My go-to breakfast: banana berry kale smoothie

What you'll need:

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups mixed frozen berries (I like Target's Market Pantry mix)
• 1.5 cups frozen mango, pineapple & strawberry mix (again, I like Target's Market Pantry mix)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1-2 tbsp's ground flax seed (I use 1.5 tbsp)
• 1 handful baby kale (you can use adult kale too; I prefer the sweeter flavor of baby kale. Spinach is also a great substitute)
• 1 cup water, apple juice or almond milk (Use less or more liquid as needed. I use water because it's the healthiest choice, with zero calories & zero sugar. Apple juice is a great option for added sweetness & almond milk is great for a creamier consistency! If you have a great quality blender or Vitamix you may not need much liquid. I use the liquid to help my blender break down the frozen fruit.
• 2 straws

Add to the blender: frozen berries & the cup of frozen mango, pineapple & strawberries. Peel banana and break in half, putting both halves in the blender. With your hand pinch handful of kale and put in the blender. Pour your liquid of choice in and blend away! Once you have a nice smooth consistency simply pour the smoothie into two cups and throw a straw in each!

It's hard to remember life before my morning breakfast smoothies! Though I've played around with different fruit & greens combos for smoothies, this recipe is always my go to! When I started dating my boyfriend he was curious about my morning smoothies. He was hesitant about trying them because though he likes the fruits involved, the thought of drinking "kale" scared him. But thankfully he was willing to take a sip and he fell in love! Now he craves these, maybe even more than I do! He says he's lost weight since drinking them because they fill him up in the mornings so he doesn't get tempted to snack before lunch. I try to make them for us every morning, but occasionally when I hit the snooze button too many times and am running late for work, we both can feel the difference because they pack in so many benefits. Filled with antioxidants, vital nutrients & protein (yes, veggies have protein), they give us both a boost of energy in the mornings which is especially important for us non morning people!!

My meat-eating boyfriend's approval rating: 5 stars!

Drink a healthy smoothie & go out into the world energized!!