Nutritious Breakfast Option For Time-Crunched Days: Tropical Mango Smoothie

This shop, Nutritious Breakfast Options For Time-Crunched Days: Mango Smoothie, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #50YearsofBreakfast #CollectiveBias

Summer vacation is now here which means we have fewer mornings filled with chaos.

Frantic mornings with everyone in a rush seems to be the norm during the school year. 

Often times, having a nutritious breakfast seemed near impossible for my 6th grade son.

Many days he overslept leaving just enough time throw on clothes, use the bathroom and head out the door.  

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I am a firm believer in the age old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

How can you function at an optimal level with a growling stomach and a brain crying out for a dose of nutrition?

As a parent, I want my kids to be successful and having that nutritious breakfast is one way to help them get there.

Operating a small business from home means I don’t have the time or desire to be cooking a traditional breakfast with eggs, bacon, and pancakes or waffles for the boys. 

Sorry, no housewife of the 1950’s lives here.

Finding a Nutritious Breakfast Option

Even though it was the end of the school year, I decided to see if having Nestlé Carnation Breakfast Essentials Powder as a quick breakfast option would make a difference.  

This product celebrated50 Years of Breakfast Across America and I have relatives that use it daily.

The regular powder adds 5 grams of protein to a cup of milk. They also have other options with a higher protein count.

The protein will help satiate them for longer than a breakfast of simple carbohydrates. It can mean more ‘brain power’ in the classroom.

While drinking Nestlé Carnation Breakfast Essentials Powder mixed with a cup of milk is tasty enough, I find that a little variety can make a world of difference. 

Making sure the boys are getting enough fruits and vegetables in their diet can be a challenge at times. Thus began my quest for what additions would work well with the different flavors we had on hand.

Customizing Your Nutritious Breakfast ~ Tropical Mango Smoothie

Using the Vanilla flavor of Nestlé Carnation Breakfast Essentials Powder as a base, I opted to use frozen mangos to change things up a bit. 

Out of curiosity, we tried the same thing with the Rich Chocolate flavor, and it is also quite tasty!

Making a Tropical-Inspired Breakfast Smoothie requires the use of a good blender and a few minutes of your time.

Start by mixing your Nestlé Carnation Breakfast Essentials Powder with unsweetened almond milk or water. 

Using water alone is fine, but the bit of almond milk helps to thicken up the smoothie.

My personal preference is for almond milk that has vanilla added already.  If you have plain almond milk, then just add about a splash of vanilla to it at this time. 

Oat milk is my second preference. I’ve made it from scratch when I have run out of the house and need some quickly.

What is key is using unsweetened (or making your own without any added sugars) to keep the total sugar count low enough for the breakfast to remain healthy. 

Once the powder is fully incorporated, add the frozen mangoes.

Start on a low speed to get started and then crank it up to a high setting. 

Our blender has a smoothie option that I used for making this. (The newer Vitamix blenders don’t. But, I’ve used this classic one as well.)

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If you want a smoothie that borders on a soft-serve consistency, just add a few ice cubes while blending.  Doing this will dilute the mango taste.

I liked adding not quite a drop of orange essential oil to heighten the tropical flavor. (Just dip a toothpick in the oil and then swish it in your smoothie before blending.)

And, if you love a coconut twist, then add a little extra virgin coconut oil (with chunks of coconut shavings in the oil) to boost the healthy fats and expand upon the tropical flavor.

I found that it DID make it easier to ensure he had a good dose of nutrition before entering the classroom.

There were no complaints about how long it took to mix up a package into a cup of milk and then drink it.

Plus, it could be taken in the car (using a closed lid and straw to minimize messes) if time was super crunched.

With all the time saved during the morning rush, we now have more time to enjoy our breakfast as a family. 

Well, minus my husband who leaves super early for work and the teens who seem to rise later and later each morning.

Longer days in Alaska at this time of year means it is even warm enough to enjoy breakfast on the deck!

Plus, I think we’ll be packing a box (or two) of Nestlé Carnation Breakfast Essentials Powder when we go RVing this summer.

They take up little room. And, it will let us get out and enjoy the journey quickly each morning.

Have you tried Nestlé Carnation Breakfast Essentials Powder to make your morning routine quicker?
Would you enjoy this mango smoothie or use different additions to the mix?

More Breakfast Ideas to Make

Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Bowls
Pomegranate Oatmeal
Broccoli, Potato and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
Southwestern Breakfast Casserole
Homemade Sausage Patties
Apple Pie Pastries
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins