Eat more flax

This blueberry flaxseed smoothie has been mine and Anouk's go-to breakfast pretty much every day for the past few weeks. If you had told me a while ago that one day soon my preferred breakfast would have included something like flax, I would have made this face at you. But it turns out flax is delicious! And also one of the best things you can eat, healthfully speaking.

Studies have shown that flaxseed can lower bad cholesterol levels, prevent heart disease and diabetes, and even inhibit tumor growth. Most things I've read recommend stirring it into things like oatmeal or yogurt, but A. doesn't eat either of those things, and while it's fun to bake with, I don't always have time to devote to baking on a regular basis. After some tinkering, we devised a smoothie recipe that gives us our daily dose of flax and is addictingly delicious to boot.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 scoop of vanilla whey protein (optional)

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Pour into glass. Serve with a straw (it's better that way).

This is a really dense smoothie, so you might want to add more water or coconut milk if you find it's too thick.

The taste really is a lot like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and who doesn't like that? We've subbed almond butter for the peanut, and while it's fine, it just doesn't have the same deliciousness. I'm not going to lie, this smoothie is so good that it gets me out of bed in the morning faster than the thought of a cup of coffee.

For Anouk's part, at first, she balked at the grittiness of the flaxseed, but then we upped the amount of berries, which helps mask it, and now it goes down fine. A whole smoothie is a lot for a little kid to drink at once, so I usually give Anouk just half, with a hardboiled egg or two, and then she's set until snacktime.

Happy Monday!