Here’s the perfect recipe for a healthy breakfast smoothie. With a deep green color, sweet flavors and all the health benefits of kale, chia seeds, mango, pineapple and ginger, this smoothie is an excellent start to your day!
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So let’s make our first meal of the day one that’s loaded with healthy goodness and is also delicious. It can be so tempting to grab a muffin or a greasy breakfast, but lets instead try a healthy smoothie such as this one!
Over the past 10-15 years, smoothies have become a very popular way to get a whole bunch of vitamins, proteins, fruits and vegetables, all in an easy to enjoy drink. And with the popularity of high speed blenders, and blenders that are specifically made for smoothies, making them at home is easier and easier to do. It’s also very economical! No need to go to specialty smoothie shops and spend big bucks when you can make your own healthy green breakfast at home easily and affordably.
Start with the super food of kale
The main ingredients in our healthy breakfast smoothie are kale, mango, pineapple, dates, chia seeds and ginger. Kale has enjoyed such a renaissance in recent years. Once used almost strictly as decoration at salad bars or deli trays, kale is “super food” and a part of many healthy lifestyle diets. It’s loaded with vitamins C and K, and provides an excellent source of fiber. Kale by itself isn’t very tasty, but that’s why it works so well with fruits such as mango and pineapple. The flavors of these two fruits provides an awesome combination of tropical flavors, and almost completely makes up for any lack of flavor from the kale. In fact, if this smoothie wasn’t green, you wouldn’t even know it contained kale.
ch ch ch chia!
We may know chia seeds from the popular commercials for the fuzzy headed pets, but chia seeds pack a nutritious punch when added to a smoothie. Chia seeds are rich in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and are also an excellent source of fiber. And they blend right in to your smoothie perfectly. Chia seeds have a flavor you’re barely going to notice. They’re mild, slightly nutty tasting, and are perfect for a healthy breakfast smoothie recipe.
Have a date to remember
When was the last time you had a date? No not dinner and a movie, but the fruit kind of date? Dates are a very sweet little fruit that grows in bunches on “date palm” trees. We mostly find them in a partially dry state, often already pitted, in containers at supermarkets. The flavor is so sweet and so rich, and they add the perfect compliment of sweetness to our smoothie. You only need 1 or 2, and you’ll be glad you did. They really fill out the flavor profile of our smoothie.
Better with Ginger
Fresh ginger doesn’t get enough credit. It’s a very versatile ingredient in so many ways, and when fresh ginger root is grated and added to a smoothie, it adds a vibrancy like nothing else. I love ginger so I like to add a whole teaspoon of freshly grated ginger to almost all of my smoothies. Feel free to add more or less, depending on your taste. And don’t forget, ginger is also an excellent digestive aid. Do a google search for health benefits of ginger and you will be amazed. Definitely an ingredient I love to use in this recipe.
Fresh or Frozen Fruit for Smoothies?
I personally love to use fresh fruit in my smoothies. I enjoy my trips to the produce stores where everything is so fresh and beautiful. And of course when i’m peeling and cutting the fruit I have a few fresh chunks to enjoy. But if you don’t quite have the time to make this smoothie with fresh pineapple and mango, using frozen is perfectly fine! I always keep bags of frozen fruit in my freezer for this very reason. If i’m in a hurry on a weekday morning, I can just get the fruit I need from the freezer. And on the weekends when I may have a little more time, that’s when i’ll use fresh. One thing to note when using fresh fruit – throw a couple of ice cubes into the blender with all the other ingredients. It will give it that perfect consistency and temperature.
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Healthy Breakfast Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale (just leaves without steams)
- ½ cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
- ½ cup fresh or frozen mango chunks
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1–2 dates
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ¾ cup coconut water
Instructions
- In a blender, add in all the ingredients and blend for 2-3 minutes or until all the ingredients are well combined.
- If necessary add in more water to thin the smoothie and blend again until smooth.
- Pour the smoothie to the serving glasses, garnish with more chia seeds if desired and enjoy immediately.
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