I never used to be the girl who just craved a salad, I never used to be the girl who ate a salad. For most my life, my picky eating habits restricted my diet to mainly beige-toned foods. Once I decided to clean up my diet, I knew I needed to make small, but sustainable, changes over time. The first step I took was swapping my standard breakfast of buttered toast with a smoothie. They were the perfect way to sneak in healthy foods and save myself from having to cook every meal.

Since I’m a child of the 90s and the fat-free-caIorie-in-calorie-out movement, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just assuming I knew what was healthy, so I did some research. The one idea everyone seems to agree upon is how important balancing your blood sugar is for not only your weight, but hormones, mood, energy, skin and overall health.

Long story short, a low-sugar smoothie full of healthy fats, fiber and protein keeps you full and calm by balancing blood sugar which staves off hunger hormones. That post-lunch sugar and carb craving you get? Turns out that’s your hunger hormones yelling at you after a blood sugar crash, not your actual stomach.

It took some trial and error, but I found a smoothie that tastes great and keeps me full and calm until lunch. I also like to throw in some adaptogens and superfoods from Sun Potion and Navitas Organics like ashwaghanda, reishi, chaga, maca, hemp hearts and cacao nibs with benefits including stress/anxiety relief, immune support, reduced inflammation, hormone balance, energy, mood and of course blood sugar balance. This smoothie is a balanced, nutrient packed, quick way to start your day.

Breakfast Smoothie
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or any non-dairy milk of your choice)
1 serving Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
½ Banana
¼ Avocado
¼ cup mixed berries (I use frozen organic wild blueberries and strawberries)
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon nut butter (contains only nuts, no added sugars or oils)
1 tsp hemp hearts
1 tsp cacao nibs
½ tsp maca
¼- ½ tsp each ashwaghanda, reishi and chaga
Ice (to desired consistency)

Blend ingredients and enjoy!