You know how they say Red Bull gives you wings? I tend to disagree. The only thing it gives me is the desire for another Red Bull and then uncontrollable shakes that make me look like a drug addict. So I’m changing my amped up ways in favor of a more hippie natural approach to energy drinks.
There are a million and one ways to make a green smoothie, and I’m sure if you’re into food blogs this is probably the 359,425th green smoothie that you’ve seen in celebration of the new year. But I add a couple interesting ingredients in this version and really wanted to share it with you.
Of course with any green smoothie you need greens, and here I just used organic baby spinach because it’s my favorite. I used raw oats to give the smoothie a whole grain, which helps the body to regulate glucose and prevents brain crash! The fruit juices add a delicious tropical flavor and plenty of sweetness to the drink. But the real kicker is the COCONUT OIL. Might seem like a weird ingredient for a smoothie, but it has a purpose! Coconut oil contains magic (otherwise known as medium-chain triglycerides) that go straight to your liver and convert to fairy dust (otherwise known as ketones), sending fuel right to your bloodstream and into your genius brain. You can’t taste the coconut oil at all and it blends in beautifully with the other ingredients. The whole grains+fruits and veggies+healthy fats actually make this smoothie a good candidate for a meal replacement if you’re in a hurry!
- 1/2 c. raw oats
- 1 c. pineapple juice
- 1/2 c. orange juice
- 4 handfuls of spinach
- 1 T. coconut oil
- 2 frozen bananas
- Put the oats, pineapple juice, and orange juice into your blender. Let the oats soak in the juice for about 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach on top, then the coconut oil and bananas.
- Blend on high until the mixture is completely smooth and uniform in color (might take a few minutes, depending on your blender).
- Enjoy!
Why all this talk of brains? Since the last time we talked I officially started my prep course for re-taking the bar exam. I have no intention of disappearing from here, but I will have to change the way that I post while I’m studying for this monster. My hope is to be able to have a Soul Food Sunday post up every week and then another post mid-week when I can afford the time. I tend to do my best blogging when I’m not supposed to be blogging (oops?), so let’s hope something good comes out of this. I hope you all are having a more interesting start to your year than I am!
-Lauren
P.S.-Did you see me on Huffington Post last week?? I could hardly believe my eyes. I always knew grits would be my key to success in life.
4 Responses
Ali
Looks like a great smoothie recipe. I like adding coconut oil when I can to things and definitely notice a difference. Personally, I try to avoid adding too much additional fruit “juice” to my smoothies instead of real fruit because I feel like it also adds a lot of extra, hidden sugar. I can definitely see why that extra sugar might be helpful when you are trying to study though! 😉
Congrats on the HuffPost article!
Lauren @ Dash of Soul
Coconut oil is amazing! And yes, the fruit juice definitely adds some sugar but the way I look at it it’s still a fraction of the sugar in any given energy drink! In my other green smoothies (for non-studying time) I like to use almond milk or soy milk.
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
This smoothie looks fantastic. Congrats on Huff Post!
HolisticHealthVegan
Wow…It never occurred to me to put oats in my green smoothies before. I will have to give it a try one day. I bet it is very filling and gives you loads of energy.