The Smoothie Recipe That Keeps Me Full All Morning

I’m a pretty early riser during the school year. I have to be at work early, and because I like my devotion time in the morning, I will wake up before 5:00 most days. This means I’m usually eating breakfast between 5:00 and 5:15 and don’t get to eat again until 11:00. If I eat at 5:00 a.m. and don’t eat something protein-rich, I’m hungry by 8:00 a.m. Not conducive to my teacher schedule at all.

This school year I set out on a quest to find the things that would best keep me full without having to fix a full on breakfast every morning. Enter the protein smoothie.

Over the summer I discovered the Great Value brand frozen smoothie packs at Walmart. Each package comes with three individually portioned packets of a mix of fruits and veggies. All you do is add water, and you have a very tasty smoothie. I knew this wouldn’t keep me full for five to six hours, so I went on the hunt for a protein source.

 

One day I was browsing the protein powder section of the store and noticed a plant-based protein powder. I quickly read the label, didn’t hate it like I did so many others, and decided I’d give it a go.

The vanilla flavor is pretty strong, but it goes well with the fruit. It tastes good and not too “protein powder-y”. And the best part- it keeps me full for four to five hours. Come 10:00-10:30 I’m getting pretty hungry, but I’m usually so busy at that time that I sip water and tough it out until 11:00 when I get to eat lunch.

Starting your day off on a positive note is setting you up for success the rest of the day. I have been known to eat leftover tacos for breakfast, leftover pizza, leftover chips and cheese dip. You name it, I’ve eaten it for breakfast. In an attempt to not do that, I needed a protein-rich breakfast. A girl can only eat so many scrambled eggs, so the smoothie has been a real winner this school year.

One of the great thing about these smoothie packs is that you can customize them to your liking. They are already full of great ingredients, but I always add a big handful of spinach to each smoothie, even if it’s the green one. I can never taste the spinach in a smoothie. However, I happen to like spinach. Sometimes I add frozen blueberries to the green smoothie and sometimes frozen strawberries. Another good addition to your smoothie is a fiber source such as flaxseed or chia seeds. And if you don’t want to add water, you can always add almond milk or greek yogurt. I have a bit of a lactose intolerance, so I always opt for water.

Let me tell you about a few of the smoothies…Here’s the Pep in Your Step smoothie with a big handful of spinach and three large frozen strawberries. Now before you get all excited about how delicious and green this looks, I feel it’s my duty to tell you how DISGUSTING this one was. I had never bought this pack before, and I was feeling all accomplished with my 5 am blogging efforts, and then the smoothie turned out to be terrible. If you have a love for bell pepper that runs deep (and I mean real deep), then disregard what I’m telling you. In fact, comment that you want the other two smoothie packs because I’m planning to put them in the trash. But if you could take or leave bell peppers, steer clear of this one. I drank two sips of it and knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. There’s a very strong aftertaste of bell pepper that just wouldn’t quit. No, thank you.

 

But this one. This one is tried and true and quite delicious. It’s call The Brainiac. It’s made with blueberries, bananas, avocados, and beets, and I think it’s my favorite one. I added a handful of spinach and some water and blended. Simple and delicious.

If you’re a smoothie fan, I encourage you to give these a go. Except the Pep in Your Step one. 🙂 In all seriousness, there are many different types of these smoothie packs, and most of them are truly delicious.

As far as protein powders go, Vega is very tasty and complementary to the Great Value smoothie packs. Most importantly, it keeps me full for a long time. I have been so impressed by how long I can go without feeling hungry.

Do you drink protein shakes or smoothies? Tell me in the comments about the protein powders you use and the smoothie recipes you drink. And don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here at the top of your screen.

Cheers!