If you wanna sail through your day with oodles of energy and a mind as clear as a supermodel’s skin , then what you have for breakfast reallly matters…

Your first meal of the day will affect your blood sugar levels (and therefore mood, energy and concentration) for the REST of the day…and can make the difference between a mid-morning or mid-afternoon sneaky cookie binge or feeling satisfied, alert (and a little smug!) sans the sugar fix.

So what is the secret formula for a magical breakfast like this?

Well – 3 key things: fibre, protein and good fats. (And as many vitamins and minerals as you can pack into one meal!)

And while there are a number of different types of breakfast combos that can fit this bill, t\here is none so delicious, nutritious, quick and convenient as a good green smoothie.

But before I give you my recipe let me share my smoothie no – no’s….it’s easy to make smoothies (especially with all the dodgy recipes out there) that are laden with sugar (even if that means natural sugar) with no protein and fat which is essential for stable blood sugar levels. So stay away from overly fruity (especially banana) smoothies, smoothies that don’t have any fat or protein added, or smoothies that have sugary flavoured yoghurts and the like. Also avoid cow’s milk, cos it ain’t that good for you! I do recommend using some type of natural protein supplement like hemp protein powder, rice protein powder or a whey protein if it’s a really good brand of micro-filtered whey protein isolate. I do NOT recommend cheap, commercial protein powders that usually have sugar or nasty artificial sweeteners added or are full of carbs, check the labels and try to get one that is less than 3g of carbs per serve.

So here is one delicious smoothie recipe that passes my rigorous smoothie standards, and tastes delish…

The Pina Colada Smoothie:

1/2 avocado

1 cup of organic greens

350ml of coconut milk

3/4 cup fresh pineapple

1 scoop of brown rice protein powder

Blend and enjoy!

So this recipe ticks all the boxes, because the fruit is low GI (not too sugary), the combination of fruit and spinach combines fibre and lots of other vitamins and minerals) the avocado and coconut milk provide good fats for energy, and the rice protein provides satiety that will last for hours.

Give it a go and then let me know in the comments if you feel waaay better having that for breakky than your boring toast or soggy cereal!