How to build a balanced smoothie
How to build a balanced smoothie
Here’s a few tips to make sure your smoothie is nutritionally balanced and is going to keep you full!
Aim for 1 serve of fruit maximum in your smoothie. Blending up fruit breaks down the cell walls in the fruit meaning the sugar is more available to be absorbed quickly. Keep well clear of fruit juice in smoothies. Juice is counted as ‘free sugar’ which is best to limit to 26g a day (6tsp) and given a cup of juice is equivalent to 7tsp sugar you can see the problem here.
Add veg - spinach, beetroot and carrot are the three I use most often but cooked cauliflower, courgette and kale all work.
Protein - milk of your choice and yoghurt are good options. Be mindful coconut milk/yoghurt are very low protein-wise. If you use alternative milks, check what you are buying and make sure there’s protein and calcium in there. Plain, unsweetened protein powders can be convenient to boost protein if you do lots of strength training or find your current smoothie doesn’t keep you feeling full enough. For tips on alternative milks check out this link here.
Healthy fats - a good tablespoon of nuts, seeds, peanut or any nut/seed butter or avocado are all helpful for those great fat soluble vitamins, a little more protein and a bit of extra fibre.
Be mindful of your volumes and remember it’s best not to smoothie-up too many meals and snacks, do it once a day at most. Chewing is important to help your brain register you are eating, it also slows you down...it’s easier to have more food when drinking it in smoothie form than you'd normally be able to eat if you were actually chewing the same amount. A bonus for some people...but not for all!
