Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they say. Many of us claim that we don’t have enough time in the morning to make something healthy, opting for a bowl of dry shop-bought cereal or a slice of toast, if we eat anything at all!
Well, you have no excuse now! Smoothies are a fantastic to-go meal in a glass. They take minutes to make and can be portable – just pour into a travel mug and off you go out the door.
Almond Breeze®, the makers of “a delicious low-calorie alternative to dairy milk made from California’s finest almonds” has teamed up with Foodies100 in a competition designed to get food bloggers creating breakfast smoothies using their almond milk. They sent me two litres of unsweetened Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® milk (to help get me experimenting in the kitchen) and this is the breakfast smoothie I developed with it.
The avocado fruit is high in protein, as well as containing useful quantities of zinc, folic acid, B vitamins and plenty of fibre. It is also high in fat, but it is mainly high in the healthy monounsaturated fats, so it’s all good as your body needs these fats to function properly. Bananas also contain plenty of B vitamins, as well as being valuable sources of potassium, manganese and fibre. The enriched almond milk provides a good source of calcium (it says so on the front of the packet) and the edible dried seaweed (or spirulina) provides a multitude of trace minerals which are reported to aid health and well-being. The oats provide protein and a source of soluble fibre which leaves you feeling fuller for longer. All in all, this smoothie is jam-packed with plenty of natural plant-based nutrition and it’s a perfect start to any morning!- 1 Fairtrade banana, broken into pieces
- 1/2 Fairtrade avocado, chopped
- 250 ml almond milk, chilled
- 1 tbsp quick porridge oats
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- 1/2 tsp dried seaweed or pinch of spirulina powder
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: Serves 1
Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was sent some cartons of Almond Breeze for review. All opinions are our own. This is not a paid post.
Mum of three, daydream adventurer, OU Life Sciences graduate, occasional crafter, ex-pat Canadian & quite possibly Britain's most northerly food blogger.
georgina davies says
August 17, 2014 at 7:44 pmI have tried but i really can’t warm up to the almond milk lol xxxx
Choclette says
March 1, 2013 at 8:20 amI made a green smoothie too, but it’s pale shadow of yours. Wish I’d thought of using avocado now, it sounds delicious and a great way to start the day.
Elizabeth says
March 3, 2013 at 8:33 amYours looks fantastic too! I’ve never tried Matcha before, but I did see it in a local cafe the other day – I must give it a go!
Elaine Livingstone says
February 20, 2013 at 9:39 pmI have tried avocado in all sorts of ways but just cannot bring myself to like it.
Elizabeth says
February 21, 2013 at 7:09 pmIt is a rather peculiar fruit, isn’t it. It took me a very long time to like it. I had to keep forcing myself to eat it. If I mixed it with other ingredients, such a sliced strawberries and balsamic vinegar, I could eat a plate, but I could never have it by itself. Blergh! I do like it in smoothies and fresh juices though. It imparts a lovely creaminess. I’ve recently seen a recipe where fresh avocado can be used in chocolate buttercream frosting, something I’ve yet to experiment with the kids. Persevere. 🙂
Linda Gilbert says
February 18, 2013 at 9:17 pmI think I might find green a little difficult to cope with first thing even though I know how nutritious it would be
Elizabeth says
February 21, 2013 at 7:07 pmHehe, I know what you mean 🙂 We’ve become used to eating strange things like this in my household, ever since I started on a fresh juice phase. Now, because of that, my children are convinced anything green automatically tastes fantastic!