Green Protein Smoothie

I've been trying to eat healthy for the past 1.5 years and have had some really great successes and some complete fails. One easy, foolproof idea is to blend your own smoothies. The key here is to have the right tool: a high-speed blender (I recommend a Blendtec or a Vitamix). I have really abused my trusty Blendtec and promise to love it until it poops out on me. It's been my most useful purchase of 2013 and I would recommend getting one.  I've made smoothies, soups, sauces, salad dressings and different types of flour. It can even make ice-cream, but I haven't ventured there yet. Yes, it's loud, but it has to be because of it's strong motor and the non-sharp blades (you won't cut yourself on it, ever). Because of it's safe, non-sharp blades + crazy horse power = fluffy smoothies (veggies have no chance of surviving and being chunky).

I've been doing the Daniel Plan with my small group and tried this protein-filled, green smoothie and it tasted great!

I blended together:

3/4 of a ripe nectarine or peach
1 c almond milk (vanilla)
1 scoop protein powder (vanilla)
1 small ripe banana
3 dinosaur kale leaves

I press the "whole juice" option and walked away. Less than a minute later, came this beauty--fluffy and delicious! This yielded about two large servings, so I saved the second one for breakfast the next morning. Try blending different combinations of stuff in your Blendtec/Vitamix, you'll quickly see how addicting it is.

Tip: I would recommend always putting a ripe banana in your smoothies, because that will sweeten it up and make anything you blend taste better. You can also try adding a few drops of liquid stevia if your smoothie isn't as sweet as you'd like it to be. Happy blending!