Smoothie tips and recipes

One of my favorite ways to start the day is to drink a smoothie. However this isn’t only limited to just the mornings as I may sometimes enjoy a smoothie as a mid-day pick me up snack.

There are two main reasons why I personally enjoy smoothies.
1) I maximize the amount of veggies and fruits consumed for the day in one of these jam packed fiber, vitamin and anti-oxidant mixtures.
2) I don’t like to chew in the morning because I’m lazy that way

A few tips when selecting what goes in your smoothie’s are…

Take into consideration the veggie-to-fruit ratio in order to keep the sugar content low. Yes, sugar from fruit is the good kind of sugar but too much of it can still lead to weight gain, give you a sugar high or impact your health issues such as diabetes. Remember to keep a balance of fat/protein/carb ratio even in each smoothie.

Blend the fruit and veggies with the skin on, it’s where most of the nutrients are found.
Use water as a base instead of fruit juice due to it having an obvious lower sugar content.
Make the smoothie creamy: use coconut meat, yogurt, peanut butter, oats as examples
Make the smoothie crunchy: add nuts/seeds or don’t blend until completely smooth
Add fats: avocado, coconut oil, nuts/seeds, olive oil, nut butters
Don’t be afraid to spice it up. My favorites are cinnamon, ginger, tumeric and cayenne pepper
Choose fruits and veggies that are in season when possible. This will help vary the nutrients each day as well as prevent boredom.
Save $$ by blending foods that are about to spoil. Who knows what delicious combination you’ll come up with on the fly.
Be creative. You’ll love some and other’s…well not so much