Beautify Your Smoothie

Carmyn Ferguson RHN
Feb 24, 2018
2 min read

Smoothies are a go-to for healthy breakfasts or an on the go snack for many. Smoothies are great and I always recommend my clients begin to incorporate them as an easy way to get more nutrients into their diet. Unfortunately, we may not realize how much sugar we can consuming in our 'healthy' smoothies.

Think about this, say you are adding a banana, half a cup of berries and maybe a date, that equals to 35g of sugar. That might not sound too bad but that is almost 9 teaspoons! Not to mention most smoothie bars add fruit juices and sweetened yogurts. This will cause a major sugar spike in your morning and may be setting your body up for energy crashes, mood swings and weight gain...

It is SO important that your first meal of the day be protein based and low in simple sugars.

HOW TO UP YOUR SMOOTHIE GAME: Focus on these four ingredients in your smoothies and stick to one serving of fruit to sweeten.

Fat
Fibre
Protein
Greens

These four ingredient will balance instead of spike your blood sugar, give you sustained energy and reduce your hunger hormones throughout the rest of the day.

How to put this into use? Start here:

Fats: avocado, nut butters, tahini, coconut or act oil Fibre: Chia seeds, flax, acacia Greens: Spinach, Kale, Cucumber, Cilantro, Spirulina etc. Protein: Pea, Brown rice, Hemp, Whey protein powders and collagen powder Optional: 1/4 cup fruit of your choice Liquid: 1 cup of unsweetened nut or coconut milk, plain water Get creative add your own flavours or super foods like cacao or maca, lemons or other vegetables like cauliflower or zucchini! Check out my simple steamed then frozen cauliflower step-by-step here!

So be mindful of how much sugars you are adding to your blended beverage and complement those carbs with fat, fibre and protein. Balanced hormones, stable mood, and fat burning are all benefits to gain when you makeover your smoothie!

My go-to smoothie is: 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, almond milk, ice, Spinach, water, Ergogenics hemp protein, Organika Collagen, Chia seeds and Tahini.