Apple Pie Smoothie

Name: Harley Pasternak Apple Pie Smoothie
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 5 raw almonds (optional); 1 red apple (unpeeled); 1 banana; 3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt; 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or nonfat milk; 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Happy New Year, Empresses! I hope the year is starting out on a high not for you! Just in time for our fitness resolutions, I am bringing a new healthy recipe to the blog to help keep us all on track! I am not a big breakfast eater, but it is by far the most important meal of the day, especially for women. It kick-starts your metabolism and helps burn calories through the day. The last thing I want to do when I wake up, though is cook a big breakfast, so a quick smoothie is my usual go-to. I love the simple pineapple green smoothie that I posted here, but love switching it up with different fruits and this apple pie smoothie is more like dessert, without all the bad stuff. It is so good, packed with protein and fiber, and is even a great healthy dessert if you need a quick fix for that sweet tooth! One of the goals in my New Year’s “revolution” for 2017 is less of everything that doesn’t fuel my soul, so that it creates more room for the things that do. One of those is health and fitness and getting the body back that I worked so hard for before I got pregnant and then had to fight to re-claim after Knox was born. I was in the best shape of my life, but then life got in the way, as it always seems to. Ugh.

I lost myself last year at the beginning of 2016, because I was trying to have more, more, more and saying yes to everything. Things change when you become a mom, and then add working into that equation and things get extra messy. I learned the hard way that when you constantly say yes, you’re not leaving room for yourself and most importantly, God. And that leads me to another goal, with is putting Him before everything. Core and slice your apple (I used Fuji) using one of my favorite kitchen tools, an apple corer and slicer. You can get one here if you don’t already have one. They make life so much more simple! You don’t want to remove the skins, as it adds almost double the amount of fiber, packs the most vitamins, and has been studied and linked to protecting against memory loss, keeping cancer at bay and a great food source for fighting off extra pounds. Throw your apple slices with peel, one banana, unsweetened almond milk (I prefer Silk) or nonfat milk, and cinnamon into the blender and blend for approximately 30 seconds. If you like your smoothies extra thick, add in two ice cubes. I left out the almonds, because I’m not much of a nut lover, and it was still incredible. You can even add in spinach or kale to get more antioxidants, which makes getting some of your greens in for the day super simple! I love finding these quick, simple and delicious recipes that will help fuel our bodies and our Empire! Try this smoothie and tag #fuelyourempire with a photo, so we can all work on our fitness goals together! And as always, if you have a great recipe that you love, we would love to know about it, so please send it our way!