Newbie to Smoothie?

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  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    I'm haing a smoothie for breakfast today; I'm someone who doesn't always like to eat too much for breakfast, so I like them as an option when I'm just looking for something light. The one I'm making now for a late breakfast is banana, frozen mango chunks, frozen pineapple, and a splash of orange/pineapple juice. It's about 280 calories, and I like it because it allows me to get in a lot of fruit. It's also good for days like today; I'm not feeling well, so I can cram in some extra vitamin C in!
  • kellie5218
    kellie5218 Posts: 11 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    kellie5218 wrote: »
    Wishing_4_Wings wrote: »
    So I've never tried smoothies before, but I've been trying to find ways that I can sneak in and trick myself into getting in fruits and veggies. So I wanted to try some smoothies but I'm not sure where to start. My local Kroger has a selection of fruit and veggies but not always everything in lists on recipes.

    What are some tips, tricks, and recipes that you all like to use? Is there anything I need to know before I go buy up a bunch of fruit and yogurt and start blind?

    I'm in the same place. I'm a little concerned trying the "green smoothie " route because I'm so accustomed to eating fast food.

    The idea of spending a fortune on greens and fruits, blending them together, and not being able to tolerate the smoothie is terrifying.

    If smoothies don't sound good to you, you know they're completely optional, right? (No matter what the fitness Instragrammers say ;) ).

    Balanced nutrition is a wonderful thing, but there are lots of different ways to achieve balanced nutrition. Even some fast food can fit in there.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-ernot-spam-or-mlm

    A slow remodel of one's eating is a fine thing, and often more successful. Sometimes people get the idea that they need to eat all kinds of unfamiliar, allegedly "healthy" things right off the bat, and that's just not the case.

    Proper calories for weight management + sound, balanced eating for nutrition + exercise for fitness = best odds of long term good health.

    Figure out what you can most easily and happily plug into the terms of that equation, and you've got it made. If that's smoothies, great. If it's Taco Bell power bowls or fresco options (or whatever) equally swell.

    My biggest challenge is time, so the idea of blending greens with some fruit is SO appealing.

    I leave for work at 6 am and get home around 9-10 PM. So cooking is NOT an option. I eat a lot of salads from Panera, (until this romaine e-coli outbreak).

    I bought a Vitamix for myself for Christmas, but haven't used it yet. Working on a plan.
  • Safari_Gal
    Safari_Gal Posts: 888 Member
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    kellie5218 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    kellie5218 wrote: »
    Wishing_4_Wings wrote: »
    So I've never tried smoothies before, but I've been trying to find ways that I can sneak in and trick myself into getting in fruits and veggies. So I wanted to try some smoothies but I'm not sure where to start. My local Kroger has a selection of fruit and veggies but not always everything in lists on recipes.

    What are some tips, tricks, and recipes that you all like to use? Is there anything I need to know before I go buy up a bunch of fruit and yogurt and start blind?

    I'm in the same place. I'm a little concerned trying the "green smoothie " route because I'm so accustomed to eating fast food.

    The idea of spending a fortune on greens and fruits, blending them together, and not being able to tolerate the smoothie is terrifying.

    If smoothies don't sound good to you, you know they're completely optional, right? (No matter what the fitness Instragrammers say ;) ).

    Balanced nutrition is a wonderful thing, but there are lots of different ways to achieve balanced nutrition. Even some fast food can fit in there.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-ernot-spam-or-mlm

    A slow remodel of one's eating is a fine thing, and often more successful. Sometimes people get the idea that they need to eat all kinds of unfamiliar, allegedly "healthy" things right off the bat, and that's just not the case.

    Proper calories for weight management + sound, balanced eating for nutrition + exercise for fitness = best odds of long term good health.

    Figure out what you can most easily and happily plug into the terms of that equation, and you've got it made. If that's smoothies, great. If it's Taco Bell power bowls or fresco options (or whatever) equally swell.

    My biggest challenge is time, so the idea of blending greens with some fruit is SO appealing.

    I leave for work at 6 am and get home around 9-10 PM. So cooking is NOT an option. I eat a lot of salads from Panera, (until this romaine e-coli outbreak).

    I bought a Vitamix for myself for Christmas, but haven't used it yet. Working on a plan.

    @kellie5218 - Vitamix is a game changer! I use it so much I have left it in my counter in its place of honor. Lol — it’s loud though- like a small engine plane going off. :) I make smoothies, soup and ice cream in it!

    You’re going to have to start a vitamix thread now. 😉
  • kellie5218
    kellie5218 Posts: 11 Member
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    @kellie5218 - Vitamix is a game changer! I use it so much I have left it in my counter in its place of honor. Lol — it’s loud though- like a small engine plane going off. :) I make smoothies, soup and ice cream in it!

    You’re going to have to start a vitamix thread now. 😉
    [/quote]

    Done. Thanks.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I'll add this. The reason I wanted to concoct that recipe for my smoothie is that I wanted to regularly consume my kefir. I started making kefir a few years ago hoping to help my lactose-intolerant daughter. She didn't like it, but I did. What I like about it most is that I don't have to discard expired milk. I just ferment it and save it at room temperature for weeks if necessary. About the same time I started making kefir, I planted a blackberry bush. I harvest enough blackberries from that one bush to satisfy my smoothie demand for a year.
  • atheistred89
    atheistred89 Posts: 28 Member
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    I just buy one of those big bags if frozen mixed berries and one big bag of strawberries, sometimes a few others. I was using unsweetened vanilla almond milk for a while in mine (plus a couple sweetener packets) but it looks like I'll be avoiding nuts for the time being after having a reaction to them. I use either 1% or skim milk in my smoothies now (still add the sweetener) Also I really enjoy adding a tablespoon or two of unsweetened cocoa powder. You can add a banana if you like. For me, I haven't been able to stomach veggies added to smoothies. I'd just as soon eat my veggies steamed or in something else. I want to enjoy my food and veggies in smoothies are more punishment than not for me personally.
  • mtnstar
    mtnstar Posts: 125 Member
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    Whatever your smoothie, experiment with adding some cinnamon and ginger, or other “warm” spices during the winter. Delish.
  • Veganvibesss
    Veganvibesss Posts: 123 Member
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    Smoothies are not exactly healthy, they rack up in calories and sugar and don’t make you full. I work at a smoothie store and even the calorie count isn’t accurate if you actually manually add up all the ingredients calories even the healthiest smoothies are like 400 calories
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    Veganvibesss wrote: »
    Smoothies are not exactly healthy, they rack up in calories and sugar and don’t make you full. I work at a smoothie store and even the calorie count isn’t accurate if you actually manually add up all the ingredients calories even the healthiest smoothies are like 400 calories

    I can make a smoothie at home for a reasonable calorie count that has a balance of protein, fat, and carbs. I personally find they can be filling, but that is an individual thing. I'm not one to purchase premade ones though.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Veganvibesss wrote: »
    Smoothies are not exactly healthy, they rack up in calories and sugar and don’t make you full. I work at a smoothie store and even the calorie count isn’t accurate if you actually manually add up all the ingredients calories even the healthiest smoothies are like 400 calories

    I can make a smoothie at home for a reasonable calorie count that has a balance of protein, fat, and carbs. I personally find they can be filling, but that is an individual thing. I'm not one to purchase premade ones though.

    This.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,898 Member
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    Veganvibesss wrote: »
    Smoothies are not exactly healthy, they rack up in calories and sugar and don’t make you full. I work at a smoothie store and even the calorie count isn’t accurate if you actually manually add up all the ingredients calories even the healthiest smoothies are like 400 calories

    Maybe the smoothies at your store have too much sugar, but this is not true for mine, which have a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein. My summer lunch smoothie is close to 400 calories, and this is intentional as it is a meal.
  • cshorts
    cshorts Posts: 2 Member
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    I have at least one smoothie a day. I love my vitamix for blending. You can pretty much blend anything in it! Raw carrots, almonds, etc. A great resource is Simple Green Smoothies. They do a 30 day challenge and also have an app called Daily Blends. There are recipes for different types of smoothies. Healing, glowing, energizing, etc. Give them a try: https://simplegreensmoothies.com/green-smoothie-101

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