Berry Power Blast Smoothie – A Complete Breakfast

I have been thinking about writing this post for weeks now. I’ve started drinking smoothies for breakfast and have finally found my perfect mix of ingredients that I’ve been dying to share here. This smoothie is so jam packed full of wholesome goodness – energizing, filling, substantial ingredients – it will have you ready to do cartwheels with your last sip. I promise!

This recipe came to be kind of by accident. My masseuse (the reason I’m mostly vegan) had been telling me to try and incorporate maca powder and bee pollen into my meals for energy. Maca powder is known for its energizing and balancing qualities. Bee pollen is also known to be an energy miracle – this blog post does an excellent job explaining its many qualities.

Like a good student – I went to Whole Foods and bought both ingredients. But one smell of maca powder and I couldn’t figure out how I’d ever get this down. (Supposedly red maca which you can buy online has a more mild flavor but I’ve yet to try it). At the time, I was making my morning oatmeal. But incorporating these into my warm bowl of oats just wasn’t going to work.

Then one day I figured I’d give it a try in a smoothie. I knew that pretty much everything I put in my oatmeal: oats, almond milk, nut butter, chia seeds, and fruit could go in a smoothie. A few days of tinkering with the ingredients and I’ve landed on this which I’ve been making ever since. In fact, the reason I decided to finally write it down – aside from wanting to share it here – is because I made it for a friend recently who loved it so much she wanted the recipe.

You’d think the oats and chia seed lend a lumpy texture to the smoothie but it’s just the opposite. Just blend on high for a few minutes and your left with a frothy, thick and creamy delicious drink. Loaded with fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, and minerals – it has everything to get you started and keep you balanced throughout the day. As I said, the main reason I started making these was to hide the maca and bee pollen (note bee pollen is not vegan and you can leave it out if you wish) – mission accomplished. All I taste is clean goodness.

The last note on this is there’s really no no need for measuring. The last thing I want to do in the morning is get out my measuring cups. Don’t bother with that and just drop in all your wholesome goodies, add enough liquid, and blend it up. If your blender catches, you just need more liquid. Use whatever you have on hand. Don’t have one of the ingredients below? Leave it out – no sweat.

Gather – blend – enjoy!

Berry Power Blast Smoothie

I make this smoothie with lots of berries. I prefer frozen as they are more economical and are easy to keep on hand but you can use fresh if you like. I will also throw in any other fruit I have if I need to use it up.

Both the maca and bee pollen are strong flavors. You may opt to try smaller amounts first and work towards higher amounts as you adjust to the flavors. Additionally, you can add as much raw cacao as you like depending on how chocolatey you’d like your smoothie.

Makes 1 very large smoothie, or 2 smaller smoothies

• 2 cups frozen fruit (I like a mixture of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and some mango for sweetness)
• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 cup non dairy milk (I prefer vanilla flavored almond milk)
• 1 cup filtered water
• 2 tbsp nut butter (I prefer peanut butter but also use almond butter)
• 1 tbsp raw cacao
• 1 tsp maca
• 1/2 tsp bee pollen (can be left out to be truly vegan)

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed for several minutes until smooth.