Red, White, and Blue Protein Smoothie

Happy Memorial Day! Days like these tend to leave us craving for those celebration treats, but here I am to straighten you out! Just kidding. Of course, it's alright to treat yourself and it's never ok to deprive yourself of those yummy foods, but there can always be alternatives! So let's get to it. Today, I am giving you a mouth-watering smoothie that you won't even recognize is healthy!

Red, White, and Blue Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

- 6 strawberries (frozen)

- 1 banana (frozen and sliced)

- 3 tbs chia seeds

- 2 tbs hemp seeds

- 6oz or 3/4 cup milk (plant-based or dairy)

- 1/2 cup blueberries (frozen)

- 3 Medjool dates (pitted)

- 1 scoop protein powder (i used vanilla so there would be no effect on the color)

- 1/2 cup spinach          My Protein Powder

- organic food dye (OPTIONAL)

Tools:

- Blender

- Measuring cups

- Bowls (for prepping)

Steps:

1. Prep your ingredients. Starting with the WHITE layer, pour in 2oz of your milk, banana, dates, 1 tbs of chia seeds, 1 tbs of hemp seeds, 1/3 of your protein powder, and blend until smooth (about 2-5 minutes) To whiten, add white organic food dye

2. Pour roughly half of your mixture in your cup (If you are making multiple smoothies or cups, I recommend dividing each layer into bowls or large cups, and then assembling.) and add your strawberries, another tbs of chia seeds, the rest of your hemp seeds, another 1/3 of the protein powder, and 2 more oz. of milk. Blend until smooth (about 2-5 minutes) This is the RED layer so if you wish to enhance the redness of the strawberries, add some organic food dye.  (PSA. if you choose not to add the dye, the smoothie may appear more pink than red.)

3. Once again, pour approximately half your mixture in your cup (or assembling bowls). Combine the rest of the milk, blueberries, spinach, chia seeds, and protein powder. Blend until smooth. I recommend adding dye for this layer, as it tends to look a bit bland in color. Add smoothie into your cup/s! And Enjoy! 

*Notes

- I only added the dye to the blue layer of my smoothie because the other layers seemed good in color. I think the red layer could have done well with some because it was a little pinkish.

- If you add more milk, It tends to become runnier and blends with the other layers. So, I tried to reduce the amount of milk. For a thinker consistency and to avoid adding liquid, stop the blender every 30 seconds or so and mix with a spoon, then repeat. 

- The longer you blend, the smoother it will end up.