I know many of you probably read the title of this post and thought, “Coffee?? She hates coffee…”. And that’s true. I’m not a coffee drinker, but several years ago (9 to be exact..I’m getting old! haha) when I started college I started drinking diet Coke. I would drink one or two a day – mostly in the afternoon. It helped me focus and gave me some energy for studying. No big deal. Then I started medical school. My diet Coke intake increased, but I was still only drinking two or three a day – mostly in the afternoons. I was still drinking plenty of water, so no big deal. Then I started residency and my diet Coke consumption skyrocketed! I was drinking more diet Coke than anything else and I knew it was time for a change. So, I decided to quit drinking diet Coke. I knew I couldn’t quit cold turkey without getting some serious caffeine withdrawal, so I’ve been gradually weaning down. I’ve never been a coffee drinker (and I don’t really want to trade one addiction for another), but I’ve been trying to experiment some with alternate caffeine sources. At least coffee is a little more natural than diet Coke with all it’s added chemicals, right? I’m still not much of a coffee fan, but when mixed with milk, frozen banana, vanilla, and protein powder it’s not bad! I suspect all you coffee lovers out there will go wild over this smoothie! =) Enjoy!
Coffee Smoothie
1 frozen banana
140 g crushed ice (~1 cup)
1/2 cup cold coffee (I used 1/2 cup water + 1 tsp instant coffee)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 scoop vanilla chai protein powder (I use Fitmiss Delight)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Combine ingredients in blender and process until smooth and creamy, about a minute.
