Iced Brewed Herbal Tea Can Add Nutrients
You might think of herbal tea as its own beverage, but you can step up your smoothie’s flavor game by adding already brewed tea into it. You can pick the flavor of your choice, and be sure to brew it before storing in the fridge or by freezing it in ice cube trays and using them in lieu of or in addition to frozen fruit and plain ice.
Sabotage : Too Much Fruit
When it comes to fruit, dont go overboard. Keep in mind, a medium-sized banana has about 100 calories.
Smoothies can often get fruit-heavy. Between a banana, berries, and loads of juice, we can easily get over four full fruit servings in one smoothie, Leck Merner said.
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I am not one to restrict fruit intake. However when fruit is consumed in a smoothie, it is digested much more quickly and can result in excessive blood sugar spikes in individuals with diabetes or reactive hypoglycemia, Macfarlane notes.
Tip: Macfarlane recommends one to 1.5 cups of fruit per smoothie. And go for options that are high in fibre and antioxidants, such as berries.
Osinga suggests just half a cup of fruit. If youre adding fruit, you dont need maple syrup or honey for sweetness.
Is It Easy To Follow A Whole Food Diet
Once youve got your head around having ingredients rather than ready-to-eat things in your kitchen cupboards, its actually very easy. The only issue is the lifestyle and habit changes that come along with it.
It is very likely that for many people, following a totally, religiously whole food diet may be unattainable at least some of the time. For example, there are days where you dont get time to make your lunch or if you want to enjoy social eating. Similarly, people who have young children or who are working more than one job are unlikely to be able to follow a whole food diet all of the time.
Sometimes, we put ourselves under pressure to be as perfect as we can with diets like this, which can lead to an eating disorder called Orthorexia, which is a preoccupation with healthy eating.
This means that following a whole food diet, in principle, can be healthy and accessible for some people but not for everyone. It also means that those with previous disordered eating, as always, need to avoid any form of dietary restriction or rules around their diet.
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What Do I Use To Sweeten A Smoothie
All of these smoothies here use frozen fruit as a base, which adds a nice baseline of sweetness that you can build on if your tastebuds would like. My recommendation is to blend up your smoothie without any added sweetener, then taste. Add in honey or maple syrup to taste. Many times, I dont need to add anything! Another great natural option for sweetening: pitted Medjool dates. Throw in one or two of those bad boys and let the blender do its thing. Youd be amazed at how sweet your smoothie will be!
Can Other Diets Also Be Whole Food Diets
Heres where it gets confusingyes, other diets can also be whole food diets. Eating a whole food diet is a lifestyle choice, but many other diets can exist within a whole foods construct. So, diets like the MIND Diet and Mediterranean Diet are also whole food diets.
For example, here are the foods involved in the MIND Diet:
- Green, leafy vegetables five times a week
- Five or more different colored fruits and vegetables every day.
- Berries five times a week
- Five or more servings of nuts a week
- Olive oil five times a week
- Whole grains five times a week
- Oily fish twice a week or take an algae-based omega-3 supplement
- Legumes and pulses five times a week
- White meat/mix of plant-based proteins twice a week
- No more than one glass of wine a day
- One or two coffee or tea a day max
- Two liters of water a day
Thats pretty much a whole food diet, right? As long as any meat or plant-based proteins are as unprocessed as possible, then it can be a whole food diet.
Other diets, like a vegan diet, for instance, could be whole food diets or not. It really depends if processed foods are included. Some food substitutes are really heavily processed, so its important to read labels really carefully. But its only some, not all.
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How Can I Make My Smoothie Healthier
The smoothie recipes below are plain, but if you want to expand your smoothie horizons, go for it! Toss in chia seeds or protein powder or hemp seeds or flax or whatever else makes your heart happy. If you have a standard set of mix-ins you like, you can even freeze them into booster packsgreat for really quick and easy smoothies!
How To Make The Perfect Smoothie
Cassie Best shares her top tips on how to make your smoothies delicious and nutritious every time, with healthy recipe ideas and new flavour combinations.
A vitamin-packed smoothie is a great way to start the day, or works as the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. Make your smoothies delicious and nutritious every time with these simple suggestions.
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Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Booster
We’re big fans of Bob’s here at Eat This, Not That!, and this smoothie booster is no exception. It’s pretty much a one-stop shop for adding healthy ingredients to your cup and is made from pea protein powder, chicory root fiber, psyllium husk powder, chia seeds, and beneficial probiotics. If you’ve been dreaming of sipping a smoothie but want to make sure it’s going to be good for your belly, look no further.
Equipment For Healthy Smoothies
Having the right equipment is key to making healthy smoothies.
- The Vitamix personal series is great for making just one or two smoothies at a time
- So is the Magic Bullet or Nutri Bullet the only hang up here is that I find I have to replace these models once every couple years or so because the motor eventually burns out
- The Vitamix Ascent series is my fave though it’s self-cleaning so you aren’t left with a ton of mess and it’s perfect for if you’re prepping 3-4 smoothies at a time. It can tear through anything to make the smoothest smoothie, even ice!
You can of course get a mid-range blender too, really any blender will work. But if it takes 3 or more tries to get that smooth texture without all the lumps, it can be a frustrating experience.
See how often you’re going to be making smoothies and if it’s going to be a consistent thing for you, your best bet is to invest in a high-powered blender that can minimize the time you spend making healthy smoothies.
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Sabotage : Not Enough Veggies
Smoothies are some of the easiest ways to sneak vegetables into your diet. You could be piling up fruits into your smoothie without considering spinach, kale, arugula, and even collard greens into your drink.
I love adding a handful of spinach to my smoothies as its relatively tasteless. A few scoops of pureed pumpkin works too, if you cant stomach a green smoothie just yet, Osinga said.
Tip: Add a handful of greens to your smoothie. Keep them frozen for easy usage.
Tropical Papaya Perfection Smoothie
This coconut-infused breakfast smoothie tastes just as decadent as a milkshake. One sip will immediately transport you to a tropical island.
Cut 1 papaya into chunks and blend it with 1 cup of fat-free, plain yogurt, 1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup crushed ice, 1 tsp. coconut extract, and 1 tsp. ground flaxseed. Process the mixture for about 30 seconds, or until its smooth and frosty.
Nutrition :299 calories, 1.5 g fat, 13 g protein, 64 g carbs , 44 g sugars
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Sabotage : Portion Size
You may be guzzling down a smoothie as a snack before mealtime not realizing that its enough for an entire meal.
A smoothie with one cup of berries, ¾ cup of Greek yogurt and water makes for a tasty snack, but a smoothie with a banana, spinach, nut butter, hemp hearts and almond milk is a meal-sized smoothie, for example.
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These days blenders can hold up to two litres. Your job is to practice portion control.
Tip: Measure your ingredients as you add them instead of just loading up the blender. You can also create smoothie packs ahead of time that contain pre-measured ingredients. This will save you time and keep your portions in check.
What Are Some Great Smoothie Recipes
Alright, now that youre fully versed on how to make a great smoothie, let me share with you some of our absolute favorite combos! Click on any image to jump over to that specific smoothie recipe.
Classic Simple Smoothies
These smoothies are a great place to start. No weird ingredients that you have to special order, just fresh, real food that you can find at any typical supermarket.
Wild Blueberry Lemon No Banana Smoothie
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How To Make A Smoothie
If youre wondering how to make a smoothie, dont worry, youre not the only one Googling this! Smoothies are such a great thing to know how to make if you are in college, need a quick breakfast, or have nothing in your cabinets. Im going to walk you through exactly how to make the perfect smoothie every single time.
We thought it would be useful to create an equation of sorts so that you can use what you have at home!
Orange Strawberry Squash Smoothie
This two-serving sipper is a delicious way to help you reach your daily fruit and veggie requirements. Like many smoothies, you could blend it into a drink or a smoothie bowl. If you want to make more of a meal out of it, add protein-rich enhancers, like protein powder or Greek yogurt.
This smoothie bowl packs 27 g of protein to power you through a long morning. Plus, wild blueberries are packed with antioxidants and fiber.
If a non-dairy smoothie is more your style, this one, with plant-based protein powder, makes a delicious and filling meal.
Cottage cheese provides the protein in this layered drink. Its made parfait-style so the smoothie and cottage cheese are kept separateperfect for days when you want to dig in with a spoon.
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List Of Healthy Superfoods:
- Kale insanely low in calories, powerful anti-oxidant with anti-inflammatory properties, and helpful for arthritis and autoimmune diseases
- Spinach the beauty of spinach lies in how easy it is to disguise the taste. Its mild tasting yet packed with vitamins, has anti-cancerous properties, and is one of the healthiest foods on the planet
- Blueberries – one of the highest antioxidant capacities of all fruit which helps to combat free radicals in your body
- Strawberries – just one serving provides more vitamin c than an orange while being low in natural sugars
- Greek Yogurt – double the protein and half the carbs as regular yogurt
- Cucumber since its 95% water, its an incredible detoxifier and helps with liver and kidney function
- Lemon one of the most important items to stock in your kitchen as its a highly effective cleansing agent and cuts through the bitterness of greens
- Banana an essential in smoothies as it adds creaminess, a touch of sweetness, and helps you feel full longer plus, its rich in potassium and fiber and gives you natural energy
- Turmeric – anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties
- Ginger – aids in digestion and supports the immune system
- Chia + Flaxseeds – rich is Omega-3 and fiber benefits
If you are looking to add fruit and vegetable JUICE recipes to your diet as well, .
For extra detoxification benefits, a lemon turmeric flush first thing in the morning will do the trick. This isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s super simple.
The Best And Worst Smoothies
And now for my list of the best and worst smoothies, from a nutritional standpoint. To be considered for the list, the item had to be called a âsmoothieâ or something very similar. The serving sizes range from 10 ounces to 24 ounces, so I ranked them by calories per ounce.
All of the smoothies in the âbestâ list are free of saturated fat, contain no more than 61 grams of carbohydrate and at least 4 grams of fiber, and have 17 calories or less per ounce.
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Tropical Raspberry Avocado Smoothie
Like soft tofu, avocado blends really well into smoothies, adding a lot of creaminess but not an overwhelming taste. Avocados are also a natural source of fiber and healthy fats, which may help reduce cardiovascular disease risk in some people.
Raspberries are another source of anthocyanins, and coconut water provides a slightly tropical flavor without a lot of sugar.
Adding yogurt to smoothies is a great way to boost their protein content and creaminess.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- 1/2 cup regular or nondairy yogurt
Blend together until smooth. If youre looking for a thicker consistency, add a few ice cubes before blending.
Things You Don’t Need To Be Adding To Your Smoothies
Apparently non-fat yogurt is a no-no.
There are so many ways to make a smoothie. You can make it green or fruity, you can have it in a bowl or a cup, and you can customize seemingly endless smoothie ingredients. But while a smoothie can be a healthy breakfast or snack, choosing the wrong stuff to put in it can quickly turn your drink into a milkshake, while other ingredients simply dont blend in.
When making a healthy smoothie, here are some basics. First, always blend your smoothie at home instead of buying one from a smoothie chain or your gym’s juice bar. Making your own smoothie allows you to control exactly what’s going in and how much sugar is added, says culinary nutrition expert Jessica Levinson, R.D. Since its easy for ingredients to add up to a calorie bomb, make sure to measure your ingredients as you build your smoothie. For the healthiest smoothie, follow this recipe:
That said, there are some ingredients that fall into these categories that you’ll want to skip out oneither because they’re not as nutritious as you’d think, or because they don’t lend to a great-tasting drink. Here are the main things you definitely dont need to add to your smoothies:
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How To Make Healthy Smoothies
Making healthy smoothies is a much simpler process than you would imagine, and this post will show you how to make 7 different kinds of healthy smoothies that you’re going to love!
I think many people have misconceptions about what healthy smoothies really are. I know when I was younger, I thought that healthy smoothies were the ones you got at Booster Juice. Sadly, I would order a large smoothie from there or Starbucks after a night of partying and think I was replenishing my body with healthy food. Little did I know these smoothies were often filled with sugary frozen yogurt and can contain up to 460 calories .
To make genuinely healthy smoothies, you have to be careful with the ingredients you use. This post will educate you on how to choose the highest-quality ingredients to ensure that you’re getting the nutritional benefits you should be getting with fruit-filled smoothies.
As long as you stock your freezer with frozen fruit and keep a few handy base ingredients on hand in the fridge each week, smoothie making is super easy and nutritious.
Chocolate And Peanut Butter Shakes
Peanut Butter Cup Shake – 53 g of protein
Don’t sacrifice your gains! With milk and egg whites for texture, this shake tastes as good as the real thing.
Peanut Butter Banana Shake – 65 g of protein
Peanut butter and banana is a classic combo and is great for fuel and muscle recovery.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake – 72 g of protein
This sinless treat allows you to enjoy your chocolate and peanut butter with the benefits of muscle-building protein.
Want to make your protein shake thicker, more decadent, and slower digesting? Use casein instead of whey.
Peanut Brittle Shake – 58 g of protein
This shake is just as tasty as any crunchy brittle. The secret is pudding mix!
Chocolate-Lover’s Shake – 51 g of protein
Chocoholics unite for this super chocolatey shake featuring both cocoa powder and sour cream!
Chocolate Almond Shake – 40 g of protein
A nutty candy bar in a glass, this shake proves protein doesn’t have to be bland. You will make it again!
Caramel Hazelnut Shake – 70 g of protein
Hazelnut creamer makes this into a Nutella-y dream of a shake. Yes, please!
Bad Girl Shake – 67 g of protein
This caloric beast is for the aspiring weight-gainers out there! Ground up girl scout cookies in a shake? Go ahead, be bad.
Tropical Punch Protein Shake – 30 g of protein
All the fruit! Tantalize your senses with this vitamin-packed tropical shake.
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Kale And Sunflower Smoothie
Okay, so we’ve established that kale delivers big time for our skin , thanks to all of its vitamins and minerals. This smoothie doesn’t stop there, though. Blending in papaya allows the body to produce dermis-repairing vitamin A and fuels brightness with the enzyme papain. Adding a scoop of sunflower seed butter injects more than just flavorthe seed is packed with copper, which helps protect it from sun and environmental damage. The recipe’s basically your go-to face mask, only it works from the inside out.