Too much sugar in my green smoothies. :(

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jennismagic
jennismagic Posts: 243 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've finally joined the green smoothie bandwagon (albeit very late), and I'm worried that I'm putting too much sugar in. I've tried two so far, and I only use kale and dandelion greens. I'm not quite used to the taste yet, so I've been adding a table spoon of raw honey along with fresh fruit for flavor. Today's smoothie contained the greens, honey, water, and a medium peach. Obviously, the honey is a major source of the sugar, but I don't know how else I can get the benefits of a green smoothie without sweetening it up first. Any ideas? I have stevia on hand, but I don't like to use it on a daily basis.
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Replies

  • angelicasmommy
    angelicasmommy Posts: 303 Member
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    If you use milk instead of water, it would help with the taste. Kale and dandelion greens, imo taste horrible lol...so that could be an issue as well. I use spinach. I find milk, banana, spinach tastes awesome and I also add flax seeds, any other type of frozen fruit, pb etc.
  • GaPeachRealtor
    GaPeachRealtor Posts: 40
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    I use spinach and spurila no dairy just water and man does it taste like grass ..but I'm so use to it now. ..I also add a 1/4 cup of oatmeal raw I have a Vitamix and it will grind up anything to dust.LOL.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
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    Here is how I get my greens with my protein.

    2 scoops choc protein powder, frozen 1/2 banana, 2 tb peanut butter, ice, water, big handful baby spinach, big handful kale(stems removed)

    Tastes great ... Is my post workout mainstay
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
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    I also use spinach, banana, PB, scoop vanilla protein powder, ice and water - approx 26g sugar.
  • Ebeth2006
    Ebeth2006 Posts: 2
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    It can be hard because even the fruit can add a lot of sugar if you are not careful. I read a good blog on green smoothies which said to start out easy. Make something you like that you can drink even if it has more sugar than you want at first. Slowly start taking out the sugar.

    I use Splenda when I need to be extra careful with my sugar intake. I know people have issues with it so use what ever you'd like.

    Spinach/Kale / Swiss Card / Any leafy green. Spinach and Swiss Card are mild and good starters.
    Banana
    Coconut water (fresh from husk)
    Mango
    Yogurt

    or my favorite

    Spinach and Powdered Green Tea
    Banana
    Yogurt
    Ice
    And Splenda
  • LisaDunn01
    LisaDunn01 Posts: 173 Member
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    My favorite green smoothies:

    1. 10 oz water
    1 raw (yes, raw) egg
    1/2 scoop Sun Warrior Warrior Blend Protein Powder (I use plain but you may prefer Vanilla)
    1/2 c. pineapple
    1/2 banana
    1/2 orange (no peel)
    1 1/2 handfuls spinach
    1/4 bunch parsley
    3-5 fresh basil leaves

    2. 16 oz. water
    1 pear
    1/2 squeeze lemon
    1 head of romaine lettuce
    1 1/2 handfuls spinach
    2 celery stalks

    The fruit makes it sweet.
    FYI - KAL liquid stevia tastes the best out of all the stevia brands and it's good for you. No reason not to use it daily. I make a Chia Protein Shake with it.

    2 tbsp. chia seeds
    2 c. almond milk (Homemade - 1 c. water, 1/4 c. blanched almonds. blend and strain through nut bag. Easy!)
    1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
    1/2 tsp. cinnamon
    6-8 drops liquid stevia
    YUM!
  • IntenseRSX04
    IntenseRSX04 Posts: 16
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    use baby spinach instead, it's tasteless, and add whey protein
  • LilEmm
    LilEmm Posts: 240
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    Yogurt - plain
    Frozen strawberries
    Spinach
    few sprigs of mint
    1/4 c cucumber (peeled)
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
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    two words... PROTEIN POWDER!!! okay.. make that 4 words.. GREAT TASTING PROTEIN POWDER! lol...

    mine taste like cake batter! Its actually SO sweet (and i dont prefer sweets) that i have to use extra blueberries to "sour" it up a bit so i can stand it. LOL sweet stuff makes me wanna vomit. lmao! Mom truly won the war when she told dad "let her eat it till she pukes.. she wont do it but once!"

    boy was she ever right.. lol

    :flowerforyou:
  • bimpski
    bimpski Posts: 176 Member
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    i use 2 oz. of baby spinach and 2 fruits (right now 1 banana and 1 cup red grapes) with about 4 oz of water. no need for any sugar.
  • horseplaypen
    horseplaypen Posts: 442 Member
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    Try substituting grapes for your honey! My bf and I make a green drink to have with dinner, which is supposed to contain cucumber, celery, baby spinach, avocado, apple, parsley, ginger and lemon juice. We got his parents doing the same thing, only his dad is a super sugar addict so they add in a bunch of green grapes to sweeten it. I tried it their way once and WOW - so sweet!
  • jennismagic
    jennismagic Posts: 243 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I've written down everyone's tips, and I'm looking for more recipe ideas via Google, haha. I think it's best to experiment and take it slow.
  • piratesaregrand
    piratesaregrand Posts: 356 Member
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    I make this

    1 cup almond milk
    1 ripe banana, peeled + frozen
    2 handfuls baby spinach
    1 tbsp chia seeds
    3 ice cubes
    Plus some protein powder
  • jensfitpal2012
    jensfitpal2012 Posts: 145 Member
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    sounds interesting,will have to give this a try.Thanks,bump
  • soulfulsally
    soulfulsally Posts: 326
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    I would cut out the honey altogether and add in berries. They're low calorie and don't have much sugar. Works really well for sweetening the drink. You can try a half greens and half berries mixture to start out with and then slowly work on more greens, less berries.
  • nothingwithoutHim
    nothingwithoutHim Posts: 140 Member
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    Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

    Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.
  • jennismagic
    jennismagic Posts: 243 Member
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    Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

    Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.


    Would avocado work? Or 1% milk?
  • drfilth
    drfilth Posts: 2
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    Try to avoid using cows milk.....there's nothing good about it

    My green smoothie recipe............

    1/4 cup coconut milk
    fresh pineapple
    1/2 small tomato
    small piece ginger root
    5 slices cucumber
    1 stalk of celery
    5 baby carrot pieces
    2 tbsp flax seed
    1/3 bunch cilantro
    1cup baby spinach
    1 cup kale
  • nothingwithoutHim
    nothingwithoutHim Posts: 140 Member
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    Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

    Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.


    Would avocado work? Or 1% milk?

    Avocados are some of the best to put in smoothies like this, because the kind of fat they contain (monounsaturated) is the kind that can use the least amount of fat to absorb the most amount of nutrients! I'm no expert, but I don't think 1% milk has enough fat to absorb much, as it has around 2.5 grams of fat, and most recommendations for absorption are anywhere from 3 - 20.
  • jennismagic
    jennismagic Posts: 243 Member
    Options
    Try bananas instead of/ or with other types of fruit. If I use bananas, there is no need for me to put in sugar.

    Also, I always try to put in nuts or peanut butter, because without any fat in the smooothie, your body is not going to absorb the nutrients in the leafy greens very well.


    Would avocado work? Or 1% milk?

    Avocados are some of the best to put in smoothies like this, because the kind of fat they contain (monounsaturated) is the kind that can use the least amount of fat to absorb the most amount of nutrients! I'm no expert, but I don't think 1% milk has enough fat to absorb much, as it has around 2.5 grams of fat, and most recommendations for absorption are anywhere from 3 - 20.

    Thanks!

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