I always have a coffee in the morning, but I think it’s my daily superfood green smoothie that jump starts my morning with the perfect nutrient-dense buzz. I feel instantly energized and nourished–and satisfied for hours. The smoothie changes depending on what I have on hand or what’s in season, though there is a basic ratio of greens to fruit to superfoods that keeps everything palatable. I’ve made a few sludgy dirt-tasting smoothies in my day as well. One part greens to two parts fruit + a few spoonfuls of superfood powders. And a banana is essential. That’s the key to making everything dreamy creamy.
I’ve been wanting to share this recipe for a while, so I’m thrilled to be working with PayPal on this post to add an extra element of excitement with a timed challenge. You might be wondering what PayPal has to do with smoothies and food collages, so let me explain. PayPal’s been making my life easier for quite a while now. I signed up using a Hotmail account (HA!), just to give you an idea of how long it’s been. My printshop uses PayPal for payments and I frequently use PayPal online to checkout at some of my favorite online vendors. And now they’ve expanded their mobile/digital payment services, so it’s quick and easy, not to mention secure, to #paypalit on the go too. They’ve asked me to time myself on procuring the ingredients via PayPal for this smoothie/collage and the time it takes to collage my smoothie, so I’ve done just that. Game on!
For the superfoods, I paid for the goji berries, chia seeds, amla, Vitamineral Greens, and vegan protein powder using PayPal online. It took all of 10 seconds, which is faster than I can type in credit card and billing information. For the fresh fruits and veggies, I stuck to my local farmer’s markets. Some of the Culver City farmer’s market vendors have started accepting PayPal, so I decided to test out the PayPal mobile app. To checkout, I opened the app, logged in, found the merchant by name (the app uses your location to find vendors near by), and paid for my produce. Just. Like. That. The payment process was a snap and took about 30 seconds. There’s no fumbling for exact change or feeling like the doofus who’s paying for $1.45 worth of grapes with a $20 bill. A huge plus!
So there you have it. It took a grand total of 40 seconds (10 seconds for the online check-out + 30 seconds for the Mobile app checkout) to buy the ingredients to create my collage and smoothie and another 30 minutes to assemble my collage and make my smoothie. Without further ado, here’s the recipe.
1 c almond milk
1 c baby spinach, loosely packed
1 c assorted fruit (fresh or frozen)
1 banana
1 tsp goji berries
1 tsp amla or maca powder
1 tbsp Vitamineral Greens
1 tbsp chia or flax seeds
1 scoop Sun Warrior protein powder
1 c ice
1. Blend all ingredients until smooth. Serve immediately.
serves 1-2
Disclaimer: This post is brought to you in partnership with PayPal, though all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting our sponsors!
4 Comments
Bethany
21 Nov 2014 12:11 am
What vibrant photos! Wondering what flavor of Sun Warrior protein powder you use?
julieleecooks
02 Dec 2014 10:12 pm
Thanks, Bethany. I like the chocolate Sun Warrior most, but used the vanilla for this recipe.
Christine Faris
25 Nov 2014 09:11 pm
Love this!! Green smoothies are one of my favourite morning rituals!
Julie
02 Dec 2014 10:12 pm
Thank you, Christine! They are such a great healthy way to start the day. More recipes coming soon. :)
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