Let’s chat about smoothies shall we. Homemade smoothies can be an awesome addition to your diet as they give you the opportunity to add so many nutritious elements to your liquid meal. Now I did say homemade and this is for the simple fact that you as the creator will know exactly what has gone in to your creation. You must be careful of many store bought smoothies as they can be loaded with sugar coming at you in forms such as flavoured yogurts and fruit juices. This of course is to boost the taste.
When you make your own smoothie take the opportunity to add leafy greens such as kale or spinach, super foods such as Maca or goji berries and nuts and seeds such as chia, hemp and almonds. Doing this greatly adds to your fibre intake, your good fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates.
To get you started on the smoothie path I want to offer up to you my guide for a great smoothie:
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Pick Your Fruit
- Berries (Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries)
- Pineapple
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Pick Your Liquid
- Water
- Coconut Water
- Coconut Water Kefir
- Unsweetened non-dairy milk
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Pick Your Fat
- Coconut oil
- Nut butter
- Avocado
- Full fat coconut milk
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Choose Your Greens
- Spinach
- Kale or baby kale
- Swiss Chard (stems remove)
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Add your nutrient boosters
- Whey protein
- Flax seeds
- Chia seeds
- Hemp Hearts
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Choose a dynamic herb
- Ginger
- Turmeric
So now let’s load up your blender for optimal blending. Yes this does matter! Loading up your blender in the following order helps out your machine. It minimizes the pocket of air around the blade which would impede the food from being pulled back over it. Start with your liquids, then add your softer items like bananas, nut butters and leafy greens. Finally add your hard ingredients such as frozen berries, ice etc.
Be creative with your blends. I always recommend that my novice smoothiers keep a recipe journal of their ingredients to be able to drill down to what additions they like and dislike.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to your smoothie as long as you are incorporating good quality whole foods in your recipes.
Click on the recipe card for you free smoothie recipe!
