Kids Breakfast and Lunch Ideas 2016/17: Week 22

‘Make ahead chocolate covered banana breakfast smoothies are a wonderful on the go option for kids and adults alike!’

I feel so fortunate when I am able to share products with my readers that I truly & wholeheartedly believe in.  It’s a huge added bonus when it’s something I trust so much to give to my own children!  I’ve talked about how we use KidzShake protein in our home many times before, but for this particular sponsored ‘make ahead breakfast’ series installment it came in especially handy for us…

In the weeks immediately following my daughters autoimmune diagnoses, we went into a huge tail spin.  Looking back on the past few months it looks like a tornado blew through nearly each and every aspect of our lives’.  Between the blood tests, imaging, various scans, doctor appointment after doctor appointment, urgent care visits, AND desperately trying to emotionally cope with it all… things were a complete disaster around here.  I’m pretty sure there was at least an entire week thrown in that I was only able to cook dinner 1-2 times, lunches were solely made up of quick leftovers and whatever remnants we had laying around, and I was definitely reaching to get a healthy breakfast in everyone.

Luckily that period was short-lived and I knew it was time to get my act together.  I came up with the meal plan for the following weeks dinners, did a big grocery & Costco shop, prepped & stored the produce for the week, AND with the little bit of energy and time I had left at that point…. I even managed to come up with a lightening speed, delicious, and HEALTHY breakfast prep for Makena!

Whats’ EASIER than smoothies?

Not much if you ask me…

When it comes to needing something FAST for breakfast, smoothies are definitely the go to option amongst kids and adults alike.  You literally throw everything into a blender with some milk, juice, coconut water, or plain old water and you are off to the races (or school or work or the gym or wherever you need to go).  Fortunately Makena LOVES smoothies so this prep was a win-win for both of us.  It didn’t hurt my brain, took me no time at all, and she was a happy camper getting off to school each day.  What makes this the absolute ideal breakfast option is you can literally prep an entire week (or two or even three) in less than 10 minutes!

It’s wizardy if you ask me.

All you need to do is grab some zip lock storage bags and throw in everything you need.  Then these get tossed in the freezer and viola… nearly instant breakfast or snack ANYTIME you you need something FAST.  So for this particular week, Makena requested a classic banana & chocolate combo!    This is what I threw into each baggie for the 5 following days:

• 1/2 banana
• cacao powder (making it a bit darker with the cacao allows for better hiding of greens/spinach)
• KidzShake ‘chocolate‘ protein powder
• a few shakes of KidzShake probiotic & vitamin “sprinkles“

Normally I would also throw in some plain oats, but forgot!  Bags went right into the freezer for the week and they were out of sight, out of mind!  All lined up and ready to go though 🙂

Each morning all we had to do was throw the contents of the bag in the blender with a handful of spinach (optional, but why not sneak them in?!), add some milk, a touch of caramel extract, some ice, and her breakfast is served!  Since we do Makena’s injection treatments in the morning, it was nice during these beginning stages to not have to rush her eating.  If she wasn’t finished with her smoothie before we had to give her the medicine, she just took her cute little shaker cup in the car with her!

As I mentioned already, this particular smoothie happens to be Makena’s favorite flavor combo so even after the 5 days worth for the school week… she actually requested them over that weekend as well!  YES… more sleep on a saturday and sunday because I don’t have to “cook”?!  Yeah, I’ll take it!

Of course I had to make these a bit extra special for her though.  Since there was no rush with treatment or getting to school on time I dressed up her ‘chocolate covered banana’ smoothie just a bit.  Once the smoothie was made I added her favorite granola, a few chocolate chips, and a nice drizzle of some homemade coconut milk caramel sauce!

Seven days worth (or more) of make ahead breakfast done in under 10 minutes.  Not bad, not bad at all friends!  Filling, tasty, and my favorite HEALTHY option for those mornings and weeks where you can’t seem to catch a break!

Chocolate Covered Banana Caramel Smoothies

Print recipe

Ingredients

• 2/3 cups milk of choice
• 1 teaspoon caramel extract
• 1/3 cup MuscleEgg 'Chocolate Caramel' egg whites (or replace with more milk)
• 1 Small banana
• 1 scoop KidzShake chocolate protein powder
• handful of ice

Optional

• 1 handful spinach

Directions

Step 1
	Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and mix on high until smooth. Top with chocolate chips, granola, chia seeds, and a drizzle of sugar free caramel if desired.

Note

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: calories- 275, carbs- 27/fiber- 3 grams, protein- 34 grams