I DON’T MEAN TO BRAG BUT…I MAKE A MEAN SMOOTHIE

Hi! Hello! For the last two weeks I took a little ME time but I can assure you my blog schedule is back in action starting today.

I have spent the last two weeks reading A LOT! Whenever I take time for myself, I find my nose in a book a la Icabod Craine. Some of the books I’ve been reading are Ryan Holiday’s latest Perennial Seller: THE ART OF MAKING AND MARKETING WORK THAT LASTS, Megyn Kelly’s Settle For More ( HIGHLY RECOMMEND, especially if you’re in the business world ), The French Beauty Solution, & Not Fade Away ( very sad, but very full of depth ). I feel like another TSC Book Club post is in the near future.

As you know we have been in France for a while- it’s truly such a magical little town we are staying in- I cannot say enough good things about St. Tropez. There’s something extremely therapeutic about coming here & working from France. To have absolutely no distraction. Let me give you an example: when I’m working from home I’m typically simutaniously doing dishes, laundry, tending to the dogs, cleaning the house, listening to a podcast, on a conference call, while responding to emails, DM’s, Snaps, Skypes, etc.

When I’m out here, I’m simply writing & e-mailing. No calls, no cleaning, no house distractions, no people. For me, no distractions allows me to work on my business, not in my business.

Well, that’s nice & all but that’s not why you’re here.

You’re here because of THE FAB FOUR SMOOTHIE!

If you have not listened to the podcast episode with Be Well By Kelly, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO. Nothing to do with me- it’s just a super informative episode with Kelly’s knowledge. She really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to health & wellness. The conversation flowed & I found myself actually going back to the podcast to take notes. So definitely listen.

From that podcast there were numerous questions in regards to her famous FAB FOUR SMOOTHIE.

Wait, what is the fab four smoothie?

Ok so the fab four smoothie is simple really: fiber, greens, protein, & healthy fat.

Easy.

Everyone can count to four & each morning this little concoction will fill you up! For hours! No I mean hours though! Like 4 to 6 hours, you’ll feel full & satiated. What a winning combo.

I mean no one likes the feeling of hunger. We all know there’s nothing worse than the clock hitting noon & you’re absolutely STARVING. Your blood sugar drops & you’ll pretty much eat anything. I’ve been there, you’ve been there, we’ve all been there.

As I’ve said many times about many areas ( beauty, anxiety, relationships, FOOD ): PREVENTION IS KEY!

IT’S  SOOOO KEY GUYS!

Prevent the problem before it happens.

I try to do this in all areas of my life.

Wrinkles? I’m pro-active about them everyday. I pay attention to my skin more than Michael. HA.

Anxiety? Tim Ferriss once said he combats anxiety with preventative measures to never get to a space where he feels super anxious. I do this by practicing yoga, working out, eating my greens, writing, reading, & communicating.

Relationships? Got a problem? Don’t wait for it to blow up in your face. Address it head-on like the badass that you are.

Oh! And FOOD. Prevent starvation from ever occurring again by choosing the right way to start your day & stuffing your handbag full of snacks. I just bought these chocolate bars for travel & I love them when I’m in a pinch. Also raw almonds, a banana, & veggies with hummus are always in my travel carry-on. So simple.

Without prevention you wait until the problem arises & actually make it ten times harder on yourself in the end.

Like why go through the asshole to get to the brain? I prefer to go straight to the brain, ya know? Nip that shit in the bud before it becomes an issue.

Ok so let’s discuss why we are here! For the smoothie.

To preface this video, I want you to know I am NOT A CHEF. I have NEVER BEEN A CHEF. Maybe one day when I have kids I’ll get Michael cooking classes so he can be a chef!

I’ll NEVER forget being in New York City with Skinnygirl.

Skinnygirl took about 10 bloggers from around the world on a trip to NYC. During the trip we all were able to attend a cooking class. This would give us a chance to cook food & match it with Bethanny’s different liquor choices. All of the bloggers were mommy bloggers or cooking bloggers with extraordinary cooking techniques. They must have assumed I was too because I frequently share recipes on the blog & in my book. HAAAAAAA. Little did they know I play up my strengths & don’t pay much attention to my weaknesses. & my strength is 5 second meals to stuff in your handbag.

Luckily I was seated next to a very cool COOK.

Ms. Gaby Dalkin from What’s Gaby Cookin.

Gaby & I became fast friends the second she saw I had no clue how to chop an onion.

Everyone was around us sautéeing, making fresh pasta, chopping garlic, whipping together soufflé…& there I was like crying from chopping my onion the wrong way. No, not like crying because of my inadequacies in the kitchen, silly. Crying because well, it was an onion.

Gaby helped me cut my onion into these beautiful tiny pieces & I pretended to sprinkle this or that while sipping a Skinnygirl margarita & popping cloves of garlic in my mouth ( who cuts garlic? NOT ME!! I like pre-cut or I just use the whole clove! LOL ).

If it were up to me, I would have thrown a badly chopped onion into the pan with avocado oil & some pasta sauce with a little basil & chili flake.

I’m easy like that.

No fuss in the kitchen.

( MY POOR HUSBAND ).

But really, as you know TSC Meal Plan is all 5 second recipes for the girl on the go. If you read TSC Book, it’s filled with recipes that are quick, easy, & efficient. I’m always running late & I’m known to over-commit so my food choices reflect that.

Which is why I’ve decided to start a little series called: I DON’T MEAN TO BRAG BUT…

All of these will be my five-star, PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED recipes made by me, Chef Lauryn.

Usually they will contain under 5 ingredients. Maybe 6 or 7 if I’m feeling over zealous.

Typically lemon will be involved.

Now, I don’t want to make anyone jealous of my kitchen skills. So I apologize in advance if my extremely high-class chef experience makes me you uncomfortable:

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As you can see, I can’t help myself. I’m just that good in the kitchen- intimidating, really.

Here’s the recipe breakdown ( you should know that this is not measured to a T, I haven’t really used a measuring cup since 2001 ):

THE SKINNY CONFIDENTIAL Michelin STAR SMOOTHIE

+ Moon Juice dark chocolate protein
+ 2 heaping tablespoons of magic seeds AKA flax, chia, hemp
+ 1 tablespoon ( or 2 ) of raw almond butter
+ handful(s) of organic greens
+ LOTS of ice & 1 cup-ish of water
+ Optional: probiotics &/or pearl

♡ Directions: combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender. Pour into your mason jar as you’re running out the door with a silicone straw and you’re good to go.

Always optional: powders- I love mixing in maca, probiotics, & pearl. Sometimes I’ll do ashwangada or goji berry powder too. You could even sprinkle bee pollen on top or add some royal bee jelly.

Like we’ve discussed, I like to keep it gangster.

We can break down each ingredient too if you want? For protein powder, I love this one & also Moon Juice is delicious. Different strokes for different folks here. Some people don’t like the Stevia in Moon Juice- I don’t mind it at all. If you hate Stevia, stick with this protein powder. When it comes to protein powders, I’m not a whey or soy fan- blah! You can do vanilla protein powder too if you want for the recipe.

Greens you can get crazy here! STUFF THEM IN THERE. STUFFITY, STUFF. Don’t be a snob with the amounts, get as much as you can get in there! When you pick them, go for the organic medley. They have one at Trader Joe’s & Whole Foods.

Magic seeds are always out in an accessible area of my kitchen. I use them in oatmeal, smoothies, on salads- hemp is full of protein, did you know?! I love chia & flaxseeds too. I mix them all together & have a huge bowl on near my tea holder.

For your healthy fat- you can mix this up. I prefer raw almond butter. Here’s why: coconut oil has felt too heavy for me in the morning. If you’re going for coconut oil make sure it’s raw, unrefined, non-GMO like this one. MCT Oil is a healthy fat too but I found it makes my stomach turn, it doesn’t sit right for me in a smoothie. So I like a big-ass scoop of raw almond butter. The kind I like is from Trader Joe’s & has ONE ingredient: raw almonds. I stopped with peanuts/peanut powder because it’s known to cause acne. Always learning as I go!

If you have to do fruit, Kelly says to do 1/4 cup only to not spike your blood sugar. I’m not fussy on fruit- I can live without it in my smoothie, I’d rather have watermelon slices than fruit in my smoothie…always balancing that diet like a checkbook!

I like my smoothies in this BPA-free ELLO cup ( Jessica Alba’s cup of choice…& they just made it in hot pink! ) or a LARGE traditional Mason Jar with a lid. Remember we talked about lids. Of course, I am well aware a whole blog post on lids is overkill but you know I can’t help myself. A lid is necessary because you don’t want to be like me & spill green smoothie all over your car. Trust me on the lid thing, I’ve spilled about 50403 times & a lid is needed. Plus if you don’t want to drink the whole thing at once, with a lid you can save some for later. The straw is important too- no one wants to sip a thick smoothie out of some limp-dicked straw. I like a thick silicone straw. Some of you have asked how I clean the straw, I just use a straw cleaner. Easy.

With that, make sure you’re subscribed to TSC YouTube Channel because after this trip I’ve decided I’m upping my video game. I feel like video is where it’s at.

Smoothie suggestions? Would love to hear all of them! Please share- I always love learning from you guys. Let me know how you like this smoothie ( for the record, Arielle DID say it looked gross at first but admitted it was actually really good! ).

Cheers, lauryn x

+ listen to the podcast with Be Well By Kelly- she goes in depth about the science behind this smoothie PLUS there’s more smoothie recipes for you here.

+ in the video: similar top | striped straws

{ photos | video }

SMOOTHIE INGREDIENTS