Stay strong with smoothies and smoothie bowls!

*this post has been sponsored by Real California Milk, however all opinions stated here are my own.

The start of a new year always means starting with a clean slate. It brings along with it hopes for new habits and resolutions to improve our daily lifestyle. Among those, many of us have surely thought of improving our nutritional habits, be it through dieting or just learning to eat in a more nutritious and conscious way. I’ve been reinforcing this resolution ever since becoming a mom, and today I have a few yummy recipes to share with you that are great ideas for the whole family to “renew, reset and restore” using dairy from Real California Milk. The first is a protein-boosting recharging smoothie and then you’ll also learn how to create yummy yogurt-based smoothie bowls.

With all the new types of plant-based drinks that claim to substitute milk, dairy is sometimes forgotten, but did you know dairy products and real cow’s milk are whole foods that contain a powerful punch of essential nutrients? 

Nutritional benefits of Milk

Milk and dairy foods provide the right amount of bone-building nutrients, specifically calcium, vitamin D, potassium, protein, phosphorus, magnesium, among others that make our bodies thrive. The first three are actually 3 out of the 4 nutrients that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed as “under-consumed” by Americans. 

On top of that, a growing number of studies indicate that eating dairy foods is associated with:

• a lower risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
• reduced blood pressure
• neutral to lower levels of inflammation
• improved bone health.

These are many reasons to add a few servings of dairy to our everyday diet. There are many ways to get creative and go beyond just eating a slice of cheese or drinking a simple glass of milk, on to the recipes!

Refreshing and nourishing post-workout smoothie

The idea behind this easy dairy shake came after my husband started training to run a half-marathon. He loves drinking milk and had told me that he needed to figure out a way to replenish his energy and aid his protein-building. Protein, found in milk, cheese, and yogurt, helps build and repair muscle tissue (besides being the building block of all cells in the body). That’s why using 2% Real California Milk for his smoothie is a sure way to give any athlete a much-needed boost of energy and protein. 

My husband wanted to also include a couple of egg whites to add even more protein to the mix, and he loved how blending them made the smoothie frothier. If you feel queasy about eating raw egg whites or want to offer this smoothie to the kids, you can just leave them out and it’ll still taste delicious and offer plenty of nutritional benefits.

Smoothie bowls galore!

If you have a family with multiple members in it, you know that everyone likes their breakfast in a very specific way. That’s why I thought smoothie bowls would be a great choice to include a nutritious dish for breakfast that anyone can modify without having to make too much of a mess in the kitchen. You start off with a common yogurt base consisting of only plain whole milk (or you can pick fat-free) yogurt that’s blended with frozen bananas. 

Then, you can create different flavors by adding frozen fruit or veggies to the base and continue modifying with the help of many different toppings. For this, it’s good to have around:

• More fruit, sliced thinly or small pieces
• Granola
• Nuts (sliced almonds, cashews, walnuts)
• Seeds (chia, hemp)
• Other fun additions: shredded coconut, cacao nibs, puffed quinoa, cereal 

Here are three exciting smoothie bowl combinations:

• ”Piña Colada” Smoothie Bowl: add frozen pineapple to the base and top it off with pineapple pieces, dried coconut, sliced banana and granola to have a tropically smooth breakfast.
• ”Green Machine” Smoothie Bowl: add spinach and avocado to the base and top it off with raspberries, kiwi and sliced almonds for a yummy semi-tangy version with veggies. 
• ”Blueberry Fish” Smoothie Bowl: add frozen blueberries and blackberries to the base and “draw” a fish on top using strawberries and pineapple. Finish by adding blueberries and chia and hemp seeds for a nutritional boost. This bowl is perfect for kids since they tend to love things with lots of color! 

The possibilities are endless! Hope you incorporate more dairy into your lifestyle in 2022, let me know how in the comments below!

Show us how your #RealCaliforniaMilk based smoothies/smoothie bowls help you #RenewResetRestore in the New Year at: https://www.realcaliforniamilk.com/recipes/?search=smoothie

If you liked these smoothies and smoothie bowls recipes, you might like some of my other recipes too.