Tropical Quinoa Smoothie

Every Monday morning I start my day with a smoothie, and it usually is a shade of green. I think it helps me get rid of my weekend sins and starts me off on the right foot for the week. Now that I verbalized why I do this, I realize I should probably also start my Saturdays this way. Hmmm, deep thoughts...

Anyway, one of my pet peeves is wasted leftovers. I'm not a huge fan of eating leftovers probably because I like to cook more than I like to re-heat, but I still hate throwing away perfectly good food. It always seems that quinoa is one of those things that gets tossed out after sitting in my fridge for a week. It hit me the other day to use the quinoa in my smoothie. I'm all for an extra protein/fiber boost, so why not? I googled quinoa smoothie and sure enough, it's actually a popular thing.

My recipe is different from the ones I saw out there. It tastes like paradise in a glass but also serves as a major anti-inflammatory, detox breakfast. It also happens to be kid-approved. Score.

TROPICAL QUINOA SMOOTHIE
serves 2

Ingredients:

½ cup cooked quinoa (white)

½ cup frozen spinach or kale (or 2 cups fresh)

1 ½ cup frozen pineapple chunks

1 banana

½ cup coconut milk, canned ( I use the canned Light coconut milk from Trader Joe’s, which just has added water to it, so its not quite as rich) *

1 cup water

juice from ½ lime

1-2 Tbsp cilantro leaves (I used frozen cilantro cubes from Trader Joes)

1/3 cup cucumber

¼ cup plain greek yogurt

2 dates, optional (but helps with kid appeal)

2 tsp chia seeds, optional

2 cups ice cubes

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients on high power for 1-2 minutes or until well blended. 

* You can use coconut milk from the carton as well, but the results won't be as thick, or rich. Just use 1 1/2 cups coconut milk and no water. 

*Leftover canned coconut can be stored in plastic container in fridge for several days- great to add to soups, curries, oatmeal, and of course, smoothies.