Meal replacement smoothies

gdsmit1

I've recently gotten a Nutri Ninja blender and have been making smoothies for breakfast each morning. My main interest has been to increase the amount of vegetables in my diet, so everything has spinach in it. I know I need to watch the calories and sugar in these, it's easy to end up with 500 calories in one.

Anyone else drinking a meal that you make?

Care to share your favorite recipe?

I can't eat bananas, so any recipes without bananas would be greatly appreciated.

mschmalfuss

My recent formula has been: 1 vanilla Kroger carbmaster yogurt, I scoop muscletech phase8 vanilla protein powder, 1 cup of kroger berry medley frozen fruit. I then add ground flaxseed, a teaspoon of matcha powder, maca powder, hemp powder, fiber powder and a dash of cinnamon. I'll add water, milk or almond milk to thin it if needed. Recently I started adding a bit of kale. Looking to add maqui powder once it s in stock locally. It is a little seedy/gritty due to flax and seeds, but I think it covers the health aspect.

gdsmit1

Wow, that's a lot of powders. What's the benefit of those?

mschmalfuss

I picked a couple from this list: http://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/collections/6-powders-to-supercharge-a-smoothie-w444225

I use the ground flax for the omegas as well and the fiber powder is obvious...

Mike

Jen2133

When I started losing weight two years ago I did really well with a plan called The Body Reset by Harley Pasternak. The book provides recipes for well-balanced meal replacement smoothies plus walking and mild strength exercises. It is a progression to three smoothies a day, for a short time, with maintenance based on one per day as you are doing. The basic red and green recipes are still my favourites. Check it out!

kshama2001

Here's my smoothie, which does have a half a banana, which you could just leave it out or add more fruit to replace the lost sweetness.

I soak the chia seeds in a little water for at least 15 minutes first. This makes them gel-like, which improves the texture. Soaked chia seeds also stick in the teeth less.

TeaBea

gdsmit1 wrote: »

Wow, that's a lot of powders. What's the benefit of those?

For a meal you definitely want to include: protein and fat. Fiber is a good add in too.

Lots of ideas here
http://www.skinnytaste.com/smoothies-and-shakes/

gdsmit1

My typical smoothie is:
fruit
Chia
Greek yogurt
Spinach
Oats

I usually make it the night before. I leave the house at 5:30 and can't be running a blender at that time.

mcginger1

My new favorite is a "Peppermint Mocha" smoothie of my own creation -

• 3 oz nonfat Greek yogurt
• 6 oz cold brew unsweetened coffee (I use Stok)
• 6g Benefiber
• 6g PB Fit powder
• Half or full serving of Platinum Hydro Whey Turbo Chocolate
• 85g spinach
• half a banana (which you can omit, or replace with other sweet fruit)
  
• and 5 drops (less than 1/4 teaspoon) of peppermint extract
• (optional) Cacao nibs roughly pulsed, adds a crunch like chocolate mint ice cream

Add ice and blend

Today's smoothie (no nibs) was 308 calories, 28g carbs, 2g fat, 45g protein, and 11g sugars.

gdsmit1

I may give the Mocha a shot. I'm not a big peppermint fan, it's ok on occasion.

Hearts_2015

gdsmit1 wrote: »

My typical smoothie is:
fruit
Chia
Greek yogurt
Spinach
Oats

I usually make it the night before. I leave the house at 5:30 and can't be running a blender at that time.

@gdsmit1
I'm guessing dry oats?

gdsmit1

Yes, Quaker rolled oats.

Making it the previous day also makes sure the chia fully hydrate.

bigiss65

Here is what my typical breakfast smoothie consists of:

Banana - Large Peeled Banana - Juiced, 1 banana 98 29 0 1 1 15
Pineapple - Raw, all varieties, 0.5 cup, diced 37 10 0 0 1 7
Bulk - Chia Seeds, 15 g 70 1 5 3 45 0
Spinach - Raw, 1 cup 7 1 0 1 24 0
Generic - Raw Blue Berries 100 Grams - Usda, 50 g 29 7 0 0 1 0
Green Mountain Coffee - Coffee, Dark Magic, Black, 18.5 oz. 6 0 0 0 0 0
Domino - Organic Blue Agave Nectar, 1 Tbsp 60 16 0 0 0 16

Sounds like I could tweak it a bit for better results

gdsmit1

Here's today's smoothie

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup Chobani plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup rolled oats
water to bring it to the right level/consistency

326 calories 58 carbs 6 fat 18 protein

laurenocki

This departs from the thread slightly, but you mentioned concern about calories and bananas so I thought you or someone else reading might find this useful:

I have been drinking this meal replacement product called Soylent, which is a meal replacement powder that you add water to and shake up using an airtight pitcher they provide you with. It has all the nutrients you need in a meal.

A serving is 12 oz., 400 calories, and really filling. It tastes kind of like oat milk to me, it's truthfully not super tasty so you don't feel like chugging any more of it than you need to, which is a problem I have with smoothies. I always want to drink a ton of any given smoothie because it's always too dang good. With this stuff the flavor is sort of neutral, and since it's nutritionally complete you don't feel hungry for hours. It's very satisfying, hunger-wise. I was sort of surprised to like it. It's a pretty utilitarian approach to eating. But yeah, I don't do smoothies anymore, because the temptation to overindulge is always there. With Soylent, that problem is removed.

If you were to have it for breakfast, you could always have 8 oz. instead of 12 oz. to bring the calories down from 400. Since you mix it in the pitcher yourself you get to decide how much you feel like having at any given time. The stuff fills you up. It's pretty neat.

Anyway, I hope this helps and didn't veer off topic too much.

gdsmit1

I've thought about soylent, but I try to avoid soy when possible.