Smoothies I’m Loving Lately

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

bRunner's Smoothies

When I got done with my longish run last weekend, food held absolutely no appeal to me. Even though it wasn’t very long at 6 miles, add in at least 2 miles walking up steep hills in addition to those 6 miles in the heat — yup, I knew I needed to refuel.

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Why pay $6 for something that’s so easy to make?

Green (or Chocolate) Peppermint Matcha
This actually works as a pre or post run smoothie!

  • 1 Frozen Banana
  • 1 cup milk of your choice (I used Almond Milk)
  • 1 tsp of Matcha
  • At least .5C frozen spinach, bonus points for more (you won’t taste the spinach, but if you’re more adventurous, try other greens — I do use kale something, too).
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • .25 tsp peppermint extract or 1 drop peppermint essential oil
  • Dash of cinnamon
  • Optional: 1 scoop protein powder (I used chocolate — of course!)
  • Optional: whipped cream to top it with (why yes, I did!)
  • Optional: cacao nibs or chocolate chips either on top of the whipped cream, or blended with the rest of the ingredients

Put everything in a blender (except the whipped cream, (although it wouldn’t hurt anything!) and enjoy!

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You can’t see the blueberry base, but there’s plenty of it!

Red, White, and Blue Smoothie Bowl
Great for the Fourth of July (or any other hot day)! Want to get your veggies in at breakfast? A smoothie bowl makes it easy! My biggest problem has always been that the smoothie is melting by the time I’ve cleaned the blender.

I suppose I should put it in the freezer while I’m cleaning the blender. Which I tried yesterday. It still starts to melt pretty quickly, but it’s still yummy.

  • .5 C frozen blueberries
  • .5C cauliflower
  • At least .5C frozen spinach, bonus points for more
  • .5-.75 milk of choice (I used Almond Milk)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tbsp (or more, if you like) Almond Butter — or half an avocado, your choice (I used Almond Butter this time)
  • 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • Optional: 1 drop lavender essential oil
  • Optional: scoop of protein powder
  • Optional spices: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger
  • .5 C sliced strawberries for topping
  • Optional toppings: besides the strawberries, whipped cream, cacao nibs or chocolate chips, chia seeds, coconut flakes, granola

Blend everything up until the sliced strawberries (they’re for topping your smoothie bowl), although if you’re including the optional protein powder, blend that in too. Drizzle a little honey over the strawberries if you like (I do!), top with your favorite toppings, and enjoy.

You’ve just had two servings of fruits and two servings of veggies by the time you’ve finished breakfast.

Banana Chocolate Cherry
Do we see a theme here? Chocolate in everything, yes, please! You don’t have to use chocolate. Vanilla will work just fine, or skip the protein powder altogether.

  • 1 frozen banana
  • .5 C frozen cherries
  • .5-.75 C milk of choice
  • Chocolate protein powder
  • Optional: cacao powder (add a little sweetener if you do add cacao), cacao nibs/chocolate, almond butter

Blend everything together and enjoy!

Nice Cream Sundae
Even Mr. Judy enjoyed this. Although he’s had the occasional smoothie bowl and enjoyed it, too. First make the magic shell:

  • .25 C cacao
  • .25 C coconut oil
  • .25 C honey

Melt the coconut oil. Mix in the cacao & honey — I taste it, you may need more or less honey. Honey loses its health benefits when you heat it, so you shouldn’t bake with it. I would also say this is about 3 – 4 servings.

Now make the Nice Cream:

  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1 scoop protein powder (of course I like chocolate) or 1 Tbsp cacao — if you use cacao, you’ll need to add some sweetener to taste
  • Roughly .25 – .5 C milk of choice (yeah, by now you know, I usually use Almond Milk)

Blend everything together. It will mostly likely be like soft serve, so you might want to stick it in the freezer briefly to firm it up. Pour the magic shell over and watch it harden! That’s the magic! Then topped with whatever you like, which in my case was granola, whipped cream, and cacao nibs.

It tastes like a sundae — but it actually makes a great recovery smoothie bowl! I’m sorry I didn’t take a photo when I made these a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t really measure things out; I just kind of eyeball it. If I’m using a smoothie on a day I run, I will usually include a pinch of sea salt, too. I’m a salty runner, so I need to get that salt back in after my run.

You can get as creative as you feel like with smoothies, and they’re the perfect way to start yourself off to recovery after a hot summer run. I use Doterra essential oils.

What’s your favorite smoothie flavor? 

Do you enjoy making your own smoothies or do you buy them?

Which one of these smoothies sounds good to you? 

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Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.

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32 thoughts on “Smoothies I’m Loving Lately”

  1. Thanks for these recipes, Judy! Need to get out my blender now.
    I love blueberries. That’s why I would go for the red, white and blue smoothie.
    I’m amazed that it contains cauliflower and spinach – can you tell when drinking it?

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    1. I’ve been doing green smoothies for a long time, so I definitely don’t taste the spinach & cauliflower at all — especially the cauliflower, which also helps thicken it.

      Sometimes it might depend on how much honey you put in there, too.

      That one is actually meant to be eaten out of a bowl (which is why it’s called a smoothie bowl) — although it could definitely be a smoothie, too — it’d be a big one though! It’s really refreshing.

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  2. Not a smoothie fan because I don’t run from home. I need something right away after a long run. And solid food.

    You don’t drink them when you drive 30 minutes to run or after a half marathon, right?

    But they do look delicious. Thanks for sharing.

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      2. Determined. Just like you with a 10 mile long run. Hey, if that floats your boat, great. But you could be ready for a half quickly with a long run of 7-8 miles. Especially with all the walking/hiking you’re doing.

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      3. I think once you train for a marathon, 10 no longer sounds long lol.

        If I am not injured, I don’t see a reason to cut back.

        I do like Determined better.

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  4. I LOVE smoothies, especially in the summer! Thanks for sharing these recipes, especially the Green Peppermint Matcha – yum! I typically keep my smoothies pretty boring (spinach, ice, water, vanilla protein powder and berries).

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  5. I’m not much of a smoothie gal, but these ALL sound delish. I might have to give them all a try. Thanks for sharing 😉

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  7. These look great! I love making smoothies, especially in the summer. And I dont measure things either. I usually just use what we have and throw it all in the blender:)

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    1. Banana, chocolate, & cherry is one of my favorites, although I haven’t done one yet! It cooled off today (thank goodness), but there’s more heat on the way so there will be more smoothies.

      I think it’s time for another nice cream sundae this weekend, unless we get real ice cream. Maybe.

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  14. Chocolate is my favorite smoothie flavor! I also use almond milk too. I’ve never used matcha. Sometimes I add chia seeds or hemp seeds to my smoothies. The one I want to make is the Green (or Chocolate) Peppermint Matcha.

    Thank you for linking up with us!

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