Alayne’s Morning Breakfast or “Solve the Afternoon Sweet Tooth” Smoothie Shake
My grown son is now in his own condo and this collection of recipes I called, Dearest Michael were written when he was younger as you will see by my references, as a gift to him for this very moment.
Whether you read them for the story or the recipe, know that they were written as a tribute to the many people who have influenced my kitchen, my cooking and my notion of family.
STORY
Mom, do you get my Sunday recipes?, I asked my mother curiously when we were catching up on the phone. She hadn’t mentioned any of them since I started sending them over four months ago.
Yes, but they are all so fattening, she replied.
I laughed knowingly at the familiarity of this conversation. We have been having food, calorie and weight loss diet conversations for a good part of our lives. In fact, Diet Speak is such a familiar language between the women in my family that it is has become almost normalized.
The irony of food in my family is that in one breath we are discussing the scale and how much weight we have lost or are trying to lose again and in the next breath, with barely a pause, we are discussing recipes, what we cooked for a party, what we want to cook, or a new dish we made.
It is the greatest contradiction. Dieting on the outside and a dozen homemade frozen ice cream parfaits with Hot Fudge Sauce living on the inside of the freezer. No wonder I have yoyo’d my whole life.
In my recent attempt to finally get a handle on this inner outer conflict of mine, I have learned to question the boomerangs of damaging thoughts that constantly judge every morsel of food that is headed in and the ones I have already consumed.
I have recently learned a new approach from a woman named Nina Manolson which I will share in a later blog, but since I am reflecting back to where it all came from, I decided that based on my mother’s observations of my recipes, today I am going to share one of my most favorite healthier ones.
I am not sure why I haven’t spoken much about my mother’s cooking and her recipes. They have been the foundation of so much of my love for my own kitchen. Between the tools, pots and pans, kitchen toys coupled with beautiful dishes, silverware, and always cloth napkins, I grew up with wonderful meals watching my mother love being in her kitchen. Ultimately she taught me this joy in the kitchen and she definitely deserves many of my shout outs.
I will share some of her recipes in future blogs for sure, but for today, a simple shake that solves sweet cravings in the afternoon, satisfies a rushed breakfast in the morning or helps keep a handy to go meal in the fridge for those times you need to eat but don’t have the time to prepare something.
When I am craving something sweet, but know myself well enough to know clearly that a pint of Ben and Jerry’s is definitely not 4 servings like they say on the back, I head to the Alayne’s Morning Breakfast or “Solve the Afternoon Sweet Tooth” Shake.
You probably already make some version of these, but here is mine along with a few options to shake it up a little.
I tend to drink one of these almost every day because they are filling, nutritious and if I have been on a carb fest, they help to course correct my insides too.
Enjoy.
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Alayne’s Morning Breakfast or “Solve the Afternoon Sweet Tooth” Smoothie Shake
When I am craving something sweet, but know myself well enough that a pint of Ben and Jerry’s is definitely not 4 servings like they say on the back, I head to this easy and delicious shake.
Enjoy!
Prep Time: Less than 10 minutes
This recipe makes (2) or more 16 oz jars and will easily keep for a few days.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- 2 ripe medium to large bananas
- 3/4 cup good dry oatmeal (You can use flax seed or chia seeds here but I would use only 1/4 cup instead)
- 1 generous T. your favorite nut butter (or 1/4 cup fresh pecans, walnuts or almonds)
- 1 1/2 cups of Unsweetened Almond Milk, (vanilla or plain)
- A handful of ice
- 1 handful of frozen or fresh spinach
- 1 cup of water
- Dash of nutmeg
- I also have used a few shakes of Pumpkin Spice shown in the picture and it's delicious too
- Generous dash of cinnamon
- 1 t. of brown sugar (optional for people who avoid added sugar)
- 1 t. vanilla
WHAT TO COOK WITH
- I love a strong hardy VitaMixer, but a good blender is fine.
- 2-3 16 oz Glass mason jars with plastic tops
HOW TO CREATE THE MAGIC
- Place everything in the blender in the order listed.
- The ice and frozen spinach should be in the middle to make it easier to blend.
- Blend on high and your into individual mason jars.
- Put in fridge until ready to drink.
SHOPPING IDEAS
A good solid Vitamix will cost you some money at the beginning, but will repay you in ease of making every smoothie, soup and blended item for life. I love mine.
16 oz mason jars (8 count) comes with metal lids, but I prefer the plastic recommended below. From soups and smoothies to a quick glass for water to go or even a vase of flowers, I save these and reuse over and over.
TIPS + SHORTCUTS
- Omit spinach and add 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder instead *the pictures above show the ones with chocolae added, and no spinach.(you can put the spinach in, but the color won’t be appealing if that matters to you)
- You can also leave out oatmeal if you are staying away from carbs, but I have found in my personal trip in the carb department that my body responds well to good oatmeal so I definitely eat carbs regularly again and I think I am better for it.