Smoothies are one of the quickest, easiest and healthiest meals or snacks you can make. But you have to make them the right way.
Most smoothies that you can purchase when you eat out at cafes or juice bars are really just composed of fruit, dairy and sweetener. This is not a healthy smoothie; you can make much more balanced and satisfying smoothies at home.To create the perfect smoothie you need to have all of these components:
- protein
- carbohydrate in the form of fruit
- fat
- vegetable
Yes, you need vegetables in your smoothies. You will get micronutrients, vitamins and minerals from the vegetables, as well as fiber which will keep you full and satiated and help your body remove toxins and balance your blood sugar. I think the best way to incorporate veggies into your smoothies is to buy the bagged frozen greens. You just add a 1/4 cup of these chopped frozen greens per serving of smoothie. You can try different kinds of greens — kale, collards, spinach — to see what you prefer. This small amount, 1/4 cup, honestly won’t add much flavor to your smoothie; many people wouldn’t even know it was there if it wasn’t for the color. Fresh veggies are also fine to incorporate into your smoothie. If I have an abundance of fresh spinach in my crisper drawer or some extra cabbage or cucumber leftover from a recipe I made earlier, I will often throw that into a smoothie. It is a good way to help use up any fresh produce you don’t want to go to waste.
Let’s talk about protein. You should aim for 15 to 25 grams of protein in your smoothie. My favorite way to add protein is with protein powder — it’s easy and you don’t have to think about it — you just add a scoop and you know exactly how much protein is in that scoop (usually 15 – 20 grams). Other protein options would be plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu. These are all things that won’t affect the overall taste of the smoothie too much, but they will add creaminess and bulk to your smoothie.
Next is the fat. Do not skimp on the fat! You need fat to feel full, to be happy, to feel satisfied with your meal, to keep your brain working optimally, to make hormones, to absorb many vitamins, and to be a nice person. The fats you add to your smoothie need to be healthy fats. Healthy fats would be 1 tablespoon of nut butter, a teaspoon of flaxseed or coconut oil, 1/4 of an avocado, 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal or 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.
Lastly, you need to add your fruit. Berries are best because they are low on the glycemic index, meaning they don’t cause a big spike in your blood sugar. But, that doesn’t mean you should never have other fruits in your smoothies. We recommend eating a variety of fruits, so try peaches, pineapples, bananas, and mango as well (and anything else that you think sounds good)! 1 cup of fruit is a good amount to start with. Make sure you buy berries organic; they are one of the most heavily contaminated foods.
You may need to add some liquid to your smoothie in order to get it to blend up, depending on what ingredients you’ve already chosen. Water is always an option, or an unsweetened non-dairy milk. We tend to eat a lot of dairy, so staying away from milk here will help you get more variety in your diet and possibly protect against a possible food hypersensitivity to dairy (If you always want to eat dairy, don’t always eat dairy! We tend to develop hypersensitivities to foods that we eat the most). Try unsweetened “milks” like almond milk, flax milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, soy milk or rice milk. Again, play around with this and find a few flavors you like.
Things you should not add to your smoothies: sugar! Your smoothie should be sweet enough as it is, especially if you use a flavored protein powder. If you must add a sweetener, I suggest you use stevia. It comes from a plant and is naturally calorie free; you can buy it as a liquid or a powder. It is VERY sweet, so use sparingly.
Here is a basic one serving smoothie recipe for you:
protein powder, greek yogurt, tofu or cottage cheese; aim for 15-25 grams of protein
½ cup liquid; unsweetened non-dairy milk (almond milk, rice milk, flax milk, coconut milk, etc),
water
1 cup organic fruit; fresh or frozen
¼ cup vegetable; try frozen leafy greens like kale, spinach or collards
fat; 1 tsp oils (flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, etc), ¼ avocado, 1 tablespoon flaxseed
meal, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1 tablespoon nut butter
- Blend together the protein powder (if using), liquid and vegetable first. This ensures you won’t have any chunks of protein powder and completely liquefies your veggie.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend to your desired consistency. For thinner smoothies, add more liquid. For thicker smoothies, add ice.
