hemp, it's what's for breakfast

Breakfast is my all time favorite meal.  I have never been one to skip out on breakfast!  I'm pretty sure that I wake up hungry.   That's normal, right?  Well, finding quick and healthy breakfast options is key for me.  Even more helpful is when they keep my fuller longer.  When I eat breakfast by 6:30am and don't eat until about 10:30, it is essential my breakfast stays with me.  My students will tell you that I am quite a bear as soon as I get hungry :)

One of my go-to's is a smoothie, especially mornings I sneak in a workout before work.  Protein powder keeps me full throughout the morning with ease.  I use whey protein powder, not soy, but never really looked at what was in this powder that seemed to make everything taste so delicious.  So when I decided to actually read the ingredient list, I began to second guess this ingredient I used to fill me up.  I decided to take a look at hemp, which is a plant-based form of protein.  I ended up finding a hemp protein powder, and it has one ingredient: ground hemp seeds!  It doesn't get better than that!  Well, I will get to the taste in just a sec.  

The first time I tried it out, my taste buds weren't that pleased.  I'm pretty sure they were rooting for the original vanilla protein powder.  I didn't let them win, and kept plugging along, and by the third time I made a smoothie with it I was sold.  

This recipe is my absolute favorite.  It is the foundation for all of my smoothies, and it is pretty simple, which is nice for busy mornings. 

Tropical Hemp Protein Smoothie:

1 c. vanilla almond milk

3 Tbsp. hemp powder

1 frozen banana

2 handfuls fresh spinach or kale (I used kale above)

3/4 c. frozen mango

1 Tbsp. chia seeds

Place everything into a blender, or my favorite-Vita mix, and blend until smooth.  Sip with a colorful straw, it just makes it more worthwhile.