Life can get down right hectic sometimes, right? I don’t know how many times I have ‘forgotten’ to eat throughout the day because of how busy I can get. It’s like my mind just has a hard time telling my body to eat. Oh wait, it’s the other way around. My body does not speak loud enough when it’s hungry for my mind to understand. And it’s not like I don’t have food to eat. I am a meal prepper so food being readily available is never the issue. I just move around constantly throughout the day and get so caught up with whatever it is I have going on that I just don’t eat.
This is where smoothies have come into my life and become a game changer!!!!
I am literally able to get everything I need for one meal just through a simple smoothie! BUT I have to put the right things into the blender for it to be truly beneficial. You can’t just throw in fruit and water and call it a day. Well, I guess you could but I am willing to bet you will find yourself hungry or craving things very soon after finishing that smoothie 😉
So, what the heck does a smoothie really need to make it a solid option for nutrition?
First and foremost, you gotta pick a solid base. This could make or break your whole smoothie. For me it is usually as simple as coconut water or almond milk. Unfortunately I have a lactose intolerance so I can’t use just regular milk, but almond milk is a totally good option because it has some solid nutrients that milk doesn’t necessarily have. There are also some other options such as soy, oat, coconut, cashew. The choice is really on what your preference is. When researching milk you will find that there are pros and cons to each type of milk. The choice is yours. With a smoothie just use 8-12 ounces though.
My next go to is a good pea protein powder. I have found for me that whey and soy protein powders are just too hard to digest. TMI, but I get severe stomach/gas pain when I use whey or soy. Sucks but I have found a protein powder through Arbonne that works perfectly for me. Been using it for over 3 years and have had zero problems. It’s only 160 calories, 20g of protein, 7g of sugar, and a long list of other nutrients! I stick to the vanilla flavor because I can do just about any flavor of smoothie with it. I am telling you it has been a game changer in my life. LOVE IT!!
Next up is my healthy fat. Sounds contradictory, but there really are healthy fats that we need to include into our diets. You need monounsaturated and polysaturated fats in a well-balanced diet. These help our bodies with:
– Added Energy
– Supporting Cell Growth
– Protecting Organs
– Keeping Our Body Temps Regulated
– Aiding With Fat-soluble Vitamin Absorption
– Help With Good Brain Health
My top choices with healthy fats are typically avocados, nut butters (my fave is almond butter), nuts (almonds, chasews, etc), chia seeds, coconut oil, or MCT oil (isolated healthy fat from coconut oil). There are other options such as greek yogurt, flaxseed, and olive oil (have never tried this personally but it could work for someone).
Finally, the flavoring that you desire with your smoothie for the day. This could include fruits, veggies, cacao, vitamin powder, raw coconut, maca powder, extracts, spices.
But you have to be careful with these depending on what your nutrition goals are because some of these can be high calories or high sugars (yes even high amounts of natural sugar is not good). You want to choose lower glycemic index fruits so that you don’t over spike your blood sugar (yes, even if you are not diabetic). I always do a check to see where my fruit lies on the spectrum.
What determines where a food falls on the glycemic index? Acidity, cooking time (long cooking time means higher on the index), fiber content (high fiber=low GI), processing (the more processed, the high the GI), and ripeness.
Who knew? Because seriously, I had no clue about any of this when I first started on this journey. I mean, I was always told an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Try telling that to a diabetic! Not all fruits are created equal and therefore, should not be treated as equals.
But there you have it! Smoothies made simple so that you can pack it with as much good nutritional punch as possible!
But wait! There is more! Drinking your meals can sometimes not work for us. For me it can be a mind thing. If I don’t actually use a fork or spoon then my mind won’t tell my body that it is now full or satisfied. Guess what? You can totally make them into bowl’s!
Look at those options! Basically all you do is take the smoothie base that we discussed above, pour into a bowl, and top with some chewy or crunchy stuff. It’s that simple!! Sometimes I make my base just a tad bit thicker or I will throw in freezer for a short bit to thicken up. Makes it a bit less messy when I do this. These are go to’s for breakfast or snacks! So versatile!!
How about some of my favorite flavor combos? You can literally have a different flavor smoothie each day of the month! Even more than that with all the various flavor combos there are out there.
Fall Inspired Flavors:
– PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE – 2 Scoops of Arbonne, Coffee Protein, Fiber, 1 cup Canned Pumpkin, 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie spice, 8 oz. unsweetened non-dairy milk, Ice
– CHOCOLATE VANILLA CHAI – 1 Scoop Arbonne Vanilla Protein, 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein, Fiber, 8 oz. unsweetened almond milk, Ice, Pumpkin Pie Spice flavored to liking
– SWWET POTATO PIE – Power Greens, Almond Milk, 1/2 cup cooked Sweet Potato, 3 Brazil Nuts, Pumpkin Pie Spice, 2 Scoops Arbonne Vanilla Protein, Fiber, Ice
– PEPPERMINT MOCHA – 1 Scoop Arbonne Coffee Protein, 1 Scoop Arbonne Chocolate Protein, Fiber, 1 drop Peppermint Extract, 8 oz. unsweetened nut milk, Ice
What’s your favorite flavor combo? I would love to hear, always looking for new recipes to try!!! Drop me a comment below!
Healthy Happy Chaos 
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