Lately I've been having smoothies for breakfast followed by a healthy mid mourning snack.  I've been trying to have less grains and dairy (no cereal for me for breakfast!) so my breakfasts have been mostly eggs and veggies, which is great but not eveyday. I also love the ideal of starting my day with some fruits and veggies.  I wanted a smoothie that didn't require a high speed blender, (lots of smoothie recipes require a high speed blender or you end up with a smoothie full of heavy pulp), had fruits, veggies, fat, and fiber, and low sugar.  I also wanted it to taste sweet but not overly so.  I think I've finally got it after a week of experimenting.  This smoothie was so good I quickly made another helping after I finished the first!  It's like a cross between a green tea latte  and a green smoothie. It's a great way to make sure you have green tea every day as well as increase your fruit and veggie intake.  Green tea is sooooo...good for you.  I swear the more health info I read the more I hear about even more ways green tea helps you that I've never heard of.  My favorite way is that it helps you lose weight, and help prevents against cancer.


How Much Protein Should I Add to my Smoothie?
Recently there has been a lot of talk about protein and confusion.  My take on it is that having protein in every meal is important but just don't go too crazy on the protein.  Dr Rosedale makes a good argument for getting adequate protein daily but not in any access as to not activate the MTOR pathway.  I won't geek out here and go into specifics but you can read more about it here.  How much protein is adequate for you depends on your weight.  To give you an ideal of what your protein requirements use the below example.  Dr. Rosedale recommends 1 gram of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight, minus 10%. So for instance, if your ideal body weight is 150 pounds:

• Divide 150 pounds by 2.2 = 68 kilograms
• Multiply 68 x 1 = 68 grams of protein. Now subtract 10%.
• Multiply 68 x 10% = 6.8 grams
• 68 - 6.8 = about 61 grams of protein per day. 

So most people need about 20-30 grams of protein per meal a day if you eat three meals a day, less per meal if you eat more often.  Obviously if you weigh more or less this amount would be different as well.  If you want to add protein to this I would suggest using whey protein if your dairy friendly, or vega one in vanilla if your vegan. 

Green Tea Avocado Smoothie

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of coconut milk
1/2 cup homemade non dairy creamer (can sub with coconut milk will just be less creamy)
1/4 large frozen avocado, or 1/2 a small frozen avocado  (just cut an avocado in half and take out the pit and stick in the freezer in a non pvc plastic ziplock bag)
1 small organic pear cored and diced (please use organic only as soft skinned fruits have high levels of pesticides)
1 tsp matcha green tea (here's where I get mine) 
2 tsp stevia
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Vegan Protein Powder (I use Vega one or Raw Protein in vanilla, the amount depends on how much protein your body needs see above paragraph I use 1 Tablespoon usually)

Directions

1. Place you liquid in the blender and your chopped and cored pear, blend on high for about 30 seconds, make sure it's fully blended before adding more ingredients.  
2. Peel off the skin of your frozen avocado and throw into the blender, blend on high for about 30 seconds, make sure it's fully blended before adding the rest of your ingredients  (3/4 tsp matcha green tea, 1 1/2 tsp stevia, whey protein, or vega one in vanilla  )
3. Pour and enjoy!

Here are some other variations of this smoothie I make often.

Green Tea Latte Smoothie

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of coconut milk (can sub cashew or almond milk)
1/2 cup homemade non dairy creamer (can sub with coconut milk will just be less creamy)
1/4cup of frozen spinach or kale (you won't even know it's there I promise)
1 organic pear cored and diced (please use organic only as soft skinned fruits have high levels of pesticides)
1 tsp matcha green tea (here's where I get mine) 
2 tsp stevia
1 tsp pure vanilla extract 
1/2 cup of ice cubes

Directions

Place you liquid in the blender and blend on high for 30 seconds, a few times until fully blended.  Pour and enjoy!

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