Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Smoothie

Smoothies can be a great way to have a quick on the go and nutrient packed breakfast! I've been having smoothies every morning and it's honestly my favorite breakfast before work. Here is my most recent smoothie recipe that I've discovered and absolutely LOVE! It's got the delicious taste of apples and cinnamon, but with a secret ingredient that will keep you full till lunchtime! 

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients:

- 1 cup Milk (Your choice of milk, I use Vanilla Almond Milk, unsweetened)

- 1 Medium Apple, cored and cut up

- 1 Tsp Cinnamon (More or less to taste)

- 3/4 cup quick oats OR 1 Packet of oatmeal - I used what was available to me, which was a packet of maple and brown sugar oatmeal and it was DELICIOUS

- 1 scoop of your choice of protein powder (Optional)

- A handfull of ice cubes (I used about 4)

Directions:

-Put all of the ingredients into your blender and blend well. Add more milk/ice for a thinner/thicker smoothie as desired. ENJOY

Tips For Making a Good Smoothie

My first few smoothies that I experimented with were definitely made with trial and error. So here are some helpful things I have learned along the way:

1. Put all liquid ingredients into the blender FIRST. Especially when using dry ingredients such as powders and oats, putting the liquid ingredients in first ensures that theres no chunky residue stuck to the blades or to the bottom of the blender.

2. You can control the consistency with more/less liquid or ice. If a smoothie is too thin or too thick, you can thin it with more liquid and make it thicker with more ice (or more solid ingredients). Just because a smoothie recipe suggests a certain amount of something does not mean you can't play around with it!

3. Play with your liquids. I have found that when it comes to the fruitier smoothies, adding a little bit of different juices can make a lot of difference in taste!

4. Make sure you're still getting enough calories. If you're like me and you plan on replacing an entire meal with a smoothie, you need to make sure that you're still getting a sufficient amount of calories and nutrients that you are missing by taking out that meal. You wouldn't eat a 100 calorie breakfast and expect to be full till lunch time would you? Add more fruit, add some oats, and I highly suggest adding some protein powder to your smoothies. Also, ingredients such as flax seeds can add a ton of nutrition without killing the taste.

5. Play around! Take a chance by adding something different into your smoothies! You never know what kind of creations you could come up with! I added 2 Tbsp of whipped light cream cheese into my Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Smoothie, and found that it was delicious!