my favorite green smoothie

It's been a bit quiet around here lately, I know. But seeing as it's January and all, I've been trying to eat more carrots and less chocolate. So while I've been cooking up a storm, I haven't blogged about any of it because chickpeas and collard greens aren't exactly the type of cuisine culinary dreams are made of. Except here's the thing--some of mine are. One of my deepest, darkest baking blogger secrets is that I'm generally a very healthy eater. 

Don't get me wrong, I have an uncontrollable sweet tooth, spend an abnormal amount of time chasing the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and look forward to candy-corn season all year long. But I also make kale chips on the regular, fill my desk drawers with raw almonds, and am way more likely to be breakfasting on chia pudding than a chocolate croissant. But since this is a baking blog and all, I try to suppress my inner superfood freak.

Then I had a thought--what some of you are harboring a hidden health nut as well? What if you're just as interested in hearing about bulgar as you are brownies? (Well, okay, not as interested, but you know what I mean). So I've decided to start sharing some of my everyday, healthy fare from time to time as well. Starting with my favorite green smoothie. Sweet, creamy, and loaded with vitamin A and fiber, it strikes the perfect balance between healthy and heavenly. 

My Favorite Green Smoothie

1 frozen banana

3/4 cup frozen greens 

1 cup coconut water

1 tablespoon raw almond butter

Blend all ingredients on high until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy. 

Ingredient Notes

Bananas: I like to freeze whole ripe banans and take one out to defrost about five minutes before breakfast time. By the time I'm ready to blend, the banana is soft and is easy to peel. 

Greens: I've also tried this recipe with fresh greens, but I find that the frozen ones blend better and give the drink the smoothest and creamiest consistency. My favorite is Whole Foods 365 brand leafy greens blend, which is a mix of collard greens, kale and mustard greens. A couple of handfulls of fresh baby spinach works great too though.

Coconut Water: For drinking straight I'm obsessed with Harmless Harvest, but since it's on the pricier side I usually use opt for a budget friendly brand like Vita-Coco for smoothies. You can also replace the coconut water with unsweetened vanilla almond milk or light coconut milk.

Almond Butter: My current favorite is MaraNatha creamy raw organic almond butter. Use whatever you prefer.