Start your day the Vegan way with carb busting banana free smoothies

Updated 11:48 am

The best way to begin the day is with a vegan smoothie. There are endless combinations that will give you the fruit you need in your diet. You can also add some veggies that you might not eat straight up.

Almost every smoothie recipe calls for bananas. Bananas are great but are not always your waistline’s best friend. I wondered if there were any awesome smoothie recipes out there that don’t call for bananas. Yes there are.

Before we get to them, another staple ingredient in smoothies is yogurt. Yes you must use dairy free yogurt for a vegan smoothie. But don’t despair.

Taste? Great. Once you try dairy free yogurt you will not like the taste of the other. Costly? Nah. Vegan yogurt used to be more expensive but not any more. Part of the reason is there are so many brands to choose from, such as:

The yogurts marked with an * are the ones I eat regularly and find everywhere.

On to the recipes. I found a superb collection of smoothie recipes at popsugar.com. Here is the recipe for the one I tried this morning.

It is called Flat Belly Smoothie. I don’t think any amount of blueberries and pineapple are going to give me a flat belly but it is fabulously delicious and fulfilling while not being too filling if you know what I mean. The only substitution I made is the yogurt. So Delicious make a fab Greek style vegan yogurt. I froze some fresh blueberries. I did not freeze the pineapple.The smoothie turned out a lovely cool temperature. Didn’t taste the kale.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Jenny Sugar

• FLAT BELLY SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

3 ounces vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon almond butter
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup kale
3/4 cup water

Directions

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and mix until smooth. Enjoy immediately. Makes one serving.

• TRACY ANDERSON ORANGE SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups baby spinach
3 oranges, peeled
1 dried pitted date
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions

Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until desired consistency. Enjoy immediately.

• LOVE GRACE FOODS CHIA BERRY FRESCA

Ingredients

2 cups water
2 teaspoons chia seeds
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon raw honey or agave

Directions

Mix the chia and water together in a bowl and set in the fridge to plump for 15 minutes. Remove, mix again, and combine all ingredients in a blender. Puree until well combined and adjust the sweetness if needed.

One more . . . forget expensive creams!

• CLEAR-SKIN SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

2 cups raw spinach
1/4 avocado
1/2 cup red grapes (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 teaspoon flaxmeal
1 cup water

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender, and mix well. Enjoy immediately.

ALL DAY LONG

It’s not too late. Have one for lunch. Tell the vendor to make it a vegan smoothie. Oh, and you won’t have those 3 o’clock munchies either. Or have one for supper. You will probably sleep better.

TIP

Hate cleaning your blender? So do I. I found this tip ages ago somewhere (thank you somewhere) and have used it ever since.

Rinse your blender with warm water. Add a tiny drop of dish detergent. Fill up about halfway with warm (not hot) water. Blend at medium or high speed. Rinse out with cold water to kill the suds and hand dry it or set it out to air dry. Works like a charm.

Need a new blender? I personally recommend Waring.

ALMOND BUTTER

Try some. It is delectable.

• https://barneybutter.com/
• Make your own
• Amazon.com

VEGAN YOGURT

• Learn more about vegan yogurt at Your Daily Vegan.

FEATURED IMAGE
Free Use Image