Vegan Gingerbread Protein Smoothie.

I’ve been so inspired by the flavors of the season this year. I came up with this recipe on a long run I did last weekend. I gave it a few attempts and settled in on this recipe to share – heavenly. It is so reminiscent of a gingerbread cookie that it will have children and adults clambering. Not all smoothies require kale or spinach, although it kills me not to add it. I tested out VegaOne’s new protein powder that will be released in January and it was heavenly in this beverage. This is perfect to curb a sweet attack. Post workout refueling. Dessert. Breakfast… whatever you have in mind. Plus it’s vegan and adds a nice dose of iron through the black strap molasses, which is a great benefit for a vegan diet. If you aren’t vegan – use whatever dairy you wish. Almond or cashew milk work great for vegans. I hope you give this recipe a try… I also topped it with some crushed gingersnaps which made it even more fun for kids (or adults that are kids at heart).

Ingredients:

1 cup of cashew or almond milk – vanilla unsweetened
1 frozen banana- I chopped up into 6 pieces so it blends easier
1 tablespoon of black strap molasses
1 packet of Vega protein in vanilla flavor or one scoop if you have the larger container
1 teaspoon or more of fresh ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5 ice cubes
Gingersnap cookies for garnish

Directions:

Place your ingredients into a high power blender like Vitamix and then add the remaining ingredients through ice cubes. Blend on smoothie setting and then pour into your glass. This recipe makes one serving. Crush some cookies and garnish. Enjoy!

On the fitness front:

This week I really wanted to focus on doing as many miles as possible. I managed to do 40.01 miles of running from last Sunday through today. I couldn’t be happier. I did get in two weightlifting sessions as well. I did get in two 10 mile runs which I was happy about. One last Sunday and then one yesterday. Today I did a slow recovery run with my husband and my sweet dog. It was fun running with him this morning. The upcoming week holds a few surprises that I will share in a few days. For now I’ll leave you with a few pics from today’s run.

I love this pic I got of Bill.