5K + Pina Colada Smoothie

I've definitely got a case of the Mondays, friends. I had one of those nights where I woke up around 3:30 and felt wide awake until about 5:00. AM. I was so frustrated because I felt tired all evening! Time to face the day despite my lack of sleep last night!

In better, more accomplished, motivational news, I ran a 5K yesterday! It was fantastic. I love the group support during races and when it's all for a good cause, how can you not feel inspired? Along with some of our friends, I ran the race with Shaun, my sister Kimberly and her boyfriend Nick. It was a cold, but beautiful morning! Here we all are post-race:

Don't you feel so accomplished after finished a race? The last race I ran was the Corporate Challenge through Central Park almost 2 years ago. It felt great to get back in the action!

Meanwhile, this weekend I concocted a new smoothie. You've already heard me proclaim my love for a bright, refreshing, healthy smoothie, which I usually make with a ripe banana and a handful of baby spinach (of which the spinach taste is completely undetected, I promise). On Saturday, I was really craving warmth, sun and sand, so I created a new smoothie of the pina colada persuasion. Intrigued?

Pina Colada Smoothie
1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1/2 C coconut water (such as Zico)
1/2 C crushed pineapple
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp shredded coconut (optional, for added coconut flavor)
splash vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients together. I use a giant glass measuring cup for a one stop measure, mixer and pourer. Serve over ice.

This smoothie is a bit thinner than one made with banana. I didn't mind. However, you could also add spinach to it for thickening and added nutrition. I did add some spinach into it, but wanted to photograph it for you au natural since it was so pretty.

I'm guessing you could also add a few scoops of pumpkin for thickening without changing the flavor too drastically. Oh and to pulverize that shredded coconut, you're really going to need to blend the heck out of it! I'm thinking that coconut extract would also do the trick. This smoothie is so summery and refreshing that I'm really dreaming about it on this 27 degree morning. In fact, it reminds me of being here...

which makes me happy.

So there you have it. Yet another way to mix up a fantastically delicious {and healthy} smoothie. So what do you think? Have you ever gone outside the box with smoothies? Do you ever have sleeping issues, as I did last night?

Psst...the Book Club page was updated today!

My Favorite On-The-Go Breakfast

I touched on this briefly in my faves post last week, but I thought that since I've been loving smoothies so much lately, it deserved its own write up.

I have to tell you that I have never cared for smoothies in the past. They have been all the rage for a while and I couldn't care less to test one out after never really having a good one (aside from the time I fell in love with a high calorie Jamba Juice version, but that's a story for another time). I finally realized that oatmeal just isn't the right breakfast for me every morning. I'm an on-the-go girl after all. So I gave the smoothie another chance.

For me, I realized that my issue with the smoothie was the ice factor. Most smoothies I'd had in the past were blended with ice and for some reason it just wasn't cutting it. Remove the ice, give the ingredients a good blend and presto! My new favorite breakfast.

The beauty of the smoothie is that you can mix in any ingredients you want. If I've just had a good workout, I add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to keep me more full and energized. On any other day, lots of fruit, some spices, and light milk will do the trick. Of course the recipe I'm about to share is subject to change over any ingredients of your choosing. This is what I've been enjoying of late, but you get the idea that ingredients are easily interchangeable!

Green Monster Smoothie
1 C unsweetened almond milk
1 ripe banana or 1 pear (peeled and chopped)
2 big scoops pumpkin puree (canned)
1 big handful fresh baby spinach
1 packet Splenda
splash vanilla extract
ground cinnamon
ground ginger
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

I like to use my 4 cup measuring cup for this. Start by adding the almond milk and banana (or pear).

Next, toss in the pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and Splenda.

Mix it up. I use an immersion blender to get 'her done. I got this great Cuisinart version from Bed Bath and Beyond for under $25 with a coupon. I absolutely love this item for smoothies, soups, etc. Clean up is a breeze and it blends fantastically. You can also use a regular blender of course!

I used to end it here, but then, as I've seen across the blogosphere, I decided to add a bit of spinach. You really cannot taste it at all, but it makes that gorgeous green color while you reap the benefits of its nutritional value. Win-win, no?

Blend that baby up like never before. I have under blended and had chunks of pear or little spinach leaves floating around in my finished product. YOu don't want this. Make sure it's good and blended.

Pour over ice. I fill my iced coffee tumbler with ice and pour in the smoothie. Secure the top and I'm ready to go. Heck, with this breakfast, not only is it filling but I don't even need coffee. Seriously.

So there you have it. A super easy, refreshing breakfast that takes about 5 minutes from start to finish. Not bad, huh? You could also put in a scoop of cocoa powder, peanut butter, some apples, carrots, pineapple, summer berries...the possibilities are endless! Are you a smoothie drinker? What's your favorite kind?