Smoothies..Healthy? Recipe Ideas?

sarahlm20
sarahlm20 Posts: 66 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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!

Replies

  • skinnysushicat
    skinnysushicat Posts: 138 Member
    Just watch your calories. I had a 200ml mango smoothie the other day and was a bit shocked when I logged it!
  • sarahlm20
    sarahlm20 Posts: 66 Member
    I am struggling to figure out the calories in smoothies :/ how do you log it? do you just log what fruit you had and the amount of milk as separate things or find the exact smoothie?
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    I make mine without milk. I use raw spinach, and fruits and water. If you add an avocado or a banana, that helps with the thickness and how creamy the smoothie is.

    I fill the cup with my fruits and pack as much raw spinach in there as I can and add water and blend for a minute, and then I add more spinach, because it blends down really fine. I log mine just by how much fruit and spinach I add into it...I add each ingredient one at a time and go by that.
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    Measure your milk - (use a cup that provides ounces or mL) -- log it

    Weigh your fruit on a digital food scale (in ounces or grams preferably) -- log it

    If you are using protein powders, weigh that (in grams) on a digital scale too. -- log it.

    You really have to weigh/measure and log everything to get it right.

    If you're worried about regular milk calorie wise, try unsweetened almond milk.
  • sarahlm20
    sarahlm20 Posts: 66 Member
    Thanks for all the advice everyone, it really helps me out.

    I am intrigued about the spinach, but it sounds such a weird thing to have :/ i might be brave haha

    Thanks 81kat for the advice on logging, i really do need to by a digital scale! Someone has suggested about unsweetened almond milk, so when i get paid i am gunna have a try!
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    I always use unsweetened almond milk in my smoothies because it is only 30 calories for a cup, and in my opinion it doesn't affect the taste of the smoothie.
  • Tiznonay
    Tiznonay Posts: 124 Member
    ^ hard to beat 30 calories a cup. I usually go with light vanilla silk for my smoothies. 70 per cup though, but it tastes pretty great imo. I just log it as a cup of that, plus a banana and however many strawberries/blueberries or whatever

    im also intrigued about the spinach idea. Im sure the fruit and/or milk hides the taste of it, but the color and consistency of it with spinach might ruin it for me
  • Raclex
    Raclex Posts: 238
    1 cup of almond/soy milk
    1/3 cup oatmeal
    1 banana
    1 table spoon of peanut butter
    1 tea spoon cinnamon

    Blend really well. YUM!

    Adjust to taste.
  • Fitiny
    Fitiny Posts: 24 Member
    I love smoothies. I think they are super healthy since you eat all the fiber (not like juices).
    I am currently doing a smothie a day challenge. I try to avoid milk in my shake.
    The best thing to do if you want to avoid milk is to add watery fruit like water melon or cucumber.
    Yes mangoes are more calorie dense but berries are not.
    Here are 2 recipes.

    Water melon
    Any frozen fruit
    If you want it to be more cremier you can add 2 table spoon of any yogurt.
    If i don't have water melon i use cucumber instead and a few drops of vanilla.

    Frozen banana
    Peanut butter
    Almond milk or soy milk or coconut water.
  • Shmeelady
    Shmeelady Posts: 31 Member
    Am big on blended drinks, i drink one every morning. The only thing is you REALLY have to pay attention because they add up fast in calories and sugar. Here is my fave blended drink which is roughly 340 calories.

    1 cup raw Kale
    1 cup raw Spinach
    Half an apple seeded with peel left on
    8 blackberries
    8 raspberries
    1.5 cups cold green tea
    1 tbsp almond butter
    1 tbsp gound cinnamon
    1 tbsp gound flax
    1 tbsp hemp hearts

    Sometimes i throw in the other half of my sons cereal banana from breakfast.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
    I don't mind milk fat in my smoothies - fat is more filling than the carbs in the smoothie, so it keeps me fuller longer.

    I don't drink smoothies on non-exercise days, only because I like my smoothies "full flavoured" - I don't cut corners :). Worth every tasty calorie, though!

    Here's my favourite. I usually have it for lunch on a day when I lift weights (of course there are ways to make it lower fat, lower sugar, lower cal if that was someone's aim - it's not mine!):

    1 cup 1% milk
    1 cup frozen blueberries
    1 tbsp peanut butter
    2 tbsp oats
    1 tsp flax seed (optional)
    1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

    If you didn't omit anything, you'd be looking at 41 grams protein, 41 grams carbs, 16 grams fat, 454 calories. Not "light" - but there's nothing bad in there, and it's an incredibly satisfying lunch (tastes heavenly!) on a day when I have extra calories to consume!

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