I’ve started drinking a smoothie a day for breakfast. 

I’m not talking about the sugary kind you pick up in a drive-thru, or the diet shakes you get at a grocery store. I’m talking filling, health-boosting, mood-lifting smoothies.

It’s not the consumption of the drink that’s so satisfying. It’s what it is doing for me.

I love that I can get my day started not by cramming breakfast down my throat as I dash out the door (I’m not saying I used to do that 😋), but rather by slowly taking in the fuel that I need to keep me sharp. 

There are plenty of reasons to try this out. Let me show you around.

Practice Mindfulness

A mindful diet includes eating foods that we know to be wholesome. Instead of getting confused by what exactly is in the ingredient list on the applesauce container, you have an apple instead.

When you’re preparing a smoothie at home, you watch the apple go into the blender, the nuts, and the oatmeal, then the plant-based milk and the spinach you froze yourself. There aren’t any things sneaking into your smoothie that you didn’t put there.

Get Your Fruits, Greens, and Protein

A lot of people have a hard time getting the full amount of nutrition they need out of their diets every day, using supplements to fill the void between their ideal diet and the nutrients that are missing.

While I’m not suggesting you abandon supplements, I do suggest simply adding whole foods to your diet. Adding nuts or nut butter to any fruit and green combination that suits you will boost your intake of everything good. Trust me, you won’t even taste the spinach.

Cravings, Begone!

Even when we’ve eaten enough to fill us, we still crave junk food. That’s where a dessert smoothie comes in, like this Easy Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie. Tastes like what you’re craving, but in fabulous smoothie form.

Less Waste

Blending ingredients is the perfect way to consume food items that aren’t necessarily… picturesque. You don’t need an amazing looking piece of fruit to go into your drink because it won’t be recognizable a few seconds after you hit pulse.

This leaves the door wide open for frozen items that stay good for long periods of time, making them easy to use without waste. Or promptly blitz it up for your next smoothie in 3, 2, 1, done.

So Versatile

Nut-free? Use hemp hearts for protein instead of nut butters. Lactose-intolerant? Pour in some plant-based milk, or use water. Vegan? Yup, every ingredient in this thing is as vegan as you are. I love to make mine crazy with cinnamon or turmeric powder, or fresh basil.

To drink my smoothie, I prefer to use a glass vessel and a metal straw to avoid defiling the perfection of my drink with plastic.

This article was written by Maggie Friesen