Mango Spinach Smoothie

Hey everyone! I am sorry I skipped last month, it has been a crazy time around here. I am just glad all the craziness is all positive: wedding planning (1 month to go 😀), trying to get our tiny home move-in ready 🏡, school, work, and getting internships ready for May. With the craziness, meal prep and having a fridge/ pantry filled with healthy choices is essential! 

Speaking of filled fridges and pantries... the Recipe Redux's theme for March is spring cleaning the kitchen. When it comes to spring cleaning, I love cleaning and organizing the kitchen to create a clean slate. I also love a clean empty fridge and filling it with healthy options. I challenge you to clear out the junk and fill your kitchen with some healthy foods! Here are a few items I always have in my kitchen:

 🍴In my fridge:

• Spinach (add a paper towel in the bag or container to keep it longer-- I use it in my eggs, salad, for sauteing, in smoothies)
• Broccoli (my go to veggie for a quick meal--takes 1-2 minutes to steam in the microwave)
• Iceberg lettuce (add a paper towel in the bag or container to keep longer--Use for quick salad)
• Carrots (keeps long and use in my salad or stir fry)
• Red cabbage (keeps long and use in my salad)
• Red pepper (quick Fajita dish or salad topper)
• Seasonal veggies
• Fruit: Seasonal, Apples, mango (quick snack or dessert)
• Milk 🍶(any kind-- cow's milk, flaxseed milk, almond, soy)
• Yogurt (plain for smoothies, use in place of sour cream or cream cheese, or for a dessert/snack)
• Salsa 
• Spicy mustard
• Hot sauce
• Egg whites 
• Eggs (I am lucky with fresh farm eggs from my brothers' chickens)
• Natural chunky peanut butter (only ingredients= peanuts, a little salt)
• Baked chicken (use in salad, sandwich, wrap)
• left overs (lunch the next day!)
• Dark chocolate (treat yo' self!)🍫
• La Croix seltzer water

🍴In my freezer:

• Bananas (don't let your bananas go to waste! Eat frozen, add to smoothies or baked goods, or make your own "ice-cream")
• Blueberries (Eat frozen, add to oatmeal or smoothies)
• Any frozen veggies (blanch and chill fresh veggies or buy frozen veggies)
• Salmon (my go to for a quick meal- portioned ready to defrost and broil/saute)
• Homemade ground turkey burgers (portioned ready to defrost and grill/saute)
• Baked chicken (defrost for a quick protein when I run out of it in my fridge)
• Chicken🐔 (raw, portioned ready to defrost and grill/bake/saute)
• Ezekiel bread (quick defrost in microwave and toast for eggs, sandwiches, etc.)
• Whole grains: brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat flour (either already cooked or store uncooked to prevent it from going bad)
• Unsweetened shredded coconut (to prevent it from going rancid; add it to oatmeal, baked goods, smoothies)
• Pesto (keeps long and is a quick flavor enhancer to pasta, fish, chicken, and veggie dishes)
• Milled flax seed (to prevent it from going rancid; I add it to oatmeal, smoothies, and when I bake)
• Chia seeds (to prevent it from going rancid; I add it to oatmeal and smoothies)

🍴In my pantry:

• Sweet potatoes (My favorite go-to--Did you see my blog's name?)
• Fresh fruit (orange, bananas, apples, seasonal)🍎🍏🍐🍑🍒🍓🍉
• Onion (adds so much flavor from Italian dishes to Mexican dishes)
• Garlic (same as onion)
• dried herbs, spices 
• Olive oil
• Balsamic and red wine vinegar 
• popcorn kernels (place in paper bag and microwave for a quick no fat/salt snack)
• oatmeal (my go breakfast with cinnamon and egg whites)
• 'One minute' brown rice (Super quick meal addition)
• Raw almonds
• Golgi berries (add in smoothies)
• Canned low salt beans (black, white, kidney)
• Lentils 
• Canned low salt tomatoes (add in dishes from Italian to Mexican)
• Kind bars (dark chocolate peanut butter is a on-the-run treat)

The past couple weeks I have been talking to many clients who have trouble eating breakfast, well a healthy one! I have provided many ideas from overnight oats, oatmeal, egg muffins, egvado, personalized egg frittata, pancakes, muffins (sweet potato, cranberry orange, or berry), crust-less quiche, 🍳omelet, whole grain cereal with no added sugar, and smoothies. Many of the breakfast ideas (overnight oats, egg dishes, pancakes, muffins, smoothies) are easy to make the night before or beginning of the week or to be set in the freezer. It is easy to just pop them in the microwave for a healthy start to the day. 

I have only provided a recipe for banana🍌 "ice cream" ("Shamrock shake"🍀 or dark chocolate pb), which would be the closest to a smoothie. I do not drink many smoothies, but I think they are a great idea for a quick breakfast idea. I find that when I drink my food (shakes/smoothies/juices), I don't have a good vision of what I am really consuming, leading to overeating. I would rather eat all the ingredients since it takes longer to eat the full produce or ingredients than sipping. Some smoothies are over loaded with just fruit, which can be good if you have trouble getting your 2-3 servings a day. It is important to include protein (Greek yogurt), healthy fats (flaxseeds, chia seeds, coconut, nuts, seeds, avocado), and vegetables to the smoothie to increase the nutrient content, slow down digestion, and to prevent a large spike of blood glucose. 

Since I had a mango and spinach that were going bad, I decided to make a smoothie bowl that is filled with protein, healthy fats, veggies, and fruit. I split this smoothie between 3 people and they all loved it!

Mango Spinach Smoothie

Serves: 3 (6 oz servings)

Ingredients: 

• 1 mango, cubed  (1 cup)
• 1/2 banana, frozen 
• 1 counter (5.3 oz) Greek Yogurt -- I used Siggi's plain flavor (17g of protein and 2 ingredients!)
• 1 cup spinach
• 6 ice cubes
• toppings: golgi berries, unsweetened coconut, chia seeds, chopped almonds, flaxseeds, toasted oats, fresh fruit

 

Directions:

1. Add mango, frozen banana, Greek yogurt, spinach, and ice cubes into a blender or food processor.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Add to bowls and top with any toppings you have!
4. Enjoy!