3 Beauty-Boosting Smoothie Recipes

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You’ve been lectured on the importance of breakfast before: it revs up your metabolism, wakes up your mind, energizes your body, and even matters later in the day, when the right breakfast can help prevent afternoon sugar cravings and late night binges. Key word there? The right breakfast. It doesn’t mean time consuming and it doesn’t mean reaching for a breakfast bar. Instead, with only the slightest bit of planning, you can whip up a quick and easy breakfast smoothie in less time than it takes for your coffee machine to heat up.

Here are three recipes to get you started:

For The Workout Buff: Peanut Butter + Jelly Protein Smoothie

Waking up early to hit the gym before work? Feed your muscles post-workout with this protein filled smoothie. And we do mean protein filled: 10 grams from the raw hempseeds, 6 grams from the soy milk, 4 grams from the spirulina, and 8 from the peanut butter—that’s 56% of your recommended daily intake! Add a potassium-rich banana to stave off cramps and strawberries for their immune-boosting vitamin C.

1 banana, peeled and frozen overnight

4-6 organic strawberries, frozen or fresh

3 tbsp raw organic hempseeds

1 cup organic soy milk

1 tbsp spirulina powder

2 tbsp organic 100% dry-roasted peanut butter

Water, optional

In a high-powered blender, combine all of the ingredients until smooth. Slowly add the water, if desired, until you’ve obtained your desired consistency. Enjoy immediately.

For The Workaholic: Energizing Chocolate Dream Smoothie

Are you the person who doesn’t get enough sleep and makes it through the afternoon on 100 calorie snack packs?  Listen up. This one’s packed with energizing cacao and bee pollen (nature’s natural energy boosters) and healthy fats to keep your metabolism running, energy levels consistent, and stomach satiated.

1/2 organic avocado

2 tbsp raw organic cacao powder

2 tbsp raw organic almond butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large raw organic dates, pitted (more, as desired, for added sweetness)

3/4 cup organic, unsweetened almond milk

1 cup ice

1 tbsp raw organic cacao nibs

1 tbsp organic bee pollen (available in the refrigerated supplement section of most health food stores)

Combine the avocado, cacao powder, almond butter, dates, and almond milk in a blender and process until smooth. Add the ice and blend until well combined. Top with cacao nibs and bee pollen prior to serving. Enjoy immediately.

For The Beauty Queen: Green Acai Beauty Boosting Smoothie

Need an on-the-go glow booster? Skip the sugary cereal or hormone-packed yogurt and try this green acai beauty boosting smoothie for more radiant skin from the inside out.

With Acai, the Amazonian super food dubbed “the beauty berry” thanks to its potent combination of antioxidants, amino acids, and omega fatty acids, this smoothie helps fight aging from the inside out. Combined with chia (which has as much omega 3 fatty acids as salmon and 500% more calcium than milk), chlorella (a powerful detoxifying and cleansing algae loaded with over 40 minerals, including iron, vitamin K, vitamin A and vitamin D), and almond butter (packed with protein and vitamin E to promote healing from the inside out), this smoothie may just make the rest of your beauty routine a thing of the past!

2 bars frozen 100% acai juice (available at most health food stores, including Whole Foods)

2 tbsp organic raw chia seeds

1/2 tsp chlorella or other dried greens powder

2 tbsp organic raw almond butter

1/2 cup organic raw spinach, tightly packed

1/2 cup – 1 1/2 cups organic, unsweetened almond milk

2 tbsp raw organic hemp seeds

1/2 banana, thinly sliced

Combine the frozen acai bars, chia seeds, dried greens, almond butter, spinach, and 1/2 cup of the almond milk in a high-powered blender or food processor. Slowly add more almond milk, as needed, to achieve desired consistency. (It’s fun to eat this one with a spoon, but if you’re in a rush, thinner and with a straw is great on the go.) Transfer the mixture to a bowl or glass before topping with the hemp seeds and banana. Enjoy immediately.

Photo: Trunk