Mornings....

Mornings.....ugh.  That's how I feel every morning.  I really wish I was an early riser and a go getter before 10:00 am.  I have to be at work at 8:30 every day and you would think after years and years I would be used to it.  If my husband and I have to get up at the same time we mainly just grunt like cave people at each other until we have both showered and are ready to walk out the door.

I've never been a huge breakfast person.  I'm never really hungry early and I'm frankly pushing myself out the door so I don't have time to make anything.  I also do not drink coffee.  I've never liked the taste of it and it doesn't matter how much "mocha vanilla caramel white chocolate frappe" junk you put in it I still think it tastes like plain coffee and it grosses me out.  Well since I'm not a morning person, I don't eat breakfast, and I don't drink coffee, how in the hell am I supposed to wake up? 

I have found my morning meal substitute that actually wakes me up (mainly because of the noise from my Magic Bullet), gives me energy, and helps me avoid Hangry Liz coming around at work around 11:00.

Here it is!  All these ingredients go together to make a yummy chocolate shake/smoothie that is full of good stuff!  My BFF turned me on to this Lean Shake and she swears by it so you know you have to trust your bestie!  This GNC Lean Shake I bought at Rite Aid for $35.  You can use this stuff as directed (2 scoops with milk or water in a shaker) or you can add ingredients and ice to it to make a smoothie.  I like to bulk it up to keep me full longer and to give some extra vitamins.  I put one scoop of Lean Shake, about a 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup milk, and then whatever fruit and veggies I want to add in to my Magic Bullet cup and blend.  Once that is all mixed together I add about 5 ice cubes and blend again to break up all the ice and make it smoothie texture. 

I like to mix up my flavors so todays choice was 2 strawberries and 1/2 of a banana.  I try to throw in a handful of spinach when I have it available (no taste and chocked full of vitamins!) but right now I'm out.  Yesterday I did 1/2 a banana and a scoop of PB2.  If you don't know what PB2 is you are missing out!  PB2 is a powdered peanut butter.  You add water to it and it makes a yummy peanut butter with like half the calories as the regular stuff.  I bought mine at Kroger on sale for $3. I'm not a huge peanut butter person but I like the fact that I have an alternative that has less calories.

So there you have it! This is my morning go to!  I have started cutting up my strawberries and bagging them so in the morning I just grab a bag and dump them in my Magic Bullet.  The easier things are in the morning the more likely my cranky self is going to actually do them.

Here is a link for the GNC Lean Shake on Amazon. 

http://www.amazon.com/GNC-Total-Shake-Chocolate-Pound/dp/B00C9F81OQ

There are a bunch of flavors available so I'm anxious to try a few more.  Rite Aid has chocolate and vanilla but the GNC stores tend to have more flavors available in house.

And just for fun here is a link to PB2 if you aren't familiar with it!

http://www.amazon.com/Plantation-PB2-Powdered-Premium-Chocolate/dp/B0098WV8F2/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1424921956&sr=1-1&keywords=PB2

Like I said I like to change things up so I'm sure I will come back to this topic with different reviews and recipes for these shakes.  If you have any suggestions or have something you like using in your smoothies please feel free to leave a comment!