This simple smoothie has, simply put, changed my mornings forever. First of all, let me start off by saying that I hate bananas. Well, hate eating them raw and on their own that is. Try giving me a fruit salad with slimy bits of banana pieces in it and you will see me turn green in the face. I’ve got the exact same relationship with bananas as my dad, and it’s an odd one. For starters, neither of us would ever even attempt to eat a banana in its raw form. NO. WAY. But, we both love banana bread, banana popsicles, and almost any other banana-flavoured item. I believe it’s the texture that gets to us most.

Saying that, I know they are really good for you and do try and incorporate them into my diet whenever possible, so long as I don’t come across any fuzzy or sliminess while doing so.

I discovered this smoothie through a photo on Joyous Health‘s Instagram account (see, food pics are awesome!) and put it together using the ingredients Joy listed with approximate measurements. I like to think of it as vegan egg nog, because I know it would taste damn good with some rum. Obviously, I start my mornings without the alcohol involved.

I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s very easy and adds a great boost to the start of my day, and how I feel.

Recipe: The Banana-Almond-Cinnamon Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 – raw banana

3/4 cup – Almond Milk

1 tbsp – Raw Almond Butter

1/2 tsp – Pure Vanilla Extract

a dash of Cinnamon (more according to taste)

a dash of nutmeg (more according to taste)

Instructions: Add the banana (broke into two or three pieces) into a blender or food processors. Add in all ingredients and blend until smooth. Poor into your favourite smoothie glass and enjoy! Was that so hard? Ps. When I’m in a rush (or too lazy) I eliminate grating the nutmeg, it still tastes great with just cinnamon. A teaspoon of honey is also nice if you prefer a sweeter smoothie.