Not a smoothie drinker? Here are five reasons you should start making smoothies daily.
- Smoothies give your body a break.
Your digestive tract spends a lot of time and energy breaking down the foods you choose to eat. When you drink smoothie, much of the work of mechanical breakdown has already been done. This gives the digestive system a little rest. For many people who suffer from digestive issues this can mean less inflammation and bloating, allowing you to start your day off in a much more comfortable state. Less inflammation also gives your digestive system a chance to work on repair. - Smoothies support healthy weight loss.
As long as your smoothies are not calorie packed milkshakes, substituting one meal a day with a smoothie can result in healthy, maintainable weight loss. When made correctly and balanced, smoothies provide you with excellent nutrition that leaves you satisfied and energized. - Smoothies are the easiest balanced meal.
There is no cooking involved. You just have to throw all your ingredients in a blender and puree away. Your smoothies should include fruit for your carb, a healthy fat, vegetables and protein. For more information on how to build the perfect smoothie, check out this post: Build a Better Smoothie. - Smoothies are fast and good for those on the go.
Making smoothies can be faster than popping something in the toaster, and you won’t get crumbs all over when you try to eat your breakfast in the car. For super quick smoothies, portion out your ingredients in individual baggies or tupperware containers in the freezer. In the morning, dump the contents of the baggie in the blender, add your liquid and blend. I’m also a huge fan of the blenders that have individual cups that you can blend in. I have this Ninja blender, and we use the single serve cups every morning.This makes them ultra fast and portable.
*On a side note, these individual cups are also great for whipping up salad dressings
**On another side note, be extremely careful when cleaning the blades in the blender — do accidentally drop one on your foot and sever a tendon. If you do that you will have to have surgery to repair the tendon in order to move your toes again. Not speaking from experience or anything… - Smoothies can be fit to all tastes.
Just take a minute and google “green smoothie recipe”. Be amazed at all the different flavors people have come up with and shared. Yes, you can make a green smoothie that tastes like Coldstone Cake Batter ice cream. Or one that tastes like key lime pie. Or like a Starbucks frappuccino (just add some frozen leafy greens to the recipes that don’t contain any veg). So you can basically have desert for breakfast, who doesn’t want that? Yeah, way better than you plain bagel that leaves you feeling bloated and in a carb coma.
Brought to you by our friends at Optimal Body Balance.
