My Acai Protein Smoothie Recipe

A few years ago, smoothies became the snack du jour. They were touted as diet food (meal replacements) and soon smoothie shops started popping up everywhere. We were paying $5 and $6 for fruit blended together. And ultimately all we did was increase our sugar intake.After a few studies regarding the myths and facts about smoothies, we got smart! The public demanded that smoothie shops add veggies, yogurt and/or protein to the mix. Home electronic companies jumped on the bandwagon and started marketing "smoothie makers". So now everyone has a bullet or ninja at home to make their own.I don't have either of those, but my blender is no slouch! And I make some amazing smoothies with it.

Remember: when it comes to cooking, its not all about the tool-- its about the ingredients.Anyway, I call smoothies my frenemy because they are so yummy (friend), but so sugary (enemy). So I like all frenemies, I take them in small small doses. And what do I put in mine? Seriously only a handful of quality ingredients. And NO ice.

The DineWithDani Acai Protein Smoothie/Vitamina

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt (flavored yogurt has too much sugar and the texture ruins the smoothie)

• 1 pack of Sambazon Acai puree (it says sweetened, but its really not sweet- and if you have another brand-- it'll work)

• 1 frozen banana (when bananas are on the way to being overly ripe, I peel them and freeze them in a ziplock bag for smoothies at a later date)

• 0.5 cup of almond milk (you can use cashew milk, skim milk, lactaid or whatever you have)

• 1tbsp of honey (I choose raw honey and honestly it isn't just for sweetness, it really affects the texture of your smoothie)

• optional: one serving of protein powderoptional: two large kale leaf OR one extra-large collard green leaf (cleaned)

Extra Tips

• I find that ice waters down the flavor.

• If you aren't concerned about sugar intake, go ahead and add frozen blueberries and strawberries. OH MAN! So yummy.

• Vitamina is what they call smoothies in Brazil.

• If you don't use frozen ingredients it won't stay cold.

• Acai is expensive but super high in antioxidants. But honestly, frozen blueberries is probably a healthier and cheaper option, also with great antioxidants.

• Some people don't like bananas, but it won't have a super banana-ish flavor if you use a fruit like acai with strong flavor.

• Doubling your protein powder will only make the smoothie taste chalky. Use no more than 50% more protein powder.

• Using more than one large collard green leaf will make your smoothie have big green specks and a grassy flavor on the back end.