
-Emma
Thanks for the tip! Tumeric is such a pretty color too. And, as you can tell, I’m a sucker for pretty colored smoothies. 🙂
-Emma
Hi Carrie! Just chop them up (when they are raw) and put them in the food processor. 🙂 -Jacki
Do you do anything to the beets prior to food processing them?
That chocolate avocado one looks divine! I’ve made a chocolate & avocado pudding before and it was awesome, so I’ll have to try this one soon 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Chocolate avocado sounds right up my street!
PRIMARK Haul June 2015 + giveaway
Very good recipes
http://www.allglossythings.eu
Oh my!!! These all sound amazing! Especially the avocado one, and the carrot one!!!
I need to get my hands on a food processor so I can try the cubed vegetables too 🙂 Love this post so much, I’ve saved it for future reference!
Sarah | Bows & Pleats
a recommendation for those who are even shorter on time: you can always make your frozen ingredients and then separate them into individual “smoothie packs”. it saves time in the long run. i just use ziplock bags and label them, so i can them wash them out and reuse them. it makes it easier when i don’t have as much time to get ready.
Now, I want a smoothie. Yum!
Yum, thanks for sharing! I’ve never been big on smoothies but I’ve gotten into making them recently!
Christine | DimesandDonuts.com
Love the suggestion for freezing blended veggies in a tray. I wonder how these would taste without the protein powder? Would they need to be sweetened?
YUM!! I love thick smoothies for breakfast and vegetables are always part of my recipe! I love beets, but also frozen zuchinni and squash – no flavor, but lots of nutrients! 🙂 Thanks for the awesome inspiration!
Yummm!
Xx,
http://sacosha.blogspot.com
This looks so good! -Hanna Lei
The chocolate avocado smoothie looks so good! Yum!
Love this! That chocolate avocado combination sounds awesome! Great ideas, ladies!
http://sometimesgracefully.com
Yum! I love smoothies for getting my veggies in the morning 🙂 I also freeze my spinach, but I usually just throw the whole bag in there. I will have to give the cube thing a try!
Oh that’s clever!! Processing veggies and freezing them!! It’s depressing how much I throw away because it goes bad!
YES! Thank you so much!!
I am eager to try these!! I have to omit the whey powder because my tum-tum does NOT like ANY powdered proteins (whey, soy, flax). Do you have any tips to add the flavor in? I’m thinking a teaspoon of vanilla extract or some cocoa powder. I’m going to try having these with a hard-boiled egg on the side in the mornings. I LOVE the advice to make the veggie ice cubes!!! Yay!!!
Definitely saving this post! I’m just getting into the smoothies for breakfast thing and I love it 🙂 <3
Those look yummi 😀
I started a healthy living recently so it’s time to try out these smoothies!
Thanks for sharing!
http://inspiremeland.com
Betty
Gonna try the beet and strawberry! Sounds amazing!!
Candace
www.themintedmama.com
Perfect post.
Thank you so much!!!
Y’all! You MUST add Tumeric to your smoothies, the health benefits are so major. SO MAJOR. Plus, it makes your skin so pretty!
xx Keltie Knight
https://www.dayandknightblog.com
The carrot, coconut, orange smoothie has my mouth watering! I definitely wanna give this a try! XX
http://hannahhappily.blogspot.com
I love adding veggies to my smoothies (especially spinach) because it’s just one more way to get the good stuff I need without the hassle. Plus, I can trick my husband into eating spinach 😉
Kristi | Be Loverly
Oh wow these look really good. I will have to try some of these out. I never thought of freezing veg as ice cubes!
Yum! All of these look so good. Really wanna try 2 and 4 🙂
tonixox.blogspot.com
Oh wow, these look delicious! Chocolate and avocado definitely has my name on it 😉
Lovely Witches
These look delicious! I just got into juicing but have yet to experiment with smoothies. I love the idea of the ice cubes! Good idea! 🙂
www.sweetlytattered.com
They all sound so good, but beets and strawberries, and chocolate avocado are really calling my name 😉
Hi Michelle! Just chop up raw carrots and then put them in a food processor (add coconut flakes if you want) and then put the mixture into the ice tray. 🙂 -Jacki
This post could not have come at a better time, I’ve been needing more items for my weekly meal preps and have been getting bored with my current morning routine. I would never have thought to do chocolate and avocado, but I could totally see the creamy part of it working very well! Thanks for sharing! x
Quick question here! When you blend the carrots to make them into iced cubes, do you have to steam them first to make them more blendable?
That chocolate avocado one sounds to die for.. I might just have to try it out! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Dani
These are great recipes! I love the tip for freezing the veggies. I’ve been experimenting with smoothie recipes, and I’ll definitely be adding some these to the mix.
Yum yum yum! I love summertime because I crave smoothies morning, noon, and night! These sound wonderful!