Ryan and I made it safely to Ocala this morning.
Hello palm trees!
We ended up spending the night at my parents’ place in Jacksonville to break up the eight-hour drive and were grateful for a comfy bed and yummy snacks upon our arrival.
My mom and dad have graciously volunteered to watch Sadie while we deal with moving which will be so, so nice. Ryan and I always joke that Sadie has to meet someone three times before she falls head over heels in love with them, so a bunch of new people in “her house” wandering in and out would seriously stress her out. She’ll be quite happy playing on the beach and soaking up some quality time with my parents. I’m pretty sure she body slammed them 10 times last night when she saw them after several months away!
Since I am currently blogging from the parking lot of a Burger King (heeey free wifi!) and need to get back to the house to help with the move, I’m just popping in this morning to share a giveaway I think my fellow smoothie and juice lovers will enjoy.
Tina, the blogger behind Carrots ‘n’ Cake, recently released her second book, PTV: The Part-Time Vegetarian Smoothies and Juices.
Tina’s blog was actually the first blog I read and the way I first discovered the crazy world of blogging. Fast forward a few years and I started my own blog and have had the pleasure of hanging out with Tina many times. I now feel fortunate to consider her a good friend!
(Someone please get me a hairbrush, STAT.)
I know how hard she worked on this book – creating and taste-testing 140+ smoothie and juice recipes in less than two months is no joke – and was thrilled when a copy showed up on my doorstep early last week. I’ve had the chance to try a handful of her smoothies (Ryan has made a few, too!) and every single one has tasted delicious.
As you guys know, I make smoothies all the time and before flipping through Tina’s book, I felt like I had made tons of different flavor combinations. Well, Tina put me to shame and introduced me to smoothies using ingredients I never would have thought to include in one of my favorite breakfast staples, such as frozen butternut squash, jalapeños and sweet potatoes.
The smoothie you guys may have seen on the blog yesterday was actually made by following Tina’s recipe for her Creamy Avocado Smoothie, which she said I could share with you today!
Creamy Avocado Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
- 1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted
- 1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions
Combine ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.
***
Here is your chance to win a copy of Tina’s book!
Simply comment on this post telling me about some of your favorite ingredients to use in smoothies or juices you make at home. (I’m all about frozen bananas and fresh spinach!)
I’ll randomly select a winner tomorrow.
Good luck!
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We love apples
spinach, frozen strawberries, peanut butter – just a few things i like to add to my smoothies!
I love using strawberries, raspberries, peaches, etc. I have yet to try kale in one, but I’m sure I could find a good recipe with it in Tina’s book! 🙂
I recently started using apples and limes to make my smoothies a little tropical tasting. So yummy! Spinach is also a favorite!
staples that usually find there way into my smooties are plain greek yogurt, flaxseed, and banana (always). im also a big fan of adding spinach, pb, and/or cocoa powder! yumm
Can’t go wrong with a banana-spinach combo in a smoothie. Love knowing I’m drinking my veggies even though the smoothie’s sweet!
I love using spinach and blueberries! I would love to win this book, I’ve been meaning to start making smoothies for my breakfast!
My go-tos are frozen bananas and spinach. I just feel better about my day when it starts with something green. And the frozen banana makes everything creamy and delicious. I also love adding ginger whenever I can- gives a little zing to my morning.
I love the creaminess frozen bananas give a smoothie! I also love to sneak in some extra greens with Spinach, kale, or whatever else is in the fridge!
I love adding spinach to all my smoothies. I just started adding in organic figs, soo good.
I love Tina’s blog too!! That’s how I found your blog actually!! My smoothie staples are spinach, unsweetened almond milk and frozen banana!! Such a good base that you can add other ingredients to so you don’t get bored!
frozen banana, nut butters, any berry, spinach or kale
Spinach for sure – love getting the veggie boost in the morning. Also currently using a lot of frozen bananas and PB2.
I love using almond coconut milk, frozen banana, spinach, dark chocolate cocoa powder, cinnamon and peanut butter — sometimes adding plain nonfat Greek yogurt. Tastes like a peanut butter cup!
Frozen bananas and vanilla soy milk are the best!
Vanilla almond milk, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice! Perfect for Fall!
My go-to for smoothies is almost ALWAYS to add a banana… when I was a newbie (still am!) – it would be pretty much Banana & Strawberry smoothies for days! However, I like to experiment with adding peanut butter, mango’s, any berry and on my super sweet cravings – Nutella! (Thanks to my sister!) – Your post yesterday really intrigued me with the avocado… I’m going to have to make that this weekend for sure! My mom loves smoothies too, so she can be my guinea pig with me!
I usually opt for bananas and spinach in my smoothies. Tina’s book would be great to get more creative ideas!
I love using frozen bananas and nut butter!!
I love kale, peanut butter, coconut water, frozen banana, green tea powder, cinnamon, and Greek plain yogurt. Yumm!!
YUM! My favorite things to include in smoothies are frozen mango for a citrus punch and spinach! It makes me feel better sneaking a little green in there, but I’ve never tried avocado in a smoothie!
Good luck with your move!
Banana, peanut butter, and some spinach for some greens. I would love Tina’s book to try some new smoothies.
I love adding bananas and berries to my smoothies!! I dont usually like bananas by themselves but in a smoothie – it helps make it so creamy and adds extra nutrition! 🙂
I love to add coconut butter to my smoothies! The taste is amazing and it ups my healthy fat intake!
I love to use hemp seeds in place of protein powder! It adds a subtle nutty flavor too.
I love adding peanut butter to my smoothies!
I love using frozen bananas and raspberrys and strawberries! Summer fruits are the best for smoothies!!
I love adding bananas and frozen ice cubes of frozen yogurt. It makes it creamy and THICK because it’s frozen!
Thanks, Julie! I love frozen bananas in smoothies too, but I always add some chia seeds in the mix.
My go-to ingredients for smoothies are bananas and strawberries!
I’m a big fan of smoothies and love adding frozen bananas, berries, Greek yogurt, a bit of milk, cinnamon and sweeteners!
My typical smoothie looks a lot like this – protein powder, sunflower butter, matcha green tea powder, cinnamon, bananas, frozen berries, and flax seed…blended together with ice and almond milk – YUMMY!
Blueberries+ spinach+ almond milk (to make it creamy) is my go-to base for a delish smoothie!
Some of my favorite smoothie ingredients include banana, baby spinach and of course, peanut butter!
When I make a smoothie, I got to put in a banana ! Then it’s all about what’s on hand. I recently added frech mint ! It was soo good – banana, frozen strawberries, mint, spinach and almond milk. Yay for smoothies !
I tend to stick with spinach, peanut butter and bananas. I would love to try new options!
I love to add spinach to every smoothie I make. 😀
Ohhh there are sooo many! Bananas, peanut butter, coconut milk, strawberries, cocoa powder, almonds, mangoes. I can go on and on. 🙂
Spinach, banana, and peanut butter, and chia seeds!
I love adding almond butter and coconut milk. During the summer months, there is nothing more refreshing than frozen mango and berries- simply delish!
I love a good fruit smoothie, but another favorite is a chocolate/peanut butter smoothie!
I love making sure I have a scoop of PB in any smoothie I make. However, I generally always use strawberries and bananas as well. I keep meaning to try and freeze bananas so I always have them on hand.
I like frozen berries and fresh oranges or lemons in my smoothies!
I must have a banana in most of my smoothies, both for the flavor and the consistency it provides!
I love using a mix of kale and spinach as well as a slice of lemon (zest an all). It adds really nice flavour!
My favorite juice is pineapple, jicama, ginger, cucumber, cilantro & jalapeno. Love that spicy kick at the back of your throat!
I’m a frozen banana and spinach girl too! And peanut butter. Obviously.
I’m just getting into smoothies so my go-to is pretty simple: unsweetened almond milk, banana, chocolate protein powder and ice. It’s delicious, but after reading thru the recipes on your blog, I need to try adding some spinach and avocado. It just intimidates me a little!
There are always banana’s in our smoothies! I really like to freeze mine first, the colder the better, that way I don’t have to add any ice which ends up watering down the flavor. I’m also crazy obsessed with coconut almond milk right now! It goes great with any other fruits and veggies I mix in and of course it tastes amazing! Can’t wait to check out this recipe book 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway, Julie!!
Spinach, cocoa powder, FROZEN bananas and unsweetened almond milk are my go-tos!