Smoothies..Healthy? Recipe Ideas?

sarahlm20

So I recently brought a smoothie machine in a bid to help me lose weight. I love smoothies and it's a way of getting to eat fruit, I love veg but I struggle to eat fruit so making into a smoothie really helps.

I have began having for breakfast/brunch to avoid me from skipping breakfast yet eating something healthy, nutritional and not constantly having toast for breakfast. I also hate cereals so I struggle to find a breakfast I like.

My concern is are smoothies healthy? I mean I worry about using milk as I am worried it is fatty , I use semi-skimmed. I plan to have a smoothie a day, is that good for you?

At the moment the only smoothies I have learn't to make is banana and honey or banana,raspberry and honey. Is these healthy? and does anyone have any healthy smoothie recipe ideas?

I need to lose another stone by Christmas. I have almost lost 2 stone in the last 1 1/2 years. I am almost 12 stone, I want to be 11 stone by December. Any advice will be helpful!

jaznon

I love smoothies! I do my grocery shopping on Sunday, come straight home and make my smoothies for the week. I only work 4 days a week so I make 4 smoothies. I put them in the freezer. The night before I plan on having one for breakfast I set it in the fridge. They normally thaw by the next morning. Some times I put them in a water bath to help them along while I am getting ready in the morning. This may sound weird but I don't let me smoothies get completely thawed, I normally eat them with a spoon when I get to work. I love making strawberry banana and blueberry banana! Sometimes just a plain banana smoothie! I use 1 banana, 1 cup of the other fruit and some greek yogurt (plain). I just search on the internet for other recipes, there are a lot! Just find one that sounds like something you would like and go for it! Green smoothies are becoming popular right now, too. I have tried my coworker's and it wasn't bad. Those usually have spinach, tomatoes and the like in them but can be changed around. As long as she put a banana in it I didn't taste much else. I hope this helps and good luck on your smoothie journey

D782

Yes smoothies are healthy, I often use them as a replacement for breakfast. A couple of helpful hints:
- unsweetened almond milk is a great alternative for milk and really good for you
- try to aim for fruits that are lower in sugar, mainly strawberries and blackberries. This article reallly helped me: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/sugar-wise-how-fruit-stacks
- try adding some supplements to help with your weight loss & wellbeing - Maca and Acai powder can be purchased on Amazon and make a great addition
- Use Manuka Honey as a natural sweetner ands its also really good for you
- for a breakfast shake try adding a tablespoon or two of sugar free museli (makes it a bit more filling!)

sarahlm20

Thank you for all the advice, very good advice.

Jaznon- What do you freeze your smoothies in? I am struggling to find something ideal to freeze mine in. And do you use cows milk or stuff like almond milk?

Ladypink- I am curious about the almond milk, is it lower calories? less fat? I will definately look at the article and will also get some weight loss supplements.

Also how much milk do you use in your smoothies? I am stuck on that. I put 1 1/2 cups of milk in mine recently but it seems a lot. Should I just have 1 banana or 2? Sorry I am so new to this lol.

Also how do you log your smoothies? I struggle to find out how many calories mine have.

thank you for any help!

x

jaznon

I went to Walmart and found a 4 pack of plastic cups with lids that were made for freezing (it showed salsa on the picture). I don't put and milk in my smoothies, just fruit and yogurt. But if you search around on the internet you will find all different kinds of recipes. Some call for milk and others do not. I have been wanting to try almond milk but haven't yet. I love trying new products, recipes, fruits/vegetables so I am looking forward to it, I have heard a lot of good things about it. As for logging them, I make my own recipe in the food log and record it like that

Oh and sometimes I will add a little bit of ground flaxseed into my smoothies too. I can't even tell its in them

D782

Glad I could help

Unsweetened almond milk is about 29 calories per 200ml serving with only 0.2g sugar and around 3g of fat, whereas skimmed milk per 200ml is 100 calories, 10g sugar and 4g of fat.

The amount of milk you use depends on how much yoghurt you put in, if any and how thick you want your shake. Because almond milk is much healthier I dont feel guilty if I use too much milk, but I would say a cup should be enough. If you add a few ice cubes too then it thins out the shake a bit and makes it nice and cold. You should really only be using half a banana, 1 full one max.

Jason Vale has some good recipies: http://www.juicemaster.com/recipes/smoothies

I especially like his breakfast one: http://www.juicemaster.com/recipes/smoothies/breakfast-on-the-go

The supplements are great, they make you feel AMAZING!! Much more energy and your general wellbeing improves. Stick to natural ones though instead of special weight loss supplements as they are full of rubbish! I use: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=NATURYA&index=drugstore&search-type=ss

With regards to logging, Ive found that difficult too. I tired looking up homemade smoothies but nothing is exactly like mine. I tend to just enter a general quick add calories, because you cant really classify the amount of fat, sugar, carbs etc. But as long as your making a healthy smoothie you know its good for you and better than having a fry up!!

sarahlm20

Thank you

Jaznon- im gunna check some cheap shops here for plastic cups Also what is flaxseed? what do they taste like?

Ladypink - OMG! I deffo think im gunna try almond milk! I dont put any yoghurt in my smoothies so far, they taste fine with just milk, do i need to put yoghurt in it if i use almond milk? just wondering if it would need thickening up as i dont know how thick almond milk is.

Oops! Iv been using 2 bananas!! Time to cut down then haha. No wonder i keep getting full very quick haha. Random question but how do you store the other unused half of the banana? I dont want to chuck it and waste it lol

yeah i am debating wether to log the smoothies as i cant find some like mine and i dont even know myself what the calories are, but i know its healthy and good for me in my mind so i just stick with that. so much better then fry-up and toast lol

D782

I think Im starting to sound like a smoothie expert lol. I had all the same queries as you when I started and it took hours of online research and trial and error to finally get it right, so Im glad I can share my knowledge with someone!!

Almond milk is quite thin, but then once you add the fruit it thickens up again. Give it a go and if its not what you like then try adding some natural yoghurt. The main reason I dont always use yoghurt is that it goes out of date really quickly and you can only really get big tubs of it.

You can buy a banana case (crazy as it sounds) which you can store the banana in to use the next day. My advise is to not completely peel the banana when you use half, just so the skin still protects it too. I try to steer away from bananas in general just because they are so high in sugar, and you dont need them for energy because the supplements provide this instead.

Ive also been told that after a workout chocolate milk is the best thing to get the nutrients your body is craving, so Ive found a special healthy version:
Almond milk
Ice cubes
1 teaspoon of pure coco powder
1 tablespoon of manuka honey
1 tablespoon of cacao nibs
1 tablespoon of reduced fat peanut butter
Its pretty tasty, good for you, and curbs that post workout sugar craving! You can add 1/2 banana if you like too.

FrankiesSaysRelax

I also make a smoothie for breakfast every morning. I typically use something along the lines of this:

1 cup of milk (2% usually)
1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
1 serving of vanilla protein powder
1 tablespoon chia seeds


That is my typical base, then I add in whatever fruit I feel like. Today I picked blueberries and strawberries. Sometimes it's a banana or raspberries. This works for me since I'm trying to eat a 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein diet. It comes out around 500 calories, but it keeps me full until lunch and I don't find myself snacking inbetween meals.

Of course, you could alter this any way you'd like. Use regular yogurt, add in nuts or some type of butter (peanut, almond, sunflower), use almond milk, etc.

allnamesgone

I make smoothie packets for the freezer and make one just about every day. I throw a couple handfuls of greens (spinach and/or kale), a cup and a 1/2 or so of berries, and half a banana in a freezer bag. Then I take a packet out in the morning add almond milk and blend. It comes out like a shake, and you can't even taste the greens.

Sometimes I use other fruit depending on what I may have purchased at the grocery store. If it looks like it might get to ripe, I throw it in a bag for a smoothie so I don't waste anything. Nothing worse than throwing away groceries I bought with my hard-earned money! But I always throw in some banana. It brings the sweetness.

sarahlm20

ladypink- hahaha! Thanks for sharing with me! Iv decided to do this more then buy smoothies regularly at a smoothie bar haha. They are gunna miss the custom i think lol
I will definately give almond milk a blast when i get paid and take the advice with the yoghurt. With the Acai you mentioned earlier, do you just chuck it in the blender with everything else? and how much should I use?
haha, iv seen those banana cases and thought they are pointless, now it makes sense haha! Yeah i was worried about the use of banana's but to be honest i thought it was what you use to make smoothies thick and i didn't know what other fruit i would like. I will cut down on the banana and experiment with other fruits
Thank you for the chocolate smoothie recipe, i dont think i will use it just yet as i dont do lots of exercise at the moment, but when i start to do more, i think i will use it then.

FrankiesSaysR- Thanks for the suggestions, just wondering what are Chai seeds?

Allnamesgone- Do you blend the fruit and greens before putting in the freezer? jw. I am so interested in trying the greens, sounds alright if you cant taste it. What are the benefits of adding spinach? I just see lots of people suggesting it haha.
Yeah i think i will still use banana but only a small amount, like half. I love banana in smoothies haha

chelseascounter

I use 200ml to 240ml of almond milk/coconut water in my smoothies.

here's a recipe

1/2 avocado

1 frozen banana

2 tablespoon of raw cacao

200 ml almond milk

stevia or a pitted date for sweetness

it's about 300 cals if you use the date.

jebo1982

I have been on a big green smoothie kick lately. My latest one is spinach or kale, protein powder, cherries, zucchini, fresh ginger, chia seeds, tsp of olive oil, frozen banana.. I change up the fruit and sometimes add cinnamon instead of ginger.

Oh2BeMaintaining

Skinnytaste.com has several smoothies. My current favorite is this one

Just Peachy Green Smoothie
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 2 • Size: 16-oz smoothie • Old Points: 4 • Weight Watcher Points+: 7 pt
Calories: 205 • Fat: 8 g • Carb: 31 g • Fiber: 6 g • Protein: 7 g • Sugar: 20 g
Sodium: 170 mg • Cholest: 0 mg

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana
1 packed cup baby spinach
2 large or 4 small fresh ripe sweet peaches, pitted (2/3 cup)
2 tbsp raw hemp seeds, shelled
1 3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup ice
sweetener, to taste (I used a few drops of Nu-Naturals liquid stevia)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, adjust sweetener to your taste.

FrankiesSaysRelax

Here is a quick review of why they are beneficial

http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/chia-seeds/premium.html

I mostly use them for omega-3, but they do help me stay full longer which is great b/c I don't usually have time to snack b/t breakfast and lunch.

ferra11

Great ideas..thanks everybody!!!

ericcumbee

This has been my breakfast for the last week

1 bannana sliced
1 handful of frozen strawberries
1 scoop of chocolate frosty protein powder
fill the 12OZ blender cup the rest of the way with coconut milk.
some days I even throw in a little bit of PB2

ladylu11

dashingdish.com has lots of protein shake/smoothie recipes. Some may require a membership to access, but the membership is only $5 a month and worth it.

D782

Sarah - with the acai or maca supplements, you just put a spoonful or two in the blender with all the other ingredients. You can't really even taste them once its all blended together x