Hey guys! Sorry, I'm late in getting to you this week. It's been a busy one! I was struggling over what to write about this week and then it hit me on my way to work today as I was drinking a delicious smoothie.
Life is crazy and fast, whether you are on summer vacation or not. Those kind of conditions can make it challenging to find the time, or even the willpower to make healthy choices. So this week, we're fighting back against the crazy and the fast with SMOOTHIE POWER (said in superhero, echoing voice). I'm going to share some tips for making a quick healthy smoothie, and share some of my favorite recipes!
First of all, if we are having a smoothie as a meal replacement, we need to have at least three food groups in our smoothie, or have something to go along with the smoothie. If the smoothie is more of a snack or dessert, we just need two food groups, and it'd be hard to make a smoothie with just one food group, so we should be good to go there!
All smoothies have three basic compoments:
1. You have your fruits and /or veggies
2. A low-sugar or lowfat/fat-free liquid
3. And a thickener.
*If you want to be fancy, there is a fourth category you could add: optional flavorings.
Let's talk about fruits and veggies. I love to use frozen fruit because I hate ice in my smoothies. Berries and tropical fruits are popular choices for smoothie combinations, and spinach is the easiest veggie to add to a smoothie without detecting the flavor. I'll share a recipe below that my sister gives to her son and he has no idea there's "salad" in it.
For the liquid, I usually opt for lowfat milk if I'm making a smoothie with berries, and a fruit juice (my favorite is orange juice) if I'm using tropical fruits. Just make sure you are using a 100% juice, which means there are no added sugars.
Thickeners for smoothies include ice, lowfat or nonfat yogurt (I prefer Greek--> more protein--> more filling), frozen lowfat or nonfat yogurt, or silken tofu.
Optional flavorings for all you fancy folks out there include coconut flakes, honey or maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, or zest from a lime, lemon, or orange.
The great thing about smoothies is you can just toss the ingredients in the blender. You don't have to have exact measurements. Here are some of my favorite smoothie recipes:
A tropical treat- 2 food groups, serves at least 2
1 banana
1 can red grapefruit
about a cup of frozen pineapple
a handful of spinach
about 1/2 to 1 cup of orange juice, depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies
Blueberry Surprise- 4 food groups (or three if you leave out the surprise), serves at least 2
1/2-1 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup lowfat or nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 to 1 whole banana
about a cup of blueberries
Surprise!- a handful of spinach
The Perfect Pair- 3 food groups, serves at least 2
Chocolate and peanut butter everything, am I right?!
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 or whole banana
1/2 c milk
1/2 c lowfat or nonfat greek yogurt
3 T cocoa powder (or more to taste)
That's all I'll leave you with today, but here are some great charts with more ideas for making healthy smoothies! Feel free to comment or send me a message on what you think of this blog post, what recipes you tried, or what you would like to read about next time!
