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Get your veggies first thing in the morning with this vegan Almond Chai Green Smoothie. The perfect breakfast recipe to kickstart your day that’s protein-packed and ready in minutes.
I’m convinced that inside every person there is a smoothie-lover. As a former smoothie-hater I can speak for those of us who have seen the light and can assure those who haven’t that there is another way!
Not in a million years did I think I would become a smoothie person. A warm bowl of oats always sounded more appetizing to me then a cold drink on a dreary winter morning. But today I want to tell you about how I changed my tune and in the process fell in love with my daily morning smoothie.
But first…A VIDEO! Just to prove how easy this almond chai green smoothie recipe is (and why you should probably start every single day with it), have a look at this short video and per usual get in a good laugh at my ridiculous antics!
I am a sweet breakfast person. Unless, I’m going for brunch and huevos rancheros is on the menu, I need sweet first thing in the morning. Weekends usually consist of a bigger ordeal (pancakes, waffles, french toast etc…) but weekdays I need something quick and easy, which in the past was usually oatmeal.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love oatmeal, but for the past 6 months or so I’ve been finding that it hasn’t really been hitting the mark. Especially since I’ve been trying to eat a more plant-based diet, I’ve been needing something a bit more satiating first thing in the morning. Finding yourself hungry 2 hours later is never fun!
So I decided to give the smoothie train another shot. I also didn’t think it was fair to eliminate an entire category of breakfast foods just because I wasn’t into the few flavors I had tried. Here’s how I learned to fall in love with my breakfast smoothie:
–Find a flavor you love. Just because you don’t like a mango smoothie doesn’t mean you won’t like a blueberry smoothie! Don’t rule out all smoothies just because you haven’t found the flavor you love yet.
-Use a protein powder you enjoy. I like adding protein powder because it gives the smoothie more staying power. But a protein powder can make or break a smoothie so keep trying until you find a brand you love!
-Consistency is key. I’m someone who likes a thick smoothie so I worked to figure out the perfect ratio of liquid to solid ingredients. I also discovered that using ice will always thicken up a smoothie but also gives me a brain freeze first thing in the morning, so I thicken in other ways.
-Remember the veggies. Adding greens to your smoothie is a great source of vegetables first thing in the morning. As a sweet breakfast lover it can be tough for me to get my veggies in first thing in the AM, but drinking a smoothie makes this easy-peasy. I promise you won’t taste them!
-Spice it up. I’ve loved teaming up with Simply Organic for this post because they challenged me to spice up my smoothie. I’ve gotten myself in a bit of a smoothie rut lately, but adding spices (like this chai version) helped me add a little variety. In the process I discovered a new flavor I love!
Give these tips a try and let me know how it goes! But I’m wholly convinced you will love this Almond Chai version, so maybe start with that 😉
PrintAlmond Chai Green Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice (I used Vega Sport Protein)
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 scoop natural, smooth almond butter
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- optional: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a blender in the order listed.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve with toppings of choice. I like hemp seeds, added cinnamon and almond butter.
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Simply Organic. I was compensated for my time and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting The Healthy Maven and the brands that make THM possible!
One of my favorite smoothies! So good! I do lots of extra cinnamon and a little extra Nutmeg because I like mine spicy. I also added a couple of dates in there and did a quarter avocado instead of almond butter because I wanted less of an almond taste. But sometimes I’ll do the almond butter. Also added a tiny bit of arugula for green variety. And then ice cubes because I love it extra extra cold and thick. Yum!
YUM!
Hi! Can I leave out protein powder? Do you suggest something different for substitution or do you think just omit it?
Thank you for your always delicious recipe!
You can just omit!
This is delicious and I even screwed it up! So it’s also forgiving! A little too much nutmeg, no cardomom, ice instead of bananas with a bit of stevia to make up for that sweetness. Excellent! And this is my first venture into green smoothie land. Thank you so much!
How did I miss this? I just love everything that you do.
This is completely delicious.
Taking a few mins to add some spices is all it takes to take smoothies to the next and greatest level!!
obviously used my favorite Vega Sport Performance Protein 😉
I am not much of a smoothie lover but sometimes I enjoy banana smoothie as I find it delcious. As far as Almond Chai smoothie is concerned, I am not sure whether or not I will like it. I love almonds and the tea but I am skeptical about their taste when they will get along together.
You never know if you never try 😉 Since this is banana-based I think you’ll really enjoy it!
Yum! I don’t usually put spices in my smoothies but apparently I SHOULD!! This looks amazing 🙂
YOU NEED TO!!! Life-changing!
Mmmm, chai and almond butter! This sounds absolutely so refreshing and so delicious!
Thanks, girly!
CHAI SPICEEEEEE – such a great way to add more flavor to a smoothie! Love your MN sweatshirt. Way to represent the BEST STATE ever. You’re going to make one heck of an Edina Mom one day.
LOL this comment was the best. #EdinaGoals
I LOVE smoothies! 😀
Though I never drink mine cold (I skip the ice and frozen bananas as they would give me a sore throat), I just add room temperature bananas and sometimes avocados to thicken the smoothie. I’ve never added nut butter yet, but I’m planning on trying it.
One of my favourite thing with smoothies is that you can experiment all you want, there are so many mix and match options, the combinations are endless. Recently I even convinced Boyfriend to give green smoothies a try, once he saw they can be sweez and delicious and don’t necessarily taste like kale he was on board 😉
Yes! I did the same with the bf! I was so proud when I was away in Malibu and he made his own 🙂 It’s hard to convince people to try it but I don’t know a single person who hasn’t jumped on board once they realized they couldn’t taste the greens!