Smoothie saturday specials: tropical energy smoothie & banana-split mudslide smoothie

You know the best part about smoothies? They melt... hear me out! Since they melt, you have an excuse to drink them immediately without looking greedy! Wow, spoken like a true food addict! I prefer the term "foodie", thanks.

Ever since I realized how much protein I'm missing from my diet (chances are most people have the same issue), I have been searching for ways to add it in that do not include snacking on salmon. Don't get me wrong, I love salmon, but eating three ounces of it, cold, out of tupperware at my desk reaaaallllyyy gets old fast!

I kept seeing people post about Rootz Nutrition paleo protein & energy powders and I wondered what all the hype was about so I decided to try it for myself. BOOM! Problem solved! This stuff is good, like so good that I crave it and it's totally fine because it's completely clean and paleo approved. Check 'em out by clicking here.

They have two supplements: a chocolate banana nut protein powder, and a raspberry lemonade pre-workout energy boost powder. My post workout snack is usually half a banana with a tablespoon of almond-butter (NOM!) and my usual iced coffee with coconut milk, so I said, you know what?! Let me blend it all up and add in some other awesome stuff and I'll have a banana-split par-tay! I partied hard guys, real hard.

For the pre-workout, even though I try not to have too much fruit on the regular, I sometimes struggle with what to eat in the morning before a 6 a.m. workout. This is the perfect time to have a small serving of fruit mixed with the energy-boost supplement without overdoing your sugar for the day since your body will use it as fuel.

I highly recommend trying both at once and chalk it up to "recipe development" because that's what I did and I'm feeling great!

You can find both recipes below.

Happy Cooking!

BANANA-SPLIT MUDSLIDE SMOOTHIE

recipe

• PREP-TIME: 5 MINUTES

• COOK TIME: 2 MINUTES

• TOTAL TIME: 7 MINUTES

• MAKES 2 SERVINGS

iNGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 OVERRIPE BANANAS

• 16 OUNCES COLD-BREW COFFEE (i use trader joes cold brew)

• 4 ounces unsweetened coconut milk

• 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons creamy almond butter (i use trader joes creamy almond butter)

• 2 squares of dairy-free dark chocolate broken into small pieces(i use enjoy life foods dark chocolate bar - you can use a few of their chocolate chips too or your chocolate of choice)

• 1 CUP dairy-free plain yogurt (i use kite-hill plain almond milk yogurt)

• 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower

• 2 TABLESPOONS raw sliced ALMOND SLICES (OR ANY OTHER SHAVED NUT TOPPING)

• 1 TABLESpoon shaved coconut

• 1 scoop rootz chocolate banana nut protein powder (use discount count: fof)

• 2 heaping cups ice

directions

1. in a blender combine 1 banana, coffee, milk, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 2/3 cup yogurt, protein powder and ice.

2. blend on high speed until all ingredients are combined and have desired smoothie consistency - add more ice for thicker smoothie and more milk/coffee for less thick (note: you may need to pause briefly during the blending to stir almond butter off the sides)

3. pour smoothie in glass and briefly set aside in fridge

4. place chocolate in parchment paper or cloth napkin folded over and smash into small pieces using a rolling pin (or another heavy kitchen utensil you have on hand)

5. take smoothie out of fridge and add the remaining 1/3 cup of yogurt on top

6. top with 1/2 banana then drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon almond butter using a spoon

7. sprinkle chocolate pieces, almonds and coconut flakes over banana/smoothie

8. serve chilled and enjoy!

tropical energy smoothie

recipe

• PREP-TIME: 5 MINUTES

• COOK TIME: 5 MINUTES

• TOTAL TIME: 10 MINUTES

• MAKES 2 SERVINGS

iNGREDIENTS

• 1 cup frozen raspberries

• 1 cup frozen strawberries

• 1 scoop rootz nutrition raspberry lemonade pre-workout (use discount code: fof)

• 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower

• 1 cup frozen mango chunks

• 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks

• 1/3 CUP dairy-free plain yogurt (i use kite-hill plain almond milk yogurt)

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

directions

1. in a blender combine raspberries, strawberries, pre-workout powder and 1/4 cup milk

2. blend on high speed until all ingredients are combined and have desired smoothie consistency - add more ice for thicker smoothie and more milk for less thick

3. pour smoothie in glass and set aside in fridge

4. in blender combine mango, pineapple, yogurt and 1/4 cup milk

5. blend on high speed until all ingredients are combined and have desired smoothie consistency - add more ice for thicker smoothie and more milk for less thick

6. pour into glass

7. take raspberry/strawberry smoothie out of fridge and pour over mango/pineapple smoothie

8. top with raspberries and mango chunks

9. serve chilled and enjoy!