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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Most recently my favorite smoothie ingredient has been coconut water! I’m still not crazy about drinking coconut water on it’s own, but I know it’s nutso healthy, so I feel better about adding it in a smoothie!
Lately I’ve been using grated zucchini – it adds a little extra nutrition and you can’t even tell it’s there!
Tina’s new book looks awesome! My go-to smoothie add-ins are yogurt and/or a banana. I love to add fresh mint leaves too!
My smoothie staples are also frozen bananas and fresh spinach. I recently started adding hemp seeds sometimes and have been loving them!
I make this really awesome smoothie with half an avocado, a banana, 1 T of PB, 1 T cocoa powder, stevia and 3/4 c milk. It is SO GOOD!
I also love putting spinach in my smoothies. I need some more ideas to jazz up my smoothies!
I love adding greek yogurt to bring some protein into my smoothies, and lemon gives it a fresh taste!
I always put a banana and flax seeds in mine. I’ve recently started using carrots for a vegetable and it’s really yummy too!
I love frozen bananas and peanut butter.
My husband and I recently received a juicer for a wedding gift and my favorite juicing ingredients are beets, green peppers and celery. It’s amazing how good the juices turn out!
I wish I were more creative but my smoothies always have spinach and usually a mix of tropical frozen fruits (mango, pineapple, strawberry, banana).
I really like adding frozen bananas and strawberries. They give the smoothies such a creamy texture!
you have to try adding raw or toasted carob powder to a banana smoothie….soooo chocolaty without the caffeine crash!
Holy moly I thought I was good with smoothie ingredients but sweet potato and frozen squash?! I clearly need to start getting a little more creative!
My favorites as of now are bananas. frozen mango, Kale, grapes, and I have started adding cherry juice to help out with post-workout muscle soreness. Even if it doesn’t really do anything, it’s yummy as all get out!
I love using almond milk as a base, and fresh blueberries! I have also started incorporating chia seeds!
Thanks
Kale and berries make their way into my smoothies regularly!
I love adding cocoa powder or almond butter/peanut butter to a smoothie!! I’ve never tried an avocado, but I always here they’re good, so I need to give it a try!! This book sounds awesome, I’m such a huge fan of juicing!
Spinach and peanut butter for me!
Frozen peaches and banana are my favorite add ins for creaminess and sweetness.
I LOVE pb, banana, and spinach smoothies!
I usually add spinach and chia seeds to every smoothie!
I love adding peanut butter and frozen bananas!
It depends on whether I’m making a green smoothie or breakfast/fruit smoothie! Green smoothie is usually: pear/mango, broccoli, red cabbage, Italian parsley, lettuce, kale and lemon 🙂 Fruit smoothie is usually: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and peaches + protein powder.
I’m not a huge smoothie fan but if I need to sneak a quick meal, and some veggies, I always go for a handful of spinach (thanks to your recommendation a few years ago!!) 🙂
Frozen bananas and/or berries with yogurt make smoothies taste delicious and give a nice creamy texture that I love!
I put frozen banana almost every single smoothie I make. It makes it so creamy and decadent!
I am a huge fan of milk and so many bananas! I lovvveee bananas in smoothies!
Chia seeds
Great giveaway! I’m always on the hunt for new smoothie ideas. I think my go to ingredients would be, banana, chia seeds, avocado, spinach, almond milk and any type of frozen fruit. A scoop of peanut butter once in a while makes a good addition too!
Tina’s blog was one of the first blogs I stumbled upon, as well! I love sneaking spinach into my smoothies for sure!
I love using pb2, bananas, and a handful of spinach in all of my smoothies!
I love putting cooked sweet potatoes in my smoothies – delicious!!
I love putting dates in smoothies
I love to add kale and frozen grapes!!
I love using blueberries in smoothies because their flavor usually masks anything you put in it that’s merely for nutrition and not necessarily taste:)
Tina’s book looks awesome. I always put half a frozen banana in all my smoothies to make them sweet and creamy. A pinch a cinnamon is also great.
I love to add chia seeds to my smoothies! We recently moved to Texas where I’ve seen prickly pear (from cactus) as an ingredient as well!
Bananas, spinach, protein powder and almond milk:) I love your blog and Tina’s… Both are my daily reads
This is a great giveaway, thanks Julie! In addition to the smoothie staples (frozen bananas and spinach!) I love cherries (bought fresh and then frozen), coconut oil, almond or almond/coconut milk, and kale!
I love frozen bananas in my smoothies! YOUR blog was actually the first I read and one of the reasons I sneak spinach into all of my smoothies. 🙂
I am a sucker for peanut butter in my smoothies. Yum!
Any time I can get some greens in my smoothie, it’s a win! Lately I’ve been loving the “power blend” from Earthbound Farm: kale, spinach and swiss chard.
If I am lacking something creamy, I’ll add a laughing cow cheese wedge. I like my smoothies creamy, so this really helps. I have never tried an avocado though, that’s next on my agenda!
My fav smoothie add ins are yogurt, kale and berries. Still working on my son to drink them.
wow that book is so colorful..i would love to add chia seeds, spinach, banana, almond milk and of course peanut/almond butter to make it ultra smooth
My favorite combo is frozen banana, peanut butter and dark chocolate almond milk!
Love your blog! We have this smoothie almost every weekday morning:
1/2 frozen banana
handful spinach
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I buy fresh on sale and freeze in baggies)
1 carrot
plain yogurt
tbsp. ground chia and flax seed blend (Decadent Blend by Spectrum is yummy with coconut and cocoa)
a little stevia for sweetner
cranberry juice or soy milk
a few ice cubes
Love our VITAMIX!
Avocado and lemon! Lemon adds such a fresh kick to green smoothies!
Frozen bananas are a must and I also like adding vanilla Greek yogurt!
Love smoothies!! Frozen banana, avocado, dates, and peanut butter are some of my favorite smoothie go-tos