Whole Foods And The Brain
The brain is a really hungry organ, and it uses 25% of the total energy you consume from your food. Everything it needs to function at its best isyou guessed ita whole, unprocessed food.
In fact, the best diet recommended for brain health is the MIND Diet. In one study, it was shown that people who follow the MIND diet closely had a 53% reduced rate of developing Alzheimers.
Some of the best whole foods for the brain are:
- Oily fish
- Whole grains
Ingredients For Green Smoothie
This vegetable smoothie contains 6 cups of leafy greens and is made with 4 simple ingredients.
- Water: Instead of water you can use coconut water, almond milk or other milk.
- Frozen mango: Mango is one of sweetest fruits that balances out bitter taste of greens. Using frozen fruit, gives smoothie creamy texture. It is also affordable and widely available.
- Spinach: Spinach is a sweet-er leafy green with mild taste. I would not replace it with anything as it offsets more bitter kale taste.
- Kale: Any type of kale works. Dinosaur aka lacinato, green, purple etc. Just remove the bitter rib cage. And always add more spinach than kale.
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.
Recommended Reading: How To Make A Superfood Smoothie
How To Make Your Smoothie Pudding
Use 30 grams of protein powder . This will usually work out more in actual weight as most protein powders are around 50% protein, so therefore you would need 60 grams of the powder to get 30 grams of protein. Blend this with half an avocado, xylitol for sweetness , a tablespoon of carob or cacao, and some nut milk.
The secret is to use a good quality blender for smoothness, and use as little milk as possible so its really thick like a pudding. You can then just eat it straight out of the blender cup like I do to save washing up and waste. I think smoothies are more filling the thicker they are, and this one will fill you up for at least 4 hours.
The reason I have this delicious breakfast most days is because having a very low carb/high protein breakfast really keeps your body in fat burning mode after you have been fasting all night. I then just have a normal lunch and dinner, and sometimes another high protein smoothie if I do a hard workout.
Kickstart Healthy Habits Through Food
Another way to kick-start healthy eating habits is by utilizing whole foods to help the body reset. Check out my Thrive 7-Day Reset for a week-long cleanse that will get you on your way to whole body health. I dont believe in weight loss through deprivation, instead I want to fuel my body the right way through energy-filled food.
Recommended Reading: What To Put In Your Smoothie For Weight Loss
How To Make This Vegan Green Smoothie Recipe
For the full ingredients list and step-by-step instructions, scroll down to view the recipe card below.
I love smoothies because they are one of the easiest and quickest meals or snacks! Follow along in three easy steps:
More Healthy Smoothie Recipes
- My son is obsessed with this Mango Orange Smoothie recipe
- Try this tropical Pina Colada Spinach Smoothie to head to the beach asap
- Want to boost your metabolism? Then this is a great fat burning green smoothie recipe
- This kale smoothie will surprise even your taste buds
If you have any questions about the green smoothie world, feel free to join the Smoothie Challenge Support Group.
Read Also: How Do You Make A Fruit Smoothie Without Yogurt
The Ultimate Banana Smoothie
Banana smoothie has taken to the next level.
While this tropical fruit aids digestion and gives you a lot of energy, in combination with dark chocolate it will do miracles to your body and health.
Dark chocolate, when combined with fruit, boosts butyrate production. The latter is an acid produced by your gut bacteria.
Combined with a restricted-calorie diet and exercise,this smoothie will help you shed more pounds.
Calories: 288.58 kcal
- 2 squares of dark chocolate
- 4 fresh cherries
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 ½ tbsp of whey protein powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
The unusual combination of avocado with mango may be intimidating.
But this fiber-packed smoothie will keep your cravings at bay.
The almond coconut milk will make it creamy and more delicious. In a word, a perfect smoothie choice for breakfast.
Serving: 3
Calories per serving: 553.2 kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups cubed mango
- 3 cups almond coconut milk
How To Use Green Smoothies
The great thing about a smoothie is you can have it any time of day, although maybe not so much in the evening if you are adding superfood powders as they can be stimulating. Other than that, in terms of weight loss, you should have 2-3 a day in place of your normal meals or snacks.
There are different ways you can construct a smoothie and some will have more calories and are more filling than others. This makes some better as snacks and others better as meal replacements.
Recommended Reading: Smoothie Recipes For Lactose Intolerant
Green Detoxifier Supercharged With Moringa
via Moringa
What health benefits can you reap when you include this smoothie recipe in your 21-day green smoothie detox? For starters, you’ll feel energized, courtesy of the the powerful antioxidants contained in one serving. Your skin will achieve a more youthful glow. Finally, your memory and focus will improve courtesy of the cognitive-enhancing ingredients.
Alternatively, you can use your preferred green juice powder instead of moringa to boost the nutritive benefits of this smoothie. Check out some of the best superfood powders available in the market today.
Green Smoothies Recipe # : Papaya Paradise
What do you need:
50 gm pineapple, in pieces3 sprigs of coriander150 ml of water
Preparation:
First, put the water in the blender. Clean the carrots and cut them into pieces. Then add them to the water. Also, wash the cucumber well and cut into smaller pieces to add them. Then add the pineapple pieces. Only use the leaves and the upper part of the stalks of the coriander. Finely chop this and add it to the blender.Allow to mix for about 2 minutes and then serve in 2 glasses.
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Can You Taste Spinach In The Smoothie
You wouldnt be the first to look at this recipe and say No way! Green! Spinach! Yuck! Yet dont walk away! These bright green smoothie recipes will actually delight your taste buds. Youll even have an extra pep in your step when you realize how great you feel!
Even kids LOVE this green smoothie recipe! I started blending this smoothie in my daughter Clares kindergarten class four years ago. Now every year, I visit her school to blend this recipe with each new class. Thats how delicious this recipe is!
Not sure if your blender can handle the greens? Ive created The Ultimate Blender Guide, where I reviewed countless blenders to find the best ones for green smoothies. The key is to get rid of leafy chunks, blend quickly and provide tons of value for the price. Hint: not all of them cost $400+.
The 10 Best Green Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss:
In this section you will find 10 weight loss smoothies. If you are looking to start a green smoothie diet, keep scrolling for 2 green smoothie diet options.
Here are some of the best green smoothie recipes I have found. I encourage you to try different ingredients and find the ones you especially like, because the goal is to drink these green smoothies as often as you can.
Don’t Miss: Mixed Berry Smoothie Recipe With Almond Milk
Health Benefits Of Ingredients For Weight Loss
Bananas for Weight LossBananas are rich in insoluble fiber, it makes up more than half the banana!
This will help promote regularity, which is important for weight loss.
Pineapples for Weight LossPineapples are higher in sugar that other fruits so if youre trying to lose weight, keep this ingredient to a minimum.
Bromelain is an enzyme found in the stem of pineapples Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory and it also breaks down protein perfect for our next ingredients that helps with weight loss!
Almonds for Weight LossAlmonds are a satiating snack that will keep you from getting hungry and snacking more items, which will add more calories when youre trying to eat less!
As long as you eat almonds in moderation, such as a small handful or adding them to a smoothie like this one, they can definitely help you to lose weight.
Cinnamon for Weight LossCinnamon can imitate insulin in the body and control its levels which helps regulate blood sugar.
Increase blood sugar levels can cause excess fat to be stored, so its important to maintain and regulate blood sugar.
One study showed that adding cinnamon to a meal can lower its glycemic index by 18-29%! Cinnamon also can increase metabolism similar to hot peppers, which will burn more calories and help with weight loss.
Spinach for Weight LossSpinach is a nutritional powerhouse that is low in calories and carbohydrates but super high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Build Muscle To Burn Fat
What Im a big proponent of is eating healthy as much as possible and participating in a regular exercise routine. That looks different for all of us with our varied interests, schedules, time constraints, and lifestyles. Theres nothing that will help boost your metabolism more than doing exercises that build muscle.
More muscle means more fat-burning capabilities.
For me, thats running 3-5 times a week and lifting weights 3 times a week. When it comes to boosting your metabolism, exercise goes hand in hand with healthy eating. Certain foods have fat-burning and metabolism-boosting abilities and adding them into your diet can help magnify weight-loss efforts. Im a huge fan of smoothies, especially when I can use natural ingredients to transform it into a weight loss smoothie.
Give your body energy to power it through a workout. The workout will help build more muscle, which burns more calories the rest of the time. See how nicely that works? Its a beautiful thing!
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Smoothie For Diabetics
Will A Smoothie Help Me Lose Weight
There are TONS of smoothies and shakes out there claiming to do this, but forget the labels and ads and think about whats gonna work for YOU.
When it comes to a weight loss smoothie, its gotta hit 3 things for me to call it a winner:
The recipe Im sharing here helped me lose 7 pounds when I was a young exhausted mom of 2 under 4with no energy and a few post baby extra pounds I needed to lose. They say youve gotta exercise to lose the weight, but when youre too tired to do that youve gotta try something else. And this is the secret sauce to jump start my energy levels and my weight loss journey.
Simple Guide To Customizing Your Own Healthy Green Smoothie*
*Note: You dont HAVE to follow all of the steps listed here.You can choose to add in a protein source or not.You can add in some healthy fats, or not.Its up to you!
For your breakfast smoothie recipe to be a healthy green smoothie though, you do need to include some greens.
Experiment and have fun with figuring out new flavor combinations!
Read Also: How To Make A Strawberry And Banana Smoothie
Day Detox Smoothie Diet
This 7 day Detox Smoothie Diet is so popular, its been made into a best selling cookbook!
You dont have to buy the book to get the 7 day green smoothie cleanse plan though if you do buy it, you get 3 other plans as well.
Here you will find the FREE Detox Week weight loss cleanse. It will help you shed weight fast, with the help of detox smoothie recipes
Check out this free weight loss cleanse, and the book that has become a best seller!
Green Smoothie Recipes For Detoxing Weight Loss And A Quick Energy Boost
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Are you looking for a simple health habit that only takes a few minutes each day?
The truth is: We often find ourselves with limited time to plan meals.
So it’s easy to find yourself skipping a meal or opting for fast food with its high-fat, high-sugar menu offerings.
Perhaps you are on the same boat.
So what’s the solution?
Well, one thing you can do is to incorporate green smoothie recipes in your daily meal planning efforts.
Green smoothies provide a simple and effective way to maximize the nutrients that you put into your body. Furthermore, preparing one of these drinks only takes less than five minutes to prepare.
All you have to do is load up your blender with the necessary ingredients, blend, and voila! youre good to go.
In fact, many people around the world have begun to recognize the ease of preparation and the benefits of smoothies, especially green ones, as a healthy snack or as an alternative to conventional meals that require long cooking times.
With many these smoothies, you get a great combination of fruits, vegetables, essential vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.
The essential vitamins and minerals give an energy boost, help the body fight infections, and provide longevity.
What You Will Learn
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Processed Foods That Are Okay On A Whole Food Diet
Many brands of cereals are fortified with B vitamins, which can be hard to come by on a plant-based diet.
For example, vitamin B12 , is largely found in animal sources. It is something that those on a plant-based diet need to keep an eye on, as studies show that around 20% of us are deficient. And we also know that 65% of vegans and vegetarians dont take a B vitamin supplement.
So in that case, choosing a cereal fortified with B vitamins would be a good option, if done wisely. By that I mean use your discretion and check the labels, as many brands of cereals are packed with sugar and additives. But you can strategically choose minimally processed foods using a whole foods mentality.
As a rule of thumb, if there are any ingredients that you cant pronounce, dont understand, or sound artificial, they probably are best avoided.
Banana Mango & Avocado Smoothie
Avocados are not only delicious, but they are filled with heart healthy fats. Fun fact I also learned avocados actually have more potassium than bananas! Avocados are so filling, which makes this smoothie suitable for a satisfying breakfast if you are in a bind!
Along with getting plenty of water, veggies are going to help out tremendously with belly bloat. This recipe combines a lot of belly bloating crushers: spinach, ginger, and pineapple .
Also Check: Best Healthy Smoothies For Weight Loss
Can You Use Green Tea Smoothies For Weight Loss
Yes, you can. Green tea smoothies for weight loss make a great breakfast replacement or a healthy snack on a busy day. Green tea is praised for its potential health benefits such as improving brain function, lowering the risk of some cancers, prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, etc . When it comes to weight loss, several studies have shown that this tea can boost fat burning and weight loss:
Here are some green tea smoothies for weight loss recipes for you:
Nutrition: Calories: 395. Fats: 10.9 g. Protein: 7.7 g. Carbs: 61.7 g.