Green Smoothies

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mello
mello Posts: 817 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I recently purchased a Vita-Mix, and I'm in love!!!:love:

I'm going to drink green smoothie's for breakfast but I have a concern.

I had been working on keeping my carbs and sugars a little lower as a way to start off the new year and after logging my banana, fresh pineapple and spinach smoothie, the carb and sugar total blew my mind!!!

I have a fairly good working knowledge of complex, simple carbs, processed sugars etc, but I'm wondering if these are going to inhibit weight loss?? I do realize they are healthy and that the nutrients and benefits of the green smoothie far outweigh my usual wholewheat toast and egg routine.....but in the end the carbs and sugars are high....will this work against all I am working towards?

Thanks for any input.

Replies

  • jplucheck
    jplucheck Posts: 275 Member
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    I drink a green smoothie everyday, 366 calories and sets my carbs and sugar skyrocketing. I ignore the sugars and watch out for carbs the rest of the days.
  • karenhs2
    karenhs2 Posts: 197
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    Another option is to adjust your green smoothie recipe until it is more what you want. My breakfast smoothie generally has spinach, ground flax seed, frozen mixed berries and some kind of protein (egg, greek yogurt or protein powder). If I were concerned about the carbs, I would reduce the berries. Organic baby spinach has a very mild taste and will disappear into almost anything so it isn't like you have to cover up the taste. Especially not after you have been eating it a while.
  • mello
    mello Posts: 817 Member
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    Thanks, I like both ideas!
  • CrazyDaisysMommy
    CrazyDaisysMommy Posts: 472
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    I'm sipping a green smoothie right now! I don't worry too much about the sugar because my focus is on cutting down added sugar (cane sugar, honey, etc..) I agree with the other poster about adjusting the greens. I like using parsley and beet greens.
  • Ange_
    Ange_ Posts: 324 Member
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    It's natural fruit sugar so you don't really need to worry, especially as the incorporation of the green veggie part of green smoothies (usually spinach) actually slows down your absorption of the sugars in the fruit. In essence it makes your smoothie lower GI which means longer lasting energy and fullness just like having wholemeal rather than refined white flour or rice.

    It is good though to rotate the ingredients you use a bit so it isn't always the same smoothie you drink do you get a wider variety of vitamins and minerals.
    Smoothies are great too because of all the fibre you get which juice doesn't have.

    Enjoy!

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