6 Tips to Make a Healthier Smoothie

What if I told you that your smoothie contained as much calories and sugar as a soda pop?! Maybe even MORE sugar than a soda! 

Well, sadly enough, it’s true. Some “healthy smoothies” are often called meal replacements, yet they can actually be packed with sugar and calories. Sugar laden fruit juices and sweeteners are 2 culprits that pack the sugar into smoothies. Over time, consuming calorie and sugar laden smoothies can add inches to the waistline.

The key to making a healthy smoothie is adding the right ingredients.  And this is were things can get confusing! If made correctly, smoothies are a great way to consume all of your nutrients in one drink.

My favorite thing about smoothies is that the flavors are almost endless!  It’s so difficult to get tired of smoothies, because you can simply change it up by adding a different fruit or ingredient.

I usually place all my smoothie ingredients in the blender cup the night before, pull out of the refrigerator in the morning and blend away! It makes for a super quick breakfast! I use THIS BLENDER and absolutely love it because the blender cups are so small–I can literally make my smoothie and take it with me!

Such an awesome blender if you are looking for something that has portable cups! (think–less dishes!)

This is also a great blender if you want to make larger batches!

How to Make a Healthy Smoothie: The Standard 6 Ingredients

To simply things, I’ve created a standard smoothie recipe that consist’s of 6 components:

1. Vegetables
2. Fruit
3. Healthy fat
4. Liquid
5. Protein
6. Healthy Extras

By following this standard recipe, you can create almost any flavor of smoothie, and still have a healthy drink.  Adding these 6 components will help to provide a variety of nutrients, protein, healthy fats all in one drink. If you are hesitant about adding vegetables to your smoothie, I would start with adding spinach first. This is considered a “safe” vegetable add in’s. It blends well, the fruit in the smoothie covers that taste, and it is hard to even know it is there.

Here’s the 6 step formula to make a your smoothie healthier:

1. Start with a vegetable base
   You can use any vegetable, but I typically use spinach because it blends well with most any other add in’s and you can barely taste the flavor
   -1 cup Spinach
   -1 cup Kale
   -1/2 cup Cucumbers
   -1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2. Choose one fruit add in
   Hint: Freeze fruit the night before to create an extra frosty treat! 
   -1/2 banana
   -1 cup blueberries
   -1 cup raspberries
   -1/2 cup pineapple chunks
   -1/2 cup mango chunks
3. Add one protein
   -1 serving of whey protein
   -1 cup skim milk (omit other liquids if using skim milk as your protein)
4. Add one healthy fat
   -1 Tbsp Ground Flax seeds (flax seeds must be ground for your body to absorb them)
   -1 Tbsp chia seeds
   -1 Tbsp peanut butter
   -Nut butter
5. Add one liquid
   -1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
   -1 cup unsweetened vanilla soy milk
   -1 cup skim milk
   -1 cup water
   -1 cup unsweetened green tea
6. Add Extras if desired:
   -4 ice cubes to create a frosty treat
   -1 tsp. cinnamon
   -1 tsp. cocoa powder
   -1 tsp honey

Directions:
1. Combine your vegetable and liquid in blender. Pulse until smooth.
2. Add Fruit, protein, healthy fat and liquid. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!