smoothie – GrowIt BuildIT

Ingredients For My Favorite Smoothie Why Eat A Smoothie For Breakfast? I make myself a smoothie for breakfast to pack as much nutrition as I can into a quick, portable drink I can consume while helping get my two little ones ready in the morning. I feel good knowing I got a lot of nutrition in to start my day. What is bad about smoothies? While smoothies can be a wonderful source of a nutrient dense meal option, too often smoothies recipes are not well balanced. Some issues with many smoothie recipes is that they have: added & excessive sugarlack of fiberhigh calorie & fat content How to Make Your Smoothie Healthier One of the issues with smoothies is that because it is all blended up and you drink it, you can consume whatever is in it very quickly. We don't want to have excessive sugar, especially no added sugars. Also, you want to be conscious of the calorie and fat content in your smoothie. When consuming things that are blended up you lose the chewing part of eating and therefore we can become blind to how much we actually consumed. To make your smoothies healthier: strive to create balance in the ingredients, avoid smoothies that are mostly just fruit (too much sugar too quickly)avoid any added sugaradd healthy fats by adding nutsadd healthy fiber by adding oats How To Make My Favorite Healthy Smoothie Preblended Smoothie Smoothie Ingredients Find links to some of the ingredients & supplies needed to make this smoothie on our RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS - FOOD PAGE. 3/4 to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk1 banana1 handful of frozen spinach1/4 to 1/3 cup frozen blueberries1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder1 tsp. ground chia & flax blend3 Tbsp. old fashioned oats1 Tbsp. walnuts Smoothie Making Directions & Pro-tips Add 3/4 to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk to your personal blender cup. Using unsweetened almond milk helps to reduce excess sugar.Add 1 banana. Any ripeness will do, per your personal preference. Smoothies can be a great way to use up overly ripe bananas, but keep in mind as bananas ripen their sugar content increases.Add a handful of spinach. One of my favorite smoothie tips is to keep your spinach in the freezer. This way it stays fresh and adds just a little hint of frozen texture to your smoothie. I do not recommend adding ice to your smoothies. Starting your day with frozen beverages can be considered to be hard on your system in the morning. And, most personal blenders are not designed to be blending ice.Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of frozen blueberries. I like to use Wyman's Wild Blueberries. Getting your own local blueberries and freezing them yourself is a great option, if you can do that. You could certainly add more. Wyman's Wild Blueberries nutrition label reports to have 10 grams of sugar in 1 cup, so using half a cup would be about 5 grams of sugar. Since there is no additional ice added, these leave the smoothie being cold, but not really a frozen texture.Add 1 tsp. of ground Chia & Flax blend. I have been using Carrington Farms Organic Flax Chia blend. This is a way to add omega 3s, fiber, minerals, antioxidants, and more to your smoothie.Add 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder. I'm a chocolate lover, so I love this addition. And, unsweetened cocoa powder offers some additional nutritional benefits, such as minerals, magnesium, flavonols, & phytonutrients.Add 3 Tbsp. old fashioned oats. This is such a great way to add vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, beta-glucan (soluble fiber, colloidal compounds, and protein. They thicken your smoothie and help it make you feel full. I personally do not care for oatmeal, but really wanted to get oats into my diet. Adding them to my smoothies has accomplished this dietary goal. Add 1 Tbsp. walnuts. I used to add a spoonful of peanut butter to my smoothies. I've wanted to get walnuts into my diet, but unfortunately they are not a nut I really like the taste of. Then it dawned on me to swap out the peanut butter for walnuts for a great nutritional upgrade to my smoothies. Walnuts are a powerhouse of goodness including omega 3s, protein, and antioxidants. Blend in your personal blender and enjoy! Other Healthy Food Posts to Check Out: Make Your Own Broccoli Sprouts How To Make Fermented Sauerkraut