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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Beets!! The color is amazing.
I love adding almond milk, banana, spinach/kale, and pb2 powder!
Just got a new juicer, but loving it! Still learning new recipes – this book would be great, still enjoy my smoothies too!
I love adding almond butter, spinach and mango!
Good luck on your move! I wanted to share that I’ve been loving your Charlotte updates. My boyfriend actually lives in CLT (I’m in DC – yay long distance) and your restaurant and hike recommendations have been awesome! Figured I could try and return the favor. Last weekend we went to Atherton Mill and Market on Saturday to check-out their weekly farmer’s market. It was adorable and had the best coffee stand (Not Just Coffee) and vendors with tons of free samples and to-die-for granola. Seemed up your alley! Think you would also love LittleSpoon – an adorable breakfast/brunch spot that just opened in Charlotte. The cinnamon sugar brioche toast is a must.
I haven’t ventured outside of the standard bananas, strawberries, other berries and occasionally frozen mango when I can find it on sale! I’d love to experiment more with adding vegetables like avocado and spinach!
I live off of smoothies during the hot summer. I love adding instant coffee to my smoothies–almond milk, vanilla or chocolate protein powder, instant coffee, peanut butter, stevia, ice, and sometimes a banana. YUM!
I would love to win a copy! Lately I’ve been loving a smoothie recipe from the Oh She Glows cookbook that includes cinnamon, vanilla extract, and dates. So good!
Wow- jalepeno in a smoothie! I want that recipe! My favorites are blueberries, almond milk, chia seeds, banana and avocado. I also love almond butter and dates added in!
I’ve been stalking this book on amazon and wanting to order….so naturally I LOVE this giveaway! My smoothie staples are frozen spinach, almond milk, and some kind of protein powder!
Kale and the pit of an avocado
Greek yogurt, frozen bananas, blueberries, kale/spinach, and pumpkin!!!!
I’m all about fresh fruits in smoothies. My latest favorite is mangos & peaches mixed with my spinach smoothies.
Cocoa powder and peanut butter all the way!
I love using frozen bananas in my smoothies!
i love adding any FROZEN fruit! must be frozen!
I love to use frozen Mango and Avocado. I also include flax seed in almost all of the ones I make!
Almond butter is amazing in anything….
I just got a ninja and am OBSESSED with making smoothies in it. However lately it has just been throwing in a lot of fruit and some liquid and just seeing how it turns out. I would love this book for some re-inspiration and great new ideas!! It would be great!
I always pick of bags of frozen fruit from Trader Joe’s (so cheap!) that way I don’t need to add ice cubes to the mix. Looks like a great book and I’ve been reading Tina’s blog for a long time now!
I love bananas and peanut butter!
It’s frozen strawberries and chocolate or bust for me lol. My sweet tooth always gets the best of me.
as long as a smoothie has fruit in it I’m down! i could eat nothing but fruit all day every day.
best of luck with your move!
Great giveaway! My go-to smoothie ingredients are almond milk, frozen bananas and berries. 🙂
Bananas, nut butter and/or spinach.
Definitely fresh spinach, but also strawberries, bananas, avocados, raspberries …. mmm!
I love adding fresh herbs like basil and mint to my smoothies! Pumpkin and pumpkin spice mix also add a nice flavor especially when looking for a cozy fall treat!
My favorites are blueberries and almond butter!
Peanut butter and frozen spinach!! 🙂
I love using almond milk & frozen bananas in my smoothies! I’ve been in a smoothie rut lately, and would love to try Tina’s recipes!!
Almond or coconut milk and I just recently started to blend up kale before it gets bad and put it in an ice cube tray to freeze so I can blend it in with my smoothies.
PB2 Powder!! And now they make in it Chocolate!
Yesterday I made a plum smoothie that was just delicious. I just put in two frozen plums, 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, banana greek yogurt, 1 1/4 cup milk, a couple baby carrots and the teeniest bit of vanilla. I usually put in at least a teaspoon, but this one had enough sweetness/flavor on its own that I hardly needed any. I think that I’ve found a new favorite! Also, I am a big fan of anything with veggies in it, be it zucchini, spinach, or carrots.
I don’t usually put them in the same smoothie, but I love frozen banana or avocado for creaminess and I usually add some fresh spinach for some good nutrients
I’ve been hooked on the same smoothie combo for about 3 months. I have it every day!
1 frozen banana, sliced
Handful of spinach
3/4 cup almond milk
1 scoop of vega one protein powder
It tastes like a dessert in a cup!
I think part of the reason I have to strayed from this combination is because I’m nervous to. Once I find something I’m used to and that works it’s hard for me to come up with other combinations!
I tried the same combo as above once except instead of bananas I used frozen raspberries. You think it’d taste good right? NOOO! I was not a fan. The seeds from the raspberries were part of the problem I think. I’m a big texture eater 🙂
Smoothies have been a pregnancy staple for me. After 200+ consecutive days, my favorite base is still sun warrior chocolate powder, banana, milk, ice. I add coconut, coconut water, almonds, nut butter, spinach, etc etc. My new Vitamix arrived yesterday, so this book is a must! (I read CnC daily too)
I too love frozen bananas and spinach so I can sneak in my greens and make the smoothie cold without using ice.
I love anything that makes my smoothie tropical: coconut milk, pineapple, mango, bananas! I always add spinach, because why not?! Blueberries are a fave of mine too. I need to try avocado in a smoothie, I love it in and on everything else haha.
I absolutely love fresh spinach and greek yogurt in my smoothies. Gives it that creamy texture; simple and delicious!
I have a smoothie every morning for breakfast. My go to ingredients are bananas, protein powder, PB2, oatmeal, and frozen fruit…yum! I may need to start adding some spinach!
I love using almond milk, frozen banana, peanut butter and all-bran cereal in my smoothies. The all-bran is for extra fiber! I could have this smoothie every day but I would love to branch out and try new recipes!
My fav ingredients are frozen bananas, strawberries, mango, spinach, almond milk, and greek yogurt! (:
I love using banana and frozen mango!!
I love to add kale, cucumber, mint and either an orange or lemon to a plain Greek yogurt base – AMAZING!
I love the taste of mango and carrot in a smoothie!
I LOVE smoothies! I love peanut butter, avocados, and spinach in mine. I use smoothies to sneak healthy veggies into my boys diet. This smoothie book sounds amazing. I would never have thought to use frozen butternut squash in a smoothie. Very interesting idea 🙂
I have been loving frozen figs lately! Thank you trader joes 🙂
I actually had a green smoothie as a snack this morning! Spinach, 1/2 banana, cucumbers, zucchini, almond milk, lemon juice + whey protein…just delicious!!
But any smoothies with peanut butter is just fantastic!
Like you, I love sneaking in spinach in any fruit smoothie, you can’t even tell it’s there! I also love any type of berry, even though it often leaves seeds in my teeth, the flavor is worth it! Squash and sweet potato are things I would never have thought of but would totally give my berry smoothies a boost! Going to try that soon..
I can’t get enough bananas and strawberries in smoothies. Even when I venture out to new things, I always come back! Oh – also for a treat, I love adding PB and chocolate powder. YUM!
I love sneaking in some ground flax seed for additional fiber in my smoothies!