Nutty Green Shake

Good morning and happy Monday! :)

It has been a lovely morning so far. Mondays are a tricky thing. If the day doesn't start off right, it can be a more overwhelming and stressful day. However, if the first day of the week begins well, the rest of the day is usually filled with wonderful productivity and joy. Today has been one of those lovely Monday mornings. I woke up an hour later than I had planned, but that didn't throw my day off - thankfully. I remember when I used to allow little things like that really effect me. Thank the Lord that He has helped me to overcome that. It's crazy to think that sometimes we can let the littlest things steal our joy.

After my lower body workout this morning, I made this Nutty Green Shake for breakfast. (I had this with a hard boiled egg, but I didn't take a picture of that.) I consider this shake to be a great success - especially compared to my last attempt. ;)

Last week, I tried to make a super healthy green smoothie - fail. Oh my. It was so... not good. It was brown instead of green, it was nothing close to delicious, and the texture was almost unbearable. I literally considered dumping it down the sink, but I really don't like to waste perfectly good food. (In this case, 'good' means edible - not delicious.)

So... needless to say I wasn't too happy with the way that smoothie turned out. This morning I tried to decide what kind of shake I would make. I wanted something healthy and delicious. Although this recipe may still need some more perfecting, it is a huge improvement from my last attempt. I actually enjoyed drinking this shake. That has to count for something, right?

I love the whole idea of drinking green smoothies/shakes, but for some reason I don't make them too often. I used to drink green smoothies all the time, but I've gotten out of the habit. I used to mix frozen fruit, banana, apple juice, and a heaping scoop of Heavenly Greens and voilà - a smoothie.

But I ran out of Heavenly Greens, and I haven't been buying berries, and I've been eating more oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, and therefore - I haven't been having my green smoothies. Anyway, I am trying to get back into the habit of drinking them. 

So without further ado, here is the recipe for my Nutty Green Shake.

(And just in case the picture recipe wasn't clear enough)

• 1c. skim milk
• 1.5 c. of frozen green beans
• 1/4 c. frozen broccoli
• 1 large banana
• 1 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. milled golden flaxseed (optional)

In a blender, pour in 1 cup of skim milk. Next add your frozen veggies and banana. Lastly add in your peanut butter and flaxseed. Blend until smooth.

* The flaxseed is not crucial, but I love milled flaxseed, and I wanted the extra protein. Now I will say that the peanut butter is essential. If you are allergic to peanuts or prefer a different type of nut butter, than use that instead. I blended the shake together before I added the peanut butter and the green bean flavor was much too strong for my liking. I added the peanut butter afterward to help mask the green beans. That made the shake sooooo much better.

Well, that is all for now. I hope that you'll give this shake a try and please let me know how you like it. If you think of any improvements that could be made, I would love to hear them. Have a fabulous Monday and may God bless you exceedingly and abundantly now and always! :)

Love & Grace,

Mariah