This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bolthouse Farms® Plant Protein Milk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Most of you won’t be surprised to hear that if I had to pick one favorite breakfast, it would probably be a smoothie or smoothie bowl. They always sound appetizing to me in the mornings…even in the colder months! I usually sit in front of my space heater while I’m having my smoothie and drink a hot cup of coffee with it.

In all of my years of smoothie making and eating, I’ve figured out quite a few tips and tricks for making them taste good and look appetizing. I’ve also discovered ways to give them a boost so that they a) take longer to eat and b) stick with me for a few hours. On the “take longer to eat” front, I get so sad when I make a delicious smoothie and it’s gone in under two minutes. Well, that pretty much applies to any food I eat. 🙂

Since we’re heading into the New Year when many are looking to “healthify” or lighten up their eats a bit, I wanted to share five ways you can add a boost to your smoothies to enhance the flavor, up the nutrition factor and give them staying power.

1. BOLTHOUSE FARMS® PLANT PROTEIN MILK

I recently purchased the Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk at my local Publix and WOW! It’s my new favorite non-dairy milk. It’s vegan, non-GMO, and does not contain dairy, lactose, nuts, soy and gluten.

The Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk contains 10 grams of pea protein per serving. Most almond milks only contain 1 gram! It’s also very creamy and doesn’t have that watered down consistency that other non-dairy milks often have. I tend to go for the unsweetened version of non-dairy milks because they are so versatile but the Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk is also available in Original, Vanilla and Chocolate.

It has 50% more calcium than dairy milk and the unsweetened version has zero grams of sugar! It even has 10 gram of protein per serving vs. the 1 gram found in almond milk. I picked mine up in the non-dairy section of the dairy aisle at Publix.

It’s been the perfect addition to my morning smoothies to give them more of a protein and nutritional punch!

2. RICED VEGGIES

While I’ve been putting spinach in my smoothies since they were called “green monsters” (remember that?), I’ve started mixing up my smoothie veggies. Thanks to all of the frozen riced vegetable options, you can get super creative. I also like frozen riced cauliflower, sweet potatoes and beets. I haven’t been brave enough to try riced broccoli yet. Haha. The benefit of riced cauliflower is that it doesn’t turn your smoothies brown like spinach tends to do. Call me crazy but I find smoothies much more appetizing and aesthetically pleasing when they are a pretty pink color like you see above.

3. TOPPINGS

Adding toppings is a great way to add some oomph to your smoothie. My favorite, as you all know, is granola…either homemade or store-bought. You will rarely find me without granola in my pantry. You can also add toppings like fruit, hemp hearts, chia seeds, coconut flakes and cacao nibs to name a few.

4. SUPPLEMENTS

Supplements are a simple way to get a lot of bang for your buck from your smoothie. I love collagen protein and a serving of collagen protein + a smoothie made with Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk can give you around 30 grams of protein! Pretty amazing. You can also do things like omega-3 oils, spirulina, matcha, bee pollen, cacao or dark cocoa powder, maca powder, camu camu, nutritional yeast, turmeric and cinnamon.

5. SUPERFOODS

There are so many options for superfoods that you can add to your smoothies to get a dose of things like antioxidants, vitamins and healthy fats. Here are some ideas: avocado, coconut oil, acai, goji berries, walnuts, cashews, almonds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, aloe vera, ginger and oats.

Also…it’s not a superfood but I highly recommend a BIG spoonful of nut butter in your smoothies. I seriously have a hard time drinking a smoothie that doesn’t have peanut butter or almond butter in it. I love it for the taste but also for the satiation factor. You also get a few more grams of protein out of it!

And most of you know this tip but my preferred method of sweetening my smoothie is using a pitted medjool date. They are super delicious in smoothies!

OH…one last thing. You can caffeinate your smoothies by adding a shot of espresso or some cold brew or leftover chilled coffee.

I hope this can be a helpful resource for adding some pizzaz to your smoothies…and that you give the Bolthouse Farms Plant Protein Milk a try. If you’re looking for more tips on how to make smoothies that look pretty (they have a tendency to get kind of grayish or brown) AND taste delicious, check out this post.

One request…please share your favorite smoothie ingredients, hacks, adds, etc. I am always looking for ways to switch it up!