0 a week of smoothies: the alpro AM challenge

This week I'm taking part in Alpro's ‘Almond Mornings’ Campaign, which is all about encouraging people to start their day with a healthy and delicious breakfast over the winter months. As part of the campaign, they're running a seven-day Alpro AM Challenge (#AlproAM on Twitter), which involves coming up with seven delicious smoothies using their unsweetened almond milk. I will be blogging my favourite recipes this week and today I’m kick-starting the campaign with what I call my Go To Smoothie - so called because it's easy to make at 6:30am when I need to run out the door to get my train!

To give you a bit more information* on unsweetened almond milk, it:

• Contains just 26 calories per 200ml serving
• Tastes absolutely divine
• Is plant based and dairy free, making it ideal for vegans and those with lactose intolerances
• Contains vitamins B2, B12, D and E as well as calcium (a 200ml serving provides 30 per cent of your RDA)
• Is free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, which is always a bonus :)

The only slight downside to almond milk, and other non-dairy milks in general, is that in comparison to cow’s milk they are lower in protein....but if you’re getting enough protein from elsewhere in your diet (like lentils, yoghurt, quinoa, nuts) then this shouldn’t be an issue.

* nutritional info from dietician Nichola Whitehead of Nic's Nutrition - check her out!

Here's the Go To smoothie! This is my absolute favourite smoothie at the moment - low in sugar and high in all the good stuff, and easy to make while half asleep and then to transport on one's commute :)


Go To Smoothie
Makes 1 pint

1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 large handful of baby spinach
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or a little more if you like cinnamon)
1 scoop protein powder or chia seeds (optional)
1 2/3 cups Alpro unsweetened almond milk

Place all ingredients in a blender and blitz until thoroughly combined. Drink and enjoy!