The Supaaaaa Spartaaaan Smoothiiiie!

Serves 1

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Image credit: mjdelights.in

This delicious smoothie recipe is great for breakfast or pre/post workout. Right now you may be thinking - 'What's up with that title and what's so spartan about a smoothie?'  First, the recipe, then I'll give you the story behind it :)

Ingredients*:

- 1/2 cup mixed dried porridge oats and muesli**

- 1 banana

- 2 Tbsp soy yogurt

- 1/2 cup Almond or rice milk (use more or less depending on the consistency you want)

- 3 pitted dates, chopped

- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1 teaspoon of non-sweetened peanut butter

* This is the simple version, feel free to play around with this recipe and throw in frozen berries, vanilla and whatever sparks your fancy and is lying around the kitchen!

** I use gluten free porridge oats and love Alara Organic Goji Berries and Cranberries muesli.

Directions
To make it even yummier you can toast the oats/muesli and the banana lightly in a frying pan, blend the rest, then add and blend again. 

The Story behind the recipe

So back to why it's called the Spartan Smoothie! The Spartan workout (actually it is called the Spartacus workout, see link at bottom of this post) is this circuit-based workout that the Spartacus tv show cast did to prep for their show (this is what my boyfriend tells me - I've never watched this show, preferring Mad Men, Glee and Game of Thrones.. anywayyys) this is a workout that you can do without any weights and as my bf and I have worked a lot abroad as aid workers in very remote places where high levels of insecurity and being in the middle of absolutely nowhere have meant that you have no access to a gym or anywhere to jog. So we would do these ridiculous but fun spartan workouts (resulting in our colleagues wondering why on earth the Canadian and British weirdos were jumping up and down and doing press ups in 40° celsius.. they had a point). Do not lose hope, I am slowly but surely getting to the point of this smoothie-story. 

Being in the middle of nowhere and with nothing to eat but plain rice and on good days perhaps some beans (imagine my unhappiness) I would frequently day dream about the amazing pre/post workout smoothie I would have if I could. Vivid food fantasies tend to occur on a frequent basis when working in remote locations in countries such as South Sudan and Liberia - where typical meal usually consists of boiled goat, plain rice and beans... 

So when I got back from my work abroad I set on my quest to develop the perfect pre-spartan workout smoothie and after many attempts here is the result -  simple, delicious, nutritious, ladies and gentlemen I give to you.. The Supppaaa Spartaaaan Smooothie!

Now  go SPARTAN!

NB: Here is the link to the Spartan aka Spartacus workout. Ladies, don't be daunted by the photo of that 6-pack sporting man on the front of it, I did this workout a couple of times a week and thankfully did not develop a hairy chest or a six pack but instead toned up and felt full of energy (and muscle ache, admittedly..) :) It's actually a really good and quick workout that combines both cardio and muscle strengthening. Why not try it :)

http://www.starz.com/SiteCollectionImages/Spartacus2009/downloads/MH_Spartacus_Workout.pdf