What's for Breakfast?

This year, 2012, I resolve to spend more time in nature with my friends. This is a resolution I can keep.

Our first venture was Zuma Beach to Paradise Cove, a 6 mile round trip hike along the beach.  Marybeth (fellow blogger, the juicer you have read on this blog), her husband and the Iron Woman Samantha Pruitt,  (seriously, she can swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and then run 26 miles) met at my house on a Monday morning and set out together. The day was beautiful and we all felt pretty special skipping work, taking a hike on a Monday. A guilty pleasure.

                                      

Samantha had the farthest to drive, so she came on Sunday night. She knows all about our vegan blog, my food allergies (she has some too) and is on board the healthy lifestyle train. Monday morning we decided to drink our breakfast. Inspired by MaryBeth's juicing but not ready to go all in, I made a shake with green tea, chia seeds, lime juice, black kale,  banana, apple, and cucumber. 

Samantha took this picture.

Sunday night I brewed 2 cups of green tea, let it cool, added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to the tea, shook it up and put it into the refrigerator overnight. On Monday morning, the chia seeds had expanded in the tea and were ready for the blender. To the chia seed tea I added 4 tablespoons of lime juice, 4 Kale leaves, chopped, a little at a time. That is the trick. Kale leaves blend easily if added to the liquid first, before other fruits and vegetables thicken the mix. Next I added, a little at a time: one banana, one seeded and chopped but not peeled apple, one chopped English cucumber, peel and all.

A breakfast shake can be anything. The more often you make one, the braver you will get. I love adding kale or spinach. Just looking at it makes me feel stronger. That dark green goodness, coursing through my body has me flexing my muscles like Popeye. The addition of all the fruit mutes the bitter of raw greens.

A heavy breakfast before a hike would not be a good thing. We were fortified, energized. As Samantha would say, "Whooo Hooo". It was a good start to a good day.