Yogurt Vanilla Velvet Smoothie

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

I've been away for far too long! Life took over for some weeks, and things got really hectic. What with school, and work, and just being 24, I found myself at an inspirational dead end. I had been having a rough time even in the kitchen. Things weren't even working out there! Cookies were being burnt, cakes were coming out gummy, even frying an egg became a mission. I was even struggling with starting and fulfilling my resolutions for the new year, until just one day I woke up with a bigger and brighter perspective on everything and realized I can't let life bog me down. I need to take things one day at a time, sort everything out, and focus on really living my life. Just like many of us out there, one of my issues has always been being healthy and, you know, the whole weight struggle. I figured, why not make 2014 the year I actually do something about it instead of just complaining? I'm not saying I'll be undertaking any crazy strict diet, but I'll definitely start incorporating fruits and vegetables in my daily meals, as well as sneaking in a yummy bite of cake or a cookie every once in a while. To start achieving my goal, I bought a smoothie book and decided to make myself a smoothie every day for breakfast. Seems like a good step forward, right? This smoothie in today's post was a great way to start off my personal challenge. Because of the Greek yogurt in it, it turned out a little thick so it ended up being more of a yogurt instead of a smoothie, but the combination of the honey and lemon juice added a great burst of flavor to this morning routine. If you want to ease yourself into the world of smoothies and juices, this would be a great first choice to go with. Also, this smoothie is gluten-free (a plus for most) if you use the brands featured in the picture below! For those of you who follow a vegan way of life or just choose to go with non-dairy options, feel free to use any kind of yogurt replacement you'd like such as pureed silken tofu or dairy-free yogurt.

Yogurt Vanilla Velvet Smoothie
adapted from: Smoothies! by Stella Murphy

*makes: 1 smoothie*

"Smooth and satisfying."

Ingredients:
7 oz all natural nonfat Greek strained yogurt
1 tsp "Crush" pure vanilla bean extract
1 tbsp clover honey
juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:
1) Place all of the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
2) Pour into a glass and serve chilled.