“Candy is basically fake fruit that wishes it was fruit and is doing its best to smell and taste like it.” – Cameron Diaz, The Body Book
Happy, happy Friday!
Speaking of the word ‘happy,’ I’m usually a pretty happy woman, and it typically doesn’t take much to put me in a good mood. Let me play with puppies? I’m happy. Bring me to a winery and let me hang out (and drink wine) all day? I’m happy. Take me to watch the sunset on the beach? I’m happy. Find me a farm stand with sweet, super ripe strawberries just before their season ends? I’m a happpppy girl.
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
….I hope that I just got that song stuck in your head, like it’s now stuck in mind! I’m posing for a happy selfie in the above photo that I shared on Instagram because I was talking about my secret to fast growing hair. HINT: It’s good nutrition!
Oh right, I digress. So a few weekends ago, my hubby and I were out running errands, and I mentioned that I’d love to get some local berries. I would have made finding a farm stand my mission, but coincidentally we stumbled upon a strawberry stand on the side of the road just a few minutes later (Got to love San Diego!).
I feasted my eyes on the above bright and beautiful strawberries, and I was sold. It didn’t even matter that the guy was overpriced and the fact that the strawberries had maybe 3 days before they were way too ripe, because the strawberry season ends right about now and I wanted the good stuff before it’s too late…. oh, and because I’m perfectly capable of eating a huge carton of strawberries in just a few days (which I did – mission accomplished!).
Besides eating them in all their fruity glory at 10 pm while winding down for the day, I had a few recipe ideas in mind to use up these strawberries, one of which was a strawberry vanilla smoothie.
One of my go-to late afternoon/pre-workout smoothies is this strawberry vanilla one. With only around 220 calories, it’s a light meal, yet it has 17 grams of protein and gives you a nice energy boost. What’s funny about this is that a strawberry smoothie similar to this variation was the very first recipe I ever shared on this blog, in a post titled, “Hello world!” 🙂 I figured it was time for an updated version!
A few of the ingredients are different, and some things on the blog and in my life have certainly evolved since that post over 3 years ago, but I’m still a strawberry and smoothie lovin’ girl. Another thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that I was using Almond Breeze almond milk back then, and I’m still using it all the time now. These days, the folks at Almond Breeze and I partner up to share some fun recipes with their wonderful products. For this smoothie, I used their Almondmilk Original — which I always have in my kitchen.
Strawberries. Almond Milk. Vanilla Greek yogurt. Chia seeds. Vanilla extract. Stevia. Ice. It’s nothing too fancy, but sometimes simple is best – with food and otherwise.
Note: Fresh or frozen strawberries work great for this smoothie… use whatever you’ve got on hand!
Easy & Creamy Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries fresh or frozen
- 2/3 cup Almond Breeze almondmilk
- 5 oz of vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/4 TSP vanilla extract
- 1/2 TBSP chia seeds
- 1 g of stevia or any other sweetener of your choice
- A few handfuls of ice
Instructions
- Cut the stems off of the strawberries and slice in half.
- Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender. Pulse until smooth.
- Pour into a glass, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Tell me… What’s your go-to smoothie these days? What’s your favorite type of milk – cows, almond, soy, rice, etc.?
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk. As always, all opinions expressed are genuinely my own. Thanks for your support!
My hair grew so much when I changed my diet. It’s amazing all the different benefits of improving your diet, people think it is all about weight loss.
Absolutely!! People definitely tend to think of diet as JUST being about weight, but it’s really about so many other things that can benefit or hinder your health – including strong hair & nails!
Girl! Great minds think alike! 🙂 Almond!
I love that photo of you! It’s super cute. I noticed it on your twitter recently.
As usual my friend!! 🙂 Thanks so much!
I am LOVING fresh berries and cherries this time of year =)
Oh yea! I JUST ate a big bowl of fruit – including cherries & blueberries – for breakfast.
Great recipe! I love all kinds of smoothies. I need to start buying almost milk again so I an thicken up my smoothies a bit!
I use almond milk in all of my smoothies! It’s the best.
I love that picture of you! Such a pretty girl! And I’ve been dying for my hair to grow back since I cut it short. It’s slowly making it’s way but not fast enough. I think I need to go make this strawberry smoothie to help! 😉
It looks delicious!
Aww you’re too kind, thanks lady! I bet ya all of a sudden it’ll get long. That’s how it seems to happen when I cut my hair really short!
Almond milk is a staple for me too. It goes in all my smoothies. 🙂
I thought of you this weekend – we hiked potato chip rock! Ankle is a little sore, but SO much fun!
Me too! Almond milk is my favorite. I ALWAYS have it on hand.
Potato Chip Rock is not for the faint of heart!! It’s a good one.
The same exact things makes us happy! Every single thing you mentioned up there takes me to my happy place 🙂
I love strawberry season! I keep meaning to get out and pick them, but now that the season is almost over, I’m setting my sights on blueberries next.
Awesome girl!! You and me both, there’s a strawberry picking place by me that I wanted to get to but didn’t this year. Next on my list: apple picking in the fall!!