Fueling My Morning Routine (+ a Giveaway from Naked Juice!)

As my regular readers know, I make an attempt to eat in a way that is healthy and balanced. I'm a big fan of plant-based foods, and I'm huge on smoothies. For a long time, I was making smoothies and/or juices every single morning. But then my baby became a toddler - which was accompanied by things like major breakfast messes, drawn out processes of pretty much everything (getting yourself and a 1.5 year old dressed in an efficient manner is near impossible), and morning lessons and play dates, all while trying to start my work day at a somewhat productive hour. Suddenly the prep time and subsequent clean up process that accompanied making daily smoothies felt like a hassle, and it fell to the bottom of my morning priority list. Before I knew it, I was only making them once or twice a week, and could usually be found cramming a piece of toast (more often that not, burnt) or a granola bar into my mouth as I quickly guzzled a cup of coffee.

I realized after a few weeks of this that I needed to find a healthier way to fuel my morning routine on days that I couldn't commit to making smoothies or juices from scratch. At first, I tried making them the night before, but the consistency was often pretty unpleasant by morning. I also have a lot to cram into nights once the kid is asleep, and again, I watched the smoothie making fall to the bottom of the list. So I decided to go another route. I'd been a fan of Naked Juice (fresh juice blends of fruits and veggies with zero added sugars or preservatives) for years but hadn't had one in a while, and when I heard about their newest juices, I decided to give them a try. I mean, you can't get much more convenient than grabbing a bottle full of already prepared fruits, vegetables, and other healthy plant-based ingredients, and drinking as you go about your business, right?

It turns out that I made the the right move. You can now find a bottle of Berry Almond Nutmilk, Kale Blazer, or Chia Cherry Lime (or all three of them) in my fridge at all times. They are perfect for me on the days that I'm not able to make my own smoothies, not only because they're major time savers, but because they're packed full of ingredients that give me energy. They're also all vegan and gluten-free. And they taste really, really good. Berry Almond Nutmilk is just like a dairy-free milkshake-style smoothie (with 11 grams of protein!). Each bottle contains 26 blueberries, 8 blackberries, 2 raspberries, 1 strawberry, 24 almonds, 1 3/4 apples and 1/3 banana! Kale Blazer is the perfect blend of greens: almost 6 kale leaves, 15 spinach leaves, cucumber, celery, oranges and apple with a hint of ginger and lemon. It's 100% juice (and an excellent source of potassium and vitamins A and C). Chia Cherry Lime is super fruity and perfectly sweet, with 10,000 mg of chia seeds, 10 1/3 cherries, 3 2/3 apples, lime and plum. (In addition to being a great source of potassium, I love this one for its chia seeds - which provide Omega-3s, fiber, calcium, iron and some super-powered pep for when daily crunch time comes around.) I grab a bottle and sip it during our morning activities around the house, or bring a bottle with me on morning power walks or errands.

If you're like me and, despite busy, rushed mornings, feel that it's important to incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet - but don't always have the time to chop, slice, cook, or blend - I recommend giving Naked Juice a try. They're so good you guys. And they've been around in 1983, with a commitment to creating nutritional beverages packed full of as much of Mother Nature’s bounty as possible into every bottle. Their newest products (including the three I mentioned above plus Bright Beets, Chia Sweet Peach, and Proteins & Greens, and Kale Blazer) offer a delicious blend of fruits and vegetables and pack a nutritional punch.

And now for the best part: Naked is giving one lucky Bubby and Bean reader six bottles of Naked Juice of your choice! To enter, just use the form below. Giveaway runs through July 7th. Winner will be randomly chosen shortly after and announced here on the blog, then send six vouchers. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you ever tried Naked Juice? How do you fuel your morning routine?

Thank you for supporting Bubby and Bean by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

ALSO FIND US HERE: BLOGLOVIN' // INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST