Before this pregnancy, I wasn’t really obsessed with whole foods. In fact, I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t on a diet of some sort, I never paid to mind how beneficial our food that we eat is to our total health. Today I am all about using foods as not only as part of the Whole30 eating plan but also as a way to become and stay healthy.
But, sometimes, making sure that I get a good balance of protein, fats, and carbs can be challenging—especially when I am on the go. Since starting this round of Whole30, I have become more aware of the fact that fast food restaurants and convenient foods are not really geared towards the healthy minded. While they are easy “go-to’s” when you’re on the go, they are nowhere near Whole30 compliant. So I had to find another option.
Back in the summer, when I was trying to get healthy, I was really into drinking breakfast smoothies. My husband bought me this awesome Ninja blender, and I used that thing religiously a couple of times a week to whip up deliciousness. I loved creating new smoothies from ingredients on hand, and I always feel amazing when I begin my day with a smoothie.
Even though Whole30 frowns on smoothies (they want you to EAT your food, not drink it), I needed something to get me going this morning. My pregnancy energy levels definitely have peaks and valleys. Today I was deep in the valley and needed something to boost my energy so I could get on with my day. I was ready to experiment.
I threw together the whole foods I had on hand—kale, almond milk, almond butter, frozen berries, banana, and chia seeds. Oh My Goodness! Never in my life have I been In Love with a smoothie. This kale berry smoothie was delicious and filling! It was a MEAL in a glass.
The frozen mixed berries are delectable in a smoothie. They not only are packed with major amounts of vitamins and minerals, but they help the green smoothies not look “green”. As you can see in the picture, the color is a beautiful pink and not scary green. Nobody will ever guess – unless you tell them – that kale is in this smoothie.
I have made smoothies in the past without bananas. Bananas tend to increase the calories and sweetness in smoothies. But they also increase the manganese, vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, potassium, biotin, and copper. Plus, bananas are great for thickening up the smoothie.
I love unsweetened almond milk, but I had rarely used it in my smoothies. I had used plain greek yogurt in my smoothies to give it a creamy texture, but it also adds a lot of calories. I had started using plain water to add moisture to the smoothie while keeping the calories down. Boy have I been missing out! Using almond milk gives the smoothie a rich, creamy texture that I really enjoy with only 40 calories per cup. It also adds a lot of good fat and calcium too.
All these items were excellent ingredients for this smoothie, but it was a little watery still. I decided to add chia seeds to the mix to thicken up the smoothie and give it a power boost. Chia seeds are superfoods! They are a great source of Omega-3’s, fiber, and protein. In fact, two tablespoons of chia seeds contain five times the omega-3’s of a single serving of walnuts; twice the iron and magnesium of spinach; the same amount of calcium as a ½ cup of milk; the same amount of potassium as a 1/3 of banana; and more fiber of a cup of oatmeal.
This kale berry smoothie recipe makes two large 338 calorie smoothies (about 3 cups eac
Ingredients
- 2 cups Kale
- 2 cups Almond Milk
- 2 cups Frozen Mixed Berries
- 2 tablespoons Almond Butter
- 2 tablespoons Chia Seeds
- 1 Banana
Instructions
- Add almond milk and kale to the blender. Blend well.
- Add remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
