I love smoothies! Who doesn't? I love how quick, tasty, and convenient they are. There are some days I could probably sustain myself solely on fruity smoothie goodness (whether it be my super tight schedule or just because I crave them), but, this is not entirely healthy. In fact, you'd be surprised to find out how unhealthy most smoothies actually are.

Let me explain...



When we think of a smoothie we typically think about fruit. Smoothies typically contain one, two, maybe three different fruits including berries, bananas, mangoes, etc. Now add in the liquid base of that smoothie: what is usually used? Juice or milk, right? How about sherbet, yogurt, and powders? Want to add some peanut butter or maybe chocolate? Smoothie stands and fast food chains offer so many different options when it comes to building the perfect smoothie, but we are now going from an attempt to get our share of fruits for the day, which is commendable, however, you end up taking in a whopping 480 calories and enough grams of sugar that could fill a big box of peanut chews!

You may be thinking to yourself, "I'm not eating refined sugar in my smoothies?" Are you? You'd be surprised what smoothie-making-shops use to sweeten up your drink! But even if you are making your smoothies at home and know where all of your ingredients are coming from, natural sugar (from the fruit) is still sugar and our body reacts with a significantly sharper and faster spike in blood sugar - and subsequent drop in the same - when consuming things like juices and other sugary drinks instead of eating them the traditional way. You are after all trying to put six oranges, a banana, and a mango into your body all at one time. Also, by consuming all of these liquids at one time you may leave yourself feeling less satisfied. You may be getting enough calories for a full meal, but after that blood sugar comes down you may be feeling the need for something more, and this may lead to unhealthy choices.

Now, like I said, I LOVE SMOOTHIES. Ever since Terry and I purchased our NINJA Blender last year I have been gulping them like crazy. The key is HOW you are making your smoothies and WHEN you are taking them in. I like to have a smoothie with my breakfast in the morning and, sometimes, I enjoy one before/after dinner after the gym. Depending on the day I am at the gym two times, morning before work for weights and after work for a run/cycle, so I need to make sure I sustain myself in the AM and replenish myself in the PM.


When making a good balanced smoothie I like to make sure I have one of the following: protein, carbohydrate, fat, and an added green...the green part being the most important to me. I do my best to make sure that each smoothie is under 250 calories for my serving and to NOT make the bulk of my ingredients high in carbohydrates, which is very hard. For instance, I wanted to share with you today my favorite morning breakfast smoothie. It is simple, has four ingredients, under 200 calories, and helps me to get some needed nutrients into my system in the morning. This is NOT a meal replacement smoothie, but something little to have with my regular eggs and meat in the morning or to enjoy after my morning workout routine as a snack and to help put some needed potassium into my body.



What You'll Need: