I don’t know why it took me so long to start making the kids smoothies for breakfast. I guess it is because I had a decrepit old blender, and finally replaced it. At any rate, this is our new go-to weekday breakfast, supplemented by one or two waffles or pancakes pulled from the freezer stash. They are quick to make, and quick to eat (drink)! Believe it or not, they are even quick to clean up: rinse out the blender right away, and then run it on high for a few seconds with warm-hot water and a bit of dish soap. I do this daily, and then wash it out properly at the end of the week.

In order to make smoothies more satisfying and sustaining, a friend of mine adds a scoop of vegan protein powder (made from pea protein). I myself have gotten very daring (or, revisited my childhood), and started adding raw PASTURED eggs. I have to say, yum. You can add a PASTURED egg to perhaps any smoothie recipe. It doesn’t really have a taste as much as a feeling - the resulting smoothie is so much richer and more satisfying, and tastier, than it would have been without it. Please note that I absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND trying this with ANYTHING OTHER THAN PASTURED EGGS. The reason for this is that common industrial eggs have a very high chance of containing salmonella bacteria. Even “cage-free" and “free-range" eggs have a small chance of containing salmonella. “Pastured" eggs are eggs that come from a chicken who lives the way you imagine a chicken should - in a large yard or pasture, eating bugs and berries, enjoying the sunshine, and strutting around care-free with the other chickens. Know where your eggs come from, and remember that happy chickens make happy eggs. The one precaution you can take with pastured eggs is washing off the shells before using, so that any bacteria that might be clinging to the shells are rinsed off.

If you can’t handle the raw eggs, or don’t have access to pastured eggs, consider picking up some protein powder. Another great addition to any of these is pre-soaked chia seeds: mix 2 T of chia seeds in 1/4 cup water and allow it to set up in the fridge overnight. Put half the soaked chia in any recipe below in the morning. The rest will keep for a few days.

So now, down to some tasty combos. Our favorites so far are strawberry-banana, sweet potato pie, banana chocolate-almond, and banana eggnog. The common ingredients in all the smoothies I have been making are organic whole plain greek yogurt, bananas, and pastured eggs. After that, the sky’s the limit. Quantities below feed two little kids, plus a little bit for mom.

Strawberry-banana smoothie
  • 3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt
  • 2 bananas
  • 2 pastured eggs
  • 4-5 frozen strawberries
  • 3-5 frozen raspberries (optional, for extra color)
  • 1 T raw honey (for your health)
  • 4-5 ice cubes

Sweet potato pie smoothie
  • 3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt
  • 1-2 bananas
  • 2 pastured eggs
  • 1/2 cup or more roasted sweet potato (cubed and roasted plain - can then be frozen)
  • 1/2 t or more ground ginger
  • 1/2 t or more ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 t or more ground coriander
  • 2 T raw honey

Banana chocolate-almond smoothie
  • 3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt
  • 2 bananas
  • 2 pastured eggs
  • 2-3 T almond butter
  • 1 1/2 to 2 T cocoa powder
  • 1 T raw honey
  • 1 T vanilla extract

Banana eggnog smoothie
  • 3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt
  • 2 bananas
  • 2 pastured eggs
  • 1/2 t or more ground nutmeg
  • 2 t to 1 T vanilla extract

Peanut butter and jelly smoothie
  • 3/4 to 1 cup whole plain greek yogurt
  • 2 bananas
  • 2 pastured eggs
  • 2-3 T peanut butter
  • 4-5 frozen strawberries
  • 3-5 frozen raspberries and/or other frozen fruit
  • 4-5 ice cubes