Green Mocha Banana Smoothie

Oh man, I was the biggest social butterfly this weekend. As you may know...this is not in my nature. Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Megan, from Allergy Free Alaska. She is such a beautiful person, head on over to her blog to check out more. I also went for a wonderful Fall walk with my best BFF and then on Sunday, Todd and I went for a lovely Fall walk as well. Make sure to like Produce On Parade on Facebook to see all those gorgeous Alaska pictures! I also visited my Dad, gosh, it was just a socially packed weekend for me! Obviously, by the end of Sunday, I was exhausted. My social facilitates are pretty lacking. I'm working on it. What else's a hermit to do!?

I was too tired to cook pretty much all weekend, so come Sunday night I came to the sad realization that I didn't have anything to post. I knew in the morning I was going to make a smoothie so I decided to share that breakfast with you guys. The smoothie I made was my Green Mocha Banana Smoothie. It's the perfect way to start a dreary Monday. I might have used leftover coffee from Sunday...

Okay, so you don't have to use leftover coffee for this. I know, I know...coffee lovers all around the world just died upon hearing that I use leftover coffee. Oh the humanity of it all! What? Come on now. It's really not that big of a deal. It's in a smoothie after all! However, if this absolutely repulses you and you feel so inclined, you can make a fresh batch. Just let it chill or get to room temperature before using it. I just can't stand to waste anything so...hurray for this smoothie!

Besides boasting a smooth mocha flavor, this smoothie is free from refined sugar as it is sweetened with dates. Go fiber! It also packs in a nutritional punch with fresh spinach, unsweetened cocoa powder and coffee beans. The frozen bananas lend a creamy consistency. Get your morning in gear with a full cup of coffee!

Oh by the way, super exciting for me and not at all relatable to this post...I got the new gold iPhone 5s! Yes, I am a gangsta. It's my precious. All my apps stopping working on my super dope iPhone 3 so...yea...saaad.

Green Mocha Banana Smoothie

Serves 2

Inspired by my leftover coffee

• 1 1/2 cups brewed coffee (room-temperature or chilled)
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. whole coffee beans (or 1/2 Tbsp. ground coffee) - optional
• 2 frozen bananas, chunked
• 1 large handful of fresh spinach
• 2 large Medjool dates, pitted
• pinch of salt
• pinch of nutmeg

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend on high for a good minute or two.

You'll want to make sure that the coffee beans are completely ground. Serve in two tall glasses. A straw if you're like me (metal or glass, please) or sans straw if you're like Todd and slurp away for a great jumpstart on your day and a whallop of nutrition to boot!

Dad, you'll probably like this one. I'm listening to The Tallest Man On Earth – Walk the Line

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The Vegan Fat Shake

It's time to get fat... If you're looking to add on some lbs. the healthy way, or just recover from a serious workout, then look no further than this Fat Shake. Todd usually has one or two of these bad mofos per day.

He'd like to put on a few pounds and I'd like to drop a few. So, obviously I don't partake in this shake, but if you have a man (or you are a man) that'd like a little more meat on his bones (or her bones!), then try this shake out. No donuts or ice cream required.

Coming in at 800 calories (or add 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter for 1000 calories), this shake packs a serious nutritious punch. It's great recovery post-workout shake, or a meal replacement if you're short on time.

The Vegan Fat Shake

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

Coming in at 800 calories (or add 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter for 1000 calories), this vegan fat shake packs a serious nutritious punch. Full of healthy fats, plant-based protein, healthy fruits, and even some greens. It's great recovery post-workout shake, or a meal replacement if you're short on time. Inspired by No Meat Athlete.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain, unsweetened soymilk
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup (40g) fresh spinach
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 ripe banana
• ½ ripe avocado
• 1 Tbsp. raw sunflower seeds (or favorite seeds)
• 1 Tbsp. raw walnuts (or favorite nuts)
• 1 Tbsp. whole or ground flax seed
• 1 1/2 tsp. loose leaf green tea leaves
• 1 tsp. creatine monohydrate (optional)
• ½ scoop of Garden of Life Raw Meal (or other protein powder)

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and whiz on high until silky smooth. Put a straw in it and slurp away.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 00:00
Total time: 00:05
Yield: 1 huge shake

Calories: 800-1000

The Green Friend Smoothie and Alaskan Blueberry Picking

Helllllo! I'm back! And jet lagged, for sure. As soon as we landed at 2 in the morning (it was dreadful), I told Todd that all I wanted to eat over the next week was green smoothies. I've been having some crazy green smoothie cravings, people! Strange, I know, but who's going to deny themselves copious amounts of nutritious green smoothies? Certainly not this vegan gal. I promise, promise, promise to have some Turks and Caicos pictures up soon (you're all in for a real treat), but for now I will just share this amazing green smoothie recipe and then below, our family's search for Alaskan blueberries. They're beautiful pictures so be sure to check them out. Blueberry picking season is my absolute  favorite time of the year. I look forward to it every year like a five year old at Christmas, just ask Todd. Back to the smoothie for now though, in all it's godly, green glory.

Why do people go with the "Green Monster Smoothie" name? Monster?? I'm not exactly sure, but what I can tell you is that this smoothie is your friend. Yes, your amazing green friend. It's no monster! It only wants to provide you with much needed nutrients and it sure did satisfy my craving...for now at least.

The Green Friend Smoothie 

Makes 1 "BFF" Smoothie or 2 "Just Friend" Smoothies

Inspired by Myself

• 1 cup of non-dairy milk, I used almond milk
• 1-2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 heaping cup of zucchini, not peeled and rough chopped
• 1 frozen banana, rough chopped
• 1 kiwi, peeled
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. flax seed
• 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds
• 2 tsp. dried loose-leaf green tea
• 2 tsp. erythritol or sugar
• splash of vanilla
• sprinkle of ground nutmeg and/or ground cloves

Put the milk in first followed by the remaining ingredients and blend on high until smooth.

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Feel free to add in some vegan protein powder or whatever else you fancy!

I need a new protein powder y'all! I bought this pea protein powder from our local store...no bueno. Now in German everyone! Nicht gut.

The Green Friend Smoothie

Recipe Type: Smoothie

Author: Katie - Produce On Parade

Serves: 1-2

This green smoothie's no monster! It's your friend, here to help you get those much needed nutrients, so drink up!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of non-dairy milk, I used almond milk
• 1-2 large handfuls of spinach
• 1 heaping cup of zucchini, peel on and rough chopped
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 kiwi, peeled
• 2 tsp. erythritol or sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. flaxseed
• 2 tsp. dried loose-leaf green tea
• 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds
• splash of vanilla
• sprinkle of nutmeg

Instructions

1. Put the milk in first followed by the remaining ingredients and blend on high until smooth! Feel free to add in some protein powder or whatever else you fancy!

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And finally, on to blueberry picking.

Alaskan Blueberry Picking Adventures

People, it was a sad day. We went in search of blueberries and this is what we found instead...

Dead blueberry bushes! White little skeletons of what once flourished with bright green oval leaves and plump, sweet and juicy blueberries. I can only assume it was our dry and scorching summer. I almost died. I might have cried. I heavily sighed. Okay, enough with the rhyming already. No more rhymes now, I mean it! Anybody want a peanut? Now I have to go watch Princess Bride. Excuse me.

Utterly depressing, huh? Bob and I thought so. So we wallowed together in our blatant misery, clutching the only berries we could find.

We did have fun with our "monster" tree though. We always take the same posing picture. The tree has horns you guys! So that cheered me right up.

Our special blueberry spot is located in the beautiful Hatcher Pass, which at this time of the year is always occupied by fanatical blueberry harvesters like myself. However, for the last three years we've been crossing this creek with chest waders to a spot that isn't ever picked over, because let's face it...most people aren't hiking with chest waders and crossing rivers. Todd will cross first and then put the waders in a bag and throw them back across the creek for me! Could we just buy another pair of waders? Yes...but it wouldn't be as fun. Just trust me on this one.

Bailey gets really upset when Dad is on one side of the creek and Mom on the other, and so he ends up swimming frantically back and forth several times to check on the both of us. When I cross, he "helps" me by swimming right next to me and whimpering pitifully until I get across safely. He's such a sweetie pie! I always feel bad and try to express to him that I'm okay, as you can see below.

He likes to eat the blueberries. Normally, when we find a big bush of them and start picking, he prances over and promptly lays down and begins eating them all before I can pick them. He just juts out his little teeth and someone manages to gingerly pick an individual berry. It's really quite a peculiar thing to witness. Since the berries were super scare this trip, as I myself could barely find any, I decided to share what little I had with the gentle bear. I'm such a sweetie pie. See him nimbly eating the blueberry??

Don't let his manners get in the way of the truth though. He's a convicted blueberry eating monster! Downright guilty.

Todd is our resident photographer during our adventures and birthday boy in a couple of days! What a good-looking photographer. How did I get so lucky? It must be my Alaska wiles...

There's no doubt that our trip was a serious blueberry tragedy. However, we plan to try again next week in a different area. Last year's berries lasted us almost the entire year! I'm not buying blueberries for a whole year! That's madness!

The adventure wasn't a complete loss though, as of course we had a great time. A walk in nature is never a bad thing and we even got a couple good family pictures! I think Bailey should be a doggy model.

It's good to be home.

Happy End of Summer from Produce On Parade! Now go celebrate a warm summer well adventured!