I used to have to eat on time.
I mean that literally. If lunch got pushed — a meeting ran long, something came up on the farm — I would feel it. That restless, edgy, irritable hunger that makes it hard to think straight and harder to be pleasant to be around. My family knew. The people I worked with knew. I was a person who needed to eat on schedule.
That was my norm for years. I didn’t think much of it.
Then I started making this smoothie. And the idea came from watching my grandfather.
Papa Jacob — Jacob W. Paulk, Sr. — is the man who planted the first muscadine vines on this farm back around 1970. But later in life, he did something that impressed me just as much: he overhauled his diet almost entirely. Raw fruits and vegetables. Virtually all of his prescription medications, gone. And every morning, a smoothie — built around his first iteration of muscadine supplements, among other things.
It was quite common to find him out on the farm, riding through the vineyard rows, smoothie in hand, sipping it throughout the morning. He truly embodied what healthy living looked like — diet, exercise, and a conviction that what you put into your body every day matters more than any single dramatic intervention.
I got the idea watching him. I built my own version. And I noticed, over time, that something had shifted. The edge was gone. I started making it well past noon before I felt any real pull toward lunch.
I’ve been making this same smoothie most mornings for several years now. Here’s what’s in it.
The Recipe
Chris’s Morning Smoothie
1 serving Nobility Naturals Purple Power
1 serving Nobility Naturals Nobility Tonic
1 medium Banana
¼ cup Blueberries
¼ cup Plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup Milk
2 tablespoons Peanut butter powder
1 handful Fresh spinach
Blend until smooth. Drink with or after breakfast.
Why It Works
I want to be clear about something: I’m not a nutritionist, and I’m not telling you this smoothie will do for you what it did for me. What I can tell you is why the combination makes sense — and let you draw your own conclusions.
Purple Power and Nobility Tonic are both made from the Noble muscadine we grow on our farm — the whole fruit, processed and concentrated. As we’ve covered this month, the Noble muscadine is rich in natural plant compounds that researchers have studied for their potential to support the body’s ability to maintain steady, consistent energy throughout the day.
The Greek yogurt adds protein, which slows digestion and helps the body process everything more gradually. The peanut butter powder adds another layer of protein and healthy fat without the extra liquid — both of which help sustain that feeling of fullness through the morning. The banana and blueberries provide natural sugars alongside fiber — the fiber matters because it slows the absorption of those sugars. The spinach adds magnesium, which plays a supporting role in how the body processes nutrients. The milk adds a little more protein and fat, both of which contribute to that feeling of lasting fullness.
None of this is magic. It’s just a well-constructed combination of real food — including two products from a vine we’ve been tending for six generations — that happens to work together in a way that keeps me steady through the morning.
I didn’t build this smoothie to be healthy. I built it because it worked. That might be the most honest thing I can say about it.
The Principle Behind It
This month we’ve been talking about steady — steady energy, steady mood, steady living built through small, consistent choices. This smoothie is what that looks like in practice for me. It’s not complicated. It doesn’t require a nutrition degree. It’s just something I make most mornings because it makes the rest of the day better.
If you try it, I’d genuinely like to hear how it goes. That’s the thing about wisdom applied — it grows when it gets shared.
Small inputs. Faithful mornings. That’s how steady gets built.
Chris Paulk
President, Muscadine Products Corporation | Founder, Nobility Naturals
Paulk Vineyards, Irwin County, Georgia
Try it yourself.
→ Subscribe to Rooted in Health.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Nobility Naturals products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.