Smoothie Recipe Keeps the Hudson Valley’s Earliest Riser Moving

It's not easy being so energetic at the crack of dawn, especially without the aid of caffeine. I give most of the credit to a quick and healthy smoothie recipe I discovered.

My very first Hudson Valley morning radio show was in 1995. Since then, I've been lucky enough to work at my dream job for thirty years. While I wouldn't trade it for anything, I'll admit that getting up so early for over half of my life has been a huge challenge. When you host a morning drive radio show you not only have to deal with a lack of sleep but also the task of appearing awake, alert and energetic at an ungodly hour of the day.

For the first decade of my career, I relied on massive amounts of coffee to get me going. What I soon discovered was that I required higher and higher amounts of caffeine in order to reach the same level of alertness. Eventually, the super high-test blend I had graduated to just made me nervous and shaky. I was even more tired, unable to nap or relax throughout the rest of the day.

I eventually decided to wean myself off caffeine completely and use diet and exercise to boost my energy levels. After lots of trial and error, I found just the right balance that allowed me to wake up without ever hitting snooze and have all the energy I needed to get through the early morning hours with enough left over to enjoy the rest of the day.

The Ultimate Early-Riser Smoothie

Two years ago I received a Nutribullet blender for Christmas. Little did I know that this was just the breakthrough I was looking for to give me that early morning energy boost. Before I got the blender I would have to bring a banana, yogurt, a granola bar and other foods to work every morning. Trying to consume all of these items while hosting a live radio show was difficult and a bit messy. I found that I would get too busy to eat most of it, which left me sluggish and tired by the end of the show.

The blender allows me to combine all of these foods into a drink that I can simply sip at my convenience. Now that I've streamlined my breakfast and snacks, I'm rarely hungry or tired throughout the entire day. The smoothie recipe I found that works the best for me includes vegetables, fruit, protein and grains and it tastes delicious.

I call it my PB&J smoothie because the combination of peanut butter powder and frozen fruit stands out, masking some of the other ingredients like spinach and oatmeal.

Boris' Morning PB&J Smoothie Recipe

• Spinach, Kale or a Blend of Greens
• Banana
• Plain Low-Fat Greek Yogurt
• Frozen Cherries and Frozen Dragon Fruit
• Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Uncooked Quick Oats
• Peanut Butter Powder

I start with a fistful of spinach, kale or a blend of healthy greens, whatever is freshest at the market that week. After that, I put a broken-up banana in the blender and top it with a few tablespoons of plain low-fat Greek yogurt. Then, I add four or five frozen cherries and maybe a quarter-cup of frozen dragonfruit. The dragonfruit is mostly used for color, as the spinach and cherries will combine to make an ugly grey color that looks like cement. You can also use beets to give the smoothie a nice pink color.

After the fruit is added, I fill up the cup to the fill line with unsweetened almond milk and then top the whole mixture with a few scoops of uncooked oatmeal and a tablespoon of peanut butter powder before blending it up.

I've been drinking variations of this smoothie for two years and can't get enough of it. Not only is it incredibly delicious, it's got all of the vitamins and energy I need to make it through seven busy hours until lunch rolls around.

Here are some other healthy ideas that may inspire your early morning meal routine.