Berry-Kale Smoothie (And The Apartment Update!)

We are finally fully moved into our apartment!

It's taken a bit over a week for us to get all the things that we needed. It's interesting: you don't realize just how much stuff you use on a daily basis until you find yourself without it. We still have a few things left to get, but we are pretty much done. The apartment is a 2Bed 1Bath located really close to campus (about a 20 minute walk and a 10 minute bike ride) and looks super quaint. It has this cozy, lived-in feeling that makes me comfortable as soon as I walk in the door. My apartment-mate and I have similar styles so there hasn't been any conflict over decorations (or any conflict at all, really-- her and I get along great).

Our days have been really productive (mainly because we know that once school starts time will be our biggest issue). Today we cleaned the entire apartment, did laundry, watched the news, made breakfast, took out trash/garbage, and did various other chores all before 11AM. And that was with me sleeping in until 8, which rarely happens. We've been so busy that we haven't cooked much (I've been living off a container of kale and some steel cut oats in the fridge), but I finally got the time yesterday to make a quick smoothie for breakfast.

This is a smoothie that has been a staple for me over the past few months, ever since I found out that I had Iron Deficiency Anemia. I like this for a few reasons: first, it tastes amazing; secondly, it takes about 2 minutes to make; three, it is ridiculously healthy. It's a blend of blackberries, strawberries, kale, almond (or soy!) milk, and yogurt. That is it. Five ingredients and a blender (or food processor-- I've done that too) and you are good to go. This has also been approved by my non-vegetarian father back in Sacramento and my non-vegetarian apartment-mate here in CO.

I personally like my smoothies a bit less sweet than stereotypical ones found in stores, hence why I don't add any sugar or honey to this. However, you could easily add some honey for a touch more sweetness if desired. My apartment-mate liked adding some more sugar because she likes things a bit sweeter, but my Dad was fine with it unsweetened. I'm not a huge kale fan (yet! I'm trying to get my tastes to acclimate to it), so I appreciate how the kale isn't necessarily the star in this one. If you don't like kale, feel free to add in spinach or wheat-grass in replacement. I haven't tried it with any other greens, but chard might work?

This smoothie is also really filling because of all the produce that goes into it, not to mention the protein from the Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is the way to go when making smoothies, in my opinion, because it provides that extra kick and doesn't drown out the flavor of the fruit. I've had this for lunch and a snack, and it usually keeps me full for a few hours. It can also be refrigerated overnight (I hate the idea of waking up our neighbors with my blender at 6AM, so I usually blend it the night before and just leave it in the fridge for my breakfast in the morning).

If you can't tell by my blabbering above, I really love this smoothie. I'll probably be pouring myself a glass as I run out the door for my morning classes this week (I have to be on campus by 7:30 every day! Whew!!).

Good luck during the rest of the week!

Berry-Kale Smoothie
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3/4c. vanilla almond or soy milk
• 1c. nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1c. packed kale leaves
• 1c. frozen blackberries
• 2/3c. sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2tbl honey (optional)

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Nutritional Information:
Sodium: 120mg
Total Fat: 2g
       Saturated: 0g
      Trans: 0g
Sugar: 39g
Protein: 13g
Calories: 252
BONUS
    Calcium: 37% DV
    Iron: 9% DV