Smoothies-Good or Bad?

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  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    High in calories doesn't equal unhealthy... You can make them smaller you know. I make a smoothie for me and my boyfriend, we split it in half and it came out to like 180 calories.
  • kitsilana
    kitsilana Posts: 50 Member
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    i frikken love smoothies BUTTTTTT!!!! ya gotta be careful what you put in them.

    Here's my bestest recipe:
    1 cup water
    1 cup orange juice (I like Tropicana fortified with calcium)
    1 cup frozen raspberries (other berries are good too but the raspberries are nice and sour + bonus fibre)
    1 scoop whey protein powder (vanilla)
    1 tbs ground flax seeds or chia seeds
    1/4 cup bran buds
    as much spinach as you wanna dump in there (seriously, this is NOT where your calories are gonna come from)
    (optional) 1/4 cup 0% plain greek yoghurt

    I choose these ingredients because
    1. They are very nutrient dense
    2. LOADSA protein. Seriously, this was a revelation to me.
    3. fibre
    4. tastes f***ing amazing


    What I DON'T put in my smoothies:
    - mango, pineapple, banana.. I just find they add a bunch of sugar and calories without giving me a ton of nutrients. Plus, the whey protein is sweetened and these make it all too sweet.
    - peanut butter, sugar, honey, sweetened yoghurts, milk... I do eat all of these, of course, but again, if my 'breakfast' is gonna be 480 calories it needs to be pretty damn high in the macro and micro nutrients I need. For me that means Protein, fibre and vitamins.


    Here's why I love smoothies:
    I hate eating breakfast. Always have. I'm almost never hungry early in the morning and if i AM hungry, I hate most breakfast foods like cereals- yuck.

    But I do get really hungry around 11.30-ish. Now, at that point, I used to eat lunch-type stuff, which would mean i'd be hungry again at around 3... too early for dinner, so I'd eat snacky-type things (ie not very healthy).

    With a smoothie (and yes, I know it's a lot of calories for a 'drink'!) I'll have like 2 sips once I've made it (usually cause it doesn't quite all fit into my bottle...).
    I'll have half the bottle around 10.30 or 11. Finish the rest off before I have my lunch... and I'm telling you, with the protein and the bran buds it's so filling that I'm never hungry. I often bring home half my lunch.
    One thing- you may have to add a bit more water by lunchtime. the bran and the seeds soak up a lot of moisture, making it quite thick, which I love, though.

  • craftylatvian
    craftylatvian Posts: 599 Member
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    Thanks for all the great info. I will definitely try the recipes and suggestions above!
  • robandlaura73
    robandlaura73 Posts: 2 Member
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    I split my smoothie with my husband but it is quite filling and lower in calories - 3 cups of spinach, 18 oz of water, 1 banana, 2Tbls ground flax seed, 1 cup frozen pineapple, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. Splash of lemon juice. The frozen fruit gives it the thicker icy smoothie texture. So split in half it is around 179 calories
  • alltheweigh170
    alltheweigh170 Posts: 287 Member
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    nickatine wrote: »
    www.leanitup.com has an article with 30 protein shake recipes all under 300 cal.

    Thank you! That is a good site with lots of good information.
  • Ladiebug710
    Ladiebug710 Posts: 133 Member
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    I like smoothies too but I have to watch the calories. I try to keep it in check with limiting pineapple to no more than half a cup because that seems to be one of the higher calorie fruits. Apples add a good amount of sweetness and strawberries really add volume to them with fewer calories. Make sure the liquids you use are unsweetened as well and that will help keep it in check
  • craftylatvian
    craftylatvian Posts: 599 Member
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    nickatine wrote: »
    www.leanitup.com has an article with 30 protein shake recipes all under 300 cal.


    Wow, tons of recipes on that link!! They all look awesome, thanks!!

  • CapnVillainBLK
    CapnVillainBLK Posts: 157 Member
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    For smoothie recipes that call for milk, you can use unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. It saves about 50 - 100 calories depending on the type of milk you use (1%, whole) and I haven't been able to taste the difference.
  • nickatine
    nickatine Posts: 451 Member
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    alltheweigh170 wrote: »
    nickatine wrote: »
    www.leanitup.com has an article with 30 protein shake recipes all under 300 cal.

    Thank you! That is a good site with lots of good information.
    no prob

  • ccather
    ccather Posts: 16 Member
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    Double check your calories on that smoothie. You have all the things I put into my favorite smoothie (a knock off of Tropical Smoothie Cafe's Island Green) I make a double batch with a whole banana, two fist fulls of spinach, Dole pineapple in 100% juice, and frozen mango. My total for the blenderful is 630 calories and I usually split it in half for about 315cal. I realize you over estimated, but I think you really, really over estimated. It's likely no more than 350 calories. I dunno about you, but I can make a big difference with 100 calories in my diet!

    <think I'll get that smoothie out of the fridge now, as a matter of fact ;)>

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