3 Smoothie Rules To Live By
Real Food Recipes Smoothies
Smoothies are a quick and easy way to get more nutrients into your diet.
Just throw everything in a blender, then down the hatch. Perfect for a rushed morning or after a long day.
But there are a few rules you need to follow when making and drinking smoothies.
3 Smoothie Rules To Live By:
1) Chew your smoothie.
Yes, smoothies are drinkable. But you still need to chew them in order to release the necessary salivary enzymes required for proper digestion — especially salivary amylase which is necessary for carbohydrate digestion (because fruits and veggies are mostly made of carbs, and your smoothie is mostly made of fruits and veggies!).
So instead of viewing your smoothie as a drink, view it as a liquid salad. This will help you remember to munch.
2) Include protein and fat in your smoothie.
Fruits contain natural sugars that can cause your blood sugar to spike. So to help balance this effect, be sure to include protein and fat in your smoothie. Plus protein and fat will also help keep you feeling full and satiated long after the carbs have digested. Just as important, fat aids with vitamin and mineral absorption, so helps you get the most out of the fruits and veggies in your smoothie.
I’m a big fan of hemp protein (also loaded with fiber) and grass-fed collagen peptides (hello, gorgeous skin!) for protein and flax oil or coconut oil for fat.
3) Don’t overload your smoothie with high-sugar fruits.
Yes, fruit is filled with healthy antioxidants and vitamins. And yes, fruit makes smoothies taste good! But it’s easy to get carried away and add too many high-sugar fruits in your smoothie. Even with the inclusion of healthy fats and proteins to help balance the sugars, too many high-sugar fruits will cause your insulin to spike much like it would if you ate a candy bar. This will cause you to feel hungry and tired shortly after eating your smoothie (as your blood sugar begins to fall again), and will lead to blood sugar disregulation in the long-run.
So instead of using a banana, use an avocado to add creaminess (and healthy fats!) to your smoothie. Or instead of mango, use raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries (all low in sugar). And don’t forget your greens!
I can’t see any picture but I would just recommend experimenting! Avocado and banana will make your smoothie creamy.
hello. i have found your web site and thank you very much for putting the time to write about al of these interesting natural supplements. i have a problem and question about the smoothies.
i am trying to make a routine for me and my brother ( both athletes) of making one (more fruity smoothie ) for the morning and one ( more green i) in the afternoon.
i use extra suppliments like adding macca powder and green coffee power in the mornig, and spirulina and acai powder in the afteroon one ( plus hemp seeds, flax seeds,walnuts,coconut oil,..) but i cannot have a firm recepie for the two. here on the picture i want them to look like that, one green and one purple .
would you please be able to take a moment a write me your suggestion of how to have them looking like that. what kind of ingridiens i should use . ( we love kale,spinach,green apples,kiwi,avocado,oranges,celery…).
thank you very much.
greetings from Croatia.
Thank you for a very simple and easy website to follow and read. Great information and ready to remake my smoothies.
I do about a teaspoon!
Thanks for the great info! I’ve been drinking a morning smoothie for awhile now and have been forgetting the fat!! About how much coconut oil would you recommend putting in a smoothie?
I was just wondering what you think about rice protein in smoothies? I usually do spinach, apple, frozen strawberries, and rice protein. I will start adding some coconut oil for fat now thanks to this post.
Awesome, Neala! Enjoy 🙂
I learned something new today. I have the tendency to overload my morning smoothies with fruits. From now on I’ll be more careful to have a good balance of fruits and greens. And I will definitely use avocado. Love avocados.
This are great tips! My boyfriend and I just got our first blender a couple of weeks ago and have been experimenting with different smoothies. I always have a feeling that we have been missing something to make them truly healthy. Why, yes of course, we’ve forgotten fats and proteins completely! We’ve just been using fruits and juices and occasional carrot or cucumber..
Thank you!