Breakfast Berry Flaxseed Smoothie

This is one of my favourite smoothies – I make it all the time in the summer and it can be a  quick snack or part of a healthy breakfast for a family on the go.

I love using frozen berries in smoothies because you can skip adding the ice so it’s more convenient and I find it tastes just a good as using fresh because the berries are frozen at peak ripeness.

This smoothie incorporates fruit, dairy, and flax providing fibre and giving you food from 2 food groups (great for a snack!). We want to aim to have 2-3 food group servings for a snack and 3-4 for a meal so if you blend this up for breakfast, it would be great paired with a slice of whole wheat toast and peanut butter (then you  have something from all 4 food groups!).

Recipe:

• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
•  1/2 cup orange juice
•  1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
•  1 cup unsweetened frozen mixed berries or blueberries
•  1 small banana, sliced

Preparation:

Add everything to blender (I like to use my magic bullet) and blend until smooth.

Notes: Always try to buy ground flaxseed if possible, or grind it up yourself; in order to get the benefits of the omega-3 in the flax, the shell must be broken.

If you want to make this smoothie dairy-free, you can skip the yogurt, or add ½ cup of vanilla soy milk instead of the yogurt. This will change the texture a bit.

Read more: http://www.rd.com/food/recipes-cooking/breakfast-berryflaxseed-smoothie-recipe/#ixzz2SuKY5PpA

                                                       Enjoy!

                                                            Jessica

Jessica Drummond is a graduate from Brescia University College in Nutrition and Dietetics. She is currently the Community Health summer student at the Perth District Health Unit.