Something New for Breakfast: Smoothies

Oof!  This is the longest I've gone since I started this blog without updating.  I have a reason; I've been out of town for the past two weekends on business.  (It will have its own post, because it was a foodfail of epic proportions.)  But I'm back now and trying to get back on track, starting with the "most important meal of the day," breakfast.  I had posted about how Cheerios were all I ever ate for breakfast, but I wanted to give it up for something more nutrient-rich and less processed, and actually, I haven't bought another box since that one ran out a few days later.

And believe it or not, I've been doing really, really well.  One of the cookbooks we got for Christmas has a whole breakfast section.  First up in the book is smoothies--seriously the most simple thing you could ever imagine.  Erica used to make mixed fruit smoothies, and based on the fact that she used a ton of different fruits, I didn't really consider that a cost- or time-effective solution for daily consumption.  But the recipes in this book use banana as the base of most of the recipes instead of avocado, and usually only have 1 or 2 other ingredients.  So, much less expensive, and incredibly easy!

The first one I tried was called "Cinnamon Bun:" Simply milk, a banana, cinnamon, and vanilla extract blended together:  and yes, it tasted incredibly like a cinnamon bun.

Cinnamon Bun in a Glass!

We tried a few recipes from the book--Erica made an incredible vegetable-and-mint based one that tasted like a Mojito--and after I got the hang of it, I started making my own.  That's how I came up with a chocolate-cinnamon one, and my favorite so far, a blueberry-banana one.

I'm thinking of calling it Blueberry-Banana Blast,

what do you think?

Right now, smoothies seem to be working out perfectly.  I have a lot of energy, I'm not getting too hungry before lunch, leftovers seem to keep okay in the fridge for a day or so. And I love that I'm eating more fruit.  It's very hard for me to just sit down and chow on an apple or whatever, so this is good.  I'm experimenting almost every day with new combinations, but when I have a list of faves, I'll be sure to share some recipes!

***(Also, thanks to everyone that offered suggestions for ways to deal with my breakfast conundrum. I'm still taking all of that into consideration, and I'll be trying some of that as well!)***