#SRC ~ Green Tea Protein Smoothie

Welcome back to another wonderful Secret Recipe Club reveal day! Today I am joining group B for a special reveal day for me (since I typically post with group D, but volunteered to help out for a group B "orphan" this month) sharing Renee's Blog "Renee's Kitchen Adventures" with you.

I hope you will take a moment to visit the  Secret Recipe Club if you've never heard of it before - it is a wonderful group of bloggers who are given a "secret" assignment of another member's blog each month and our goal is to pick ANYTHING from their blog to make and post about on our designated reveal day! I have been a part of SRC for quite awhile now (see my first post from 2/25/2013 here) and LOVE the opportunity to get to know another blogger a little better each month by spending time perusing their blog, reading through their recipes and posts, and finding something perfect for my family from what they've shared.

As I was browsing Renee's amazing Recipe Index, these are some of the goodies I earmarked: Creamy Ranch Buffalo Chicken Dip, Corn Dog Mini Muffins, Heavenly Deviled Eggs, Smokehouse Burgers, Lightened Up Corn Beef Hash, Green Tea Protein Smoothie (I just got matcha powder and am enjoying experimenting with it!), Skinny Peppermint Mocha, Blueberry Buttermilk Scones, The Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make, Amazing Buttermilk Pancakes, Stuffed Turkey Meatballs, Saucy Chicken Stir Fry, Nutella Brownies, and Triple Chocolate Snack Cake!

I decided to go with Renee's Green Tea Protein Smoothie - I have been eating a lot of Luna bars for breakfast lately (I leave for work at 6:30am, so eat breakfast at work, or on the way), and I just get tired of them! My son has been on a smoothie kick for breakfast lately, and I'm really proud of him! He's getting invaluable nutrition in (we had some of the super nutrient dense chocolate Shakeology powder in the pantry, and he's been mixing that up with some milk, peanut butter, and a banana every morning). So, inspired by my kiddo I decided to give this one a whirl in the Vitamix!

I recently received a package of matcha green tea powder from Organic Culinary Matcha and was excited to use it in this recipe - matcha green tea powder is a nutritional powerhouse, improving your energy, memory, and focus (all things I seriously need lately).  Matcha has an organic amino acid called L-Theanine which enhances mental clarity and focus for up to 6 hours. USDA Organic Matcha green tea powder has over 1300 antioxidants in it, which is 137 times more antioxidants than traditional brewed green tea! This stuff is packed full of crazy good stuff for you. Matcha is easy to incorporate into everything from beverages (like this delicious smoothie) to baked goods (see my yummy green tea cupcakes here).

My son and I definitely enjoyed this version of a green tea smoothie - I enjoyed the smooth combination of the vanilla protein powder with the banana. It was delicious, refreshing, and energizing too!

Green Tea Protein Smoothie slightly adapted from Renee's Kitchen Adventures

Ingredients
1 cup low-fat milk

1/2 scoop vanilla flavored whey protein powder

1 medium banana, cut into chunks

1 tsp sweetener (Stevia, sugar, honey, etc.)

1 tsp matcha green tea powder (I used Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder Extract from Organic Culinary Matcha)

ice (a handful, more until you reach desired consistency)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend on high until smooth and creamy, add additional ice if necessary to reach desired consistency.

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*Full Disclosure: I received complimentary product from Organic Culinary Matcha for the purpose of review. I received no compensation for this post. All comments are 100% accurate and 100% my own. 

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