Neither Amy nor I are really breakfast people. It's too much food too early and too much work. Now don't get me wrong--we love a good brunch, when you have the time, the empty belly, and folks to share with.

But on an average day, we've come to rely heavily on our trusty breakfast shakes--they're a lot cheaper than organic cereal (well, I guess $5/box isn't terrible, considering the number of meals you get...but it still bugs me), fresh, and fast. We generally make them with bananas, milk-like-beverage, and various fruits/seeds/nut-butters. Here are a few of our favorites:

[caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Peanut Butter & Cocoa"]Peanut Butter & Cocoa[/caption]

Peanut Butter & Cocoa Shake

  • 1.5 bananas
  • 1 cup milk-like-beverage
  • 1 tbsp flax oil
  • 2 tbsp all natural peanut butter
  • 2 tsp baking cocoa
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • ~ 4 large ice cubes (or you can use frozen bananas)

The directions for all of our shakes are: blend blend blend! That being said, this shake is kind of ridiculous. It's like waking up and having a bowl of delicious ice cream. My tongue keeps saying, "This has to be bad for you!" My brain goes over and over the ingredients--no sugar except the agave, protein from the peanut butter, omegas 3 & 6 from the flax oil, potassium from the bananas. Nope, nary a trace of junkfood. It boggles the mind. And the tongue.

[caption id="attachment_867" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Straight-up Banana on the left, Almond-Cinnamon on the right"]Banana & Almond-Cinnamon Shakes[/caption]

Straight-up Banana Shake

  • 1.5 bananas
  • 1 cup milk-like-beverage
  • 1 tbsp flax oil
  • 1 tbsp ground hemp seed
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • ~ 4 large ice cubes (or you can use frozen bananas)

I'm not super big into this one, but Amy loves it. She thinks the Peanut Butter & Cocoa and Almond-Cinnamon are too much. Her body is probably just inherently smarter about not wanting to eat junkfood for breakfast (even though those shakes are perfectly healthy).

Almond-Cinnamon Shake

  • 1.5 bananas
  • 1 cup milk-like-beverage
  • 1 tbsp flax oil
  • 2  tbsp almond butter
  • 1 - 2 dates OR 1 tbsp agave nectar OR 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ~ 4 large ice cubes (or you can use frozen bananas)

This one is pretty mellow, on account of the almond butter, but has a nice little snap of cinnamon. For some reason, this one lends itself better to other sweeteners too, if you're getting sick of using agave.

Strawberry Shake Top

Strawberry Shake

  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup milk-like-beverage
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 4 frozen strawberries (or any berry of your choice)
  • 1 tbsp flax oil
  • 1 tbsp ground hemp seed
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar

This is the ol' standby, the one we drink almost daily. It almost never gets old, and is probably the best for us. It's vitamin C in the OJ, protein in the hemp seed, omegas in the flax oil, and fiber in the strawberries. It's like an Orange Julius for breakfast, but without all the mallrats.

[caption id="attachment_905" align="alignleft" width="216" caption="Mint Shake with Matcha"]MInt Shake with Matcha[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_868" align="alignright" width="216" caption="Shamrock Shake with Spirulina"]Shamrock Shake 3[/caption]

Shamrock (mint) Shake

  • 1.5 bananas
  • 1 cup milk-like-beverage
  • 1 tbsp flax oil
  • 1 tbsp ground hemp seed
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 tsp matcha green tea OR 1 tsp spirulina
  • ~ 4 large ice cubes (or you can use frozen bananas)

We totally ripped this idea off of Fresh! in Toronto. They have an amazing array of healthy shakes, and this one was impossible to resist. Both matcha green tea (that's what Fresh! uses) and spirulina are awesome for you--in different ways. Matcha green tea is really high in antioxidants and it gives you a little caffeine kick (about half that of a cup of coffee). Spirulina is also high in antioxidants as well as the often-difficult-to-obtain B12. Additionally, the spirulina will give you that old school McDo faux green color. Why I'm nostalgic for something like that, I couldn't tell you.

We've also made these with fresh spearmint, which was good, but took an awful lot of spearmint--better saved for mojitos.

So there! You now have no excuse not to start your day out right!