Thirsty Thursday: Super Green Matcha Tea Smoothie Bowl

It's Thursday again! I don't know about you, but I am tired of all this rain we have been having in Tampa lately and I needed some brightness in my life today. The bad news is it looks like there's a 60-80% chance of rain for the next five days, but the good news is you can easily make this Super Green Matcha Tea smoothie bowl to brighten your day and load up on protein and antioxidants! I made this smoothie bowl for a power-packed post-workout lunch, but you can have this smoothie bowl whenever you need a pick-me-up meal!

Super Green Matcha Tea Smoothie Bowl

(Took advantage of the break in the rain storm to enjoy my smoothie bowl outside :-) At least my grass is green thanks to the rain!)

Ingredients:

• 6 oz unsweetened iced green tea (I ordered mine from Starbucks on my way home from the gym, but you can brew your own green tea and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so).
• 4 oz frozen banana
• 1 oz avocado (about 1/4th of an avocado, sliced)
• 1-2 cups baby spinach
• 1 scoop vegan protein powder (vanilla flavored is recommended)
• 2 t Organic Matcha Green Tea powder
• 1 packet Stevia (or more to taste)
• 4-5 ice cubes
• 3 tbsp KIND cinnamon oat with flaxseeds granola (for topping)
• about 10 fresh blueberries (for topping)

Green tea smoothis ingredients

Instructions:

1. Pour iced green tea into a blender and add the frozen banana, avocado slices, and spinach leaves. Blend ingredients for about 30 seconds to mix well.
2. Add in the protein powder, Matcha powder, Stevia, and ice cubes. Blend ingredients for about 60 seconds to mix well. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender with a spoon or spatula and blend again to ensure all ingredients are mixed well and there are no clumps.
3. Pour smoothie mixture into a large, wide-mouthed bowl and top with granola and blueberries.
4. Devour smoothie bowl :-)

That's it! Simple as that and you have a super, power-packed Green Tea Smoothie bowl that will fill you up and leave you feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day (come rain or come shine)!

Green tea smoothie nutrition

Not to mention, this smoothie bowl provides you with nearly 190% of your daily calcium requirements and nearly 740mg of potassium; 30g of lean protein, 8g of fiber, and only 10g of fat; and doesn't break the calorie bank with around 350 calories total!

So go ahead, brighten your day with this Super Green Smoothie! I know it worked for me :-)

Green tea smoothis inside

(I enjoyed my smoothie bowl with a good read, thanks to Strong magazine!)

Thirsty Thursday: Easy Green & Lean Smoothie

There is nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold smoothie after a hard workout and there's no faster method of re-fueling post-workout than by drinking a protein-packed, antioxidant-rich "Green & Lean" smoothie! I am often asked how I make my post-workout smoothies and many clients have asked me "what are the best ingredients to put into your smoothies to replenish the body's carbohydrate stores and provide sufficient protein for muscle tissue repair and growth?" These are great questions and today I am going to answer these questions and provide you all with my recipes for an Easy Green & Lean Smoothie!

Green Matcha Smoothie

Now doesn't that Green Smoothie look beautiful! This delicious smoothie was made at Village Health Market in South Tampa and, while it was packed with antioxidants, lean protein, and did not contain any added sugars, it cost me more than $6!! Now I don't know about you, but I can't justify paying a lot of money for something that I could easily make at home for less than half the price... so I decided to use this smoothie as inspiration for my homemade versions.

The main ingredients in this particular Green Smoothie are:

• Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Banana
• Spinach
• Vegan vanilla bean protein powder
• Matcha Green Tea powder
• 1 Stevia packet
• Ice cubes

See how simple it would be to buy these ingredients and make several smoothies at home! The important ingredients to include are a liquid of choice (water, unsweetened non-dairy milk or low-fat milk, and even leftover coffee or cold brew coffee), fruit (banana, berries, pineapple, peaches, mango...), super green leafy vegetables (spinach or kale), lean protein source (whey protein powder, vegan protein powder, Greek yogurt, or egg white protein), extra antioxidant boost (Match powder, Maca powder, raw cocoa powder...), a natural sweetener of choice (Stevia / Truvia, maple syrup, agave, or honey), and ice cubes to blend to desired consistency. You can add in or remove any ingredients that you'd like and you can mix match until you find your favorite blends! It really can be fun to experiment with your homemade smoothies!

Here are a few of my favorite concoctions to give you some ideas :-)

Smoothie ingredients - coffee

PB and Banana Mocha Smoothie:

• 1 cup chilled black coffee with 1/4th cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 small banana
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1/2 cup liquid egg whites (10g protein)
• 2 tbsp PB2
• 1 tsp Matcha Green Tea powder
• 1 packet Stevia
• 5 ice cubes

Smoothie ingredients - designer whey

Spinach and Banana Smoothie:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 banana
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 scoop 100% whey protein powder (vanilla) (22g protein)
• 1 tsp Matcha Green Tea powder
• 2 packets Truvia
• 5 ice cubes

Smoothie ingredients - Greek yogurt

Greek PB and Banana Smoothie:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 banana
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 single-serve Oikos plain Greek yogurt (15g protein)
• 2 tbsp PB2
• 1 packet Stevia
• 5 ice cubes

Mix all ingredients together in a blender and voila - you have the perfect post-workout smoothie that will replenish and rejuvenate :-) Have fun mixing and matching the ingredients and coming up with your own favorite smoothies!

Stay tuned for more great Smoothie recipes every Thursday!