Happy Wednesday and new month, bbs. I’m really hoping this month nothing crazy pops up and we can just stick to self quarantined naps and short walks. It’s been quite a year thus far I must say. January I was hospitalized, February I had the flu (no, not corona!) and March we got hit with a global pandemic. But if we’ve gotten this far, I think we can make it through April and beyond. We’re also one step closer every day to going back to our normal routines and life and that’s one thing alone that keeps me going. During the last 3 weeks, I’ve learned to appreciate the little things more than ever and after having an emotional breakdown two nights ago, I’m now setting up every day to have at least 3-5 things to look forward to. They can be as small as going for a 15 minute walk, my grocery run every Saturday to Trader Joe’s or a FaceTime with my dad daily but all of these things make my mood around this time just a little bit happier. I encourage you to find a few things every night that you can plan out for the following day that you can look forward to, too. I swear it helps.
So far, this week has been overall really good. I’m trying to stay as busy as possible filling my time up with walks (being as socially distant as can be) in the morning with Dustin, binge watching the entire series of One Tree Hill (this is probably my 10-15th time doing so) and trying out new recipes here and there.
I’ve made my friend Monique’s energy bites that call for simple ingredients you probably already have on hand if you bake (protein powder or almond/oat flour, flaxseed meal and cacao powder) that I threw in the freezer yesterday.. They taste incredible! I’m usually not an energy bite person but if you’re bored during quarantine, want to “bake” and not turn on your oven – these are ideal. I also love making my friend Nicole’s life-changing tahini chocolate chip cookies. Super simple, take less than an hour and call for less than 10 ingredients. I use oat flour instead of almond so they’re far less filling/dense and also cheaper to make. 10/10! If you have any other favorites, send them my way.
Among baking and doing yoga pretty much every single day, I’ve also been on a huuuuge smoothie kick. I either make a mint chip, peanut butter coffee or tropical smoothie every single morning for breakfast. I haven’t really been in a mood to eat a big breakfast so throwing all of the nutrients into my blender and hitting go have been key. I used to always make the sweetest smoothies in college and then be hungry immediately after. I realized it was because I was adding all of the wrong ingredients: too much fruit, too much sweetness and protein powders that usually had stevia or sugar making me crave MORE sugar. Now I keep it simple with protein, fat and fiber AND greens. The greens really help curb the edge of sweetness just a little bit and also give me the boost of iron I need (I stick to frozen kale or spinach).
Anyways, the smoothie below is truly a DREAM. Since I was in the hospital in January, I’ve been on a coconut water KICK. It’s extremely hydrating due to the naturally occurring electrolytes (better than any sports drink) and it’s full of potassium. Coconut water is my favorite option for a liquid in my smoothies or I’ll do 12oz of purified water with 2 tbsp of hemp seeds to make a 2-ingredient “milk”. I do 2 tbsp of hemp seeds regardless for plant-based protein, iron (3 tbsp has 20% of your daily intake of iron and this helps so much especially when you’re on your period) and fat. For coconut water, always look for organic if you can. I love love love Harmless Harvest (sold at Whole Foods) or if you’re at Trader Joe’s, opt for their organic kind (I’m pretty sure it’s Harmless Harvest branded by TJ’s).
After using coconut water and hemp seeds, I’ll add chia seeds for fiber and then 2 scoops of Ancient Nutrition’s unflavored collagen peptides for protein without any sweetener. Collagen peptides (unflavored) can be found in numerous places (Vital Proteins, Further Foods, etc) but I just adore Ancient Nutrition. They’re such a sweet company and have tons of amazing supplements and products beyond their collagen. I use their Fermented Enzymes before eating any crazy funky foods, their Vitamin B12, Elderberry, Immune multivitamin and Zinc every day, too.
For fruit combos I love anything tropical here so I usually go for fresh orange, frozen strawberry and frozen mango (the first one I ever made) but my recent favorite is frozen banana, peach and half a sumo citrus or a navel orange. So so good. Refreshing, not too too sweet and super tropical. Makes you feel like you’re on a tropical island and not in mid-quarantine! Also I’ve been adding orange to pretty much everything and anything to get in some extra Vitamin C.
- 12 oz organic coconut water
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 navel orange or ½ a sumo citrus
- 1 cup frozen peaches
- ½ frozen banana
- 1.5 tsp ceremonial grade matcha (I use Ippodo Tea or Mizuba Tea Co)
- 2 scoops collagen peptides, unflavored (or any vanilla protein you have on hand)
- Handful of ice
- Optional: 1 tbsp coconut butter, 1 tsp spirulina and/or 1 cup spinach
- Combine all ingredients in blender (preferably a high speed one like a Ninja, BlendTec or Vitamix) and use the tamper to get all ingredients blended and thick. Add more ice or water to your desired consistency. Pour it up!
My optional add ons and takeaways to the smoothie that sometimes I do without but usually do are 1 tsp spirulina (most people probably don’t have this so it is not necessary by any means but a great added superfood), 1.5 tsp matcha (my go-to is linked on my Amazon shopping page but I also love Mizuba Tea Co) and/or 1 tbsp of coconut butter for added fat and flavor. I personally like adding matcha or coffee to my smoothies just so I don’t have to also make an additional matcha or coffee on the side of my smoothie and I get it all in one beverage. You do you!
Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this and make it several times. I look forward to my daily smoothie every night (the little things, like I said) and getting in all of these good benefits. If you make it let me know! I made it for Dustin today (banana, orange and peach version) but without any greens and an additional 1tsp of manuka honey (great for immunity) and he freaking LOVED which made me so happy.
Enjoy! Xx
