Healthy Smoothies
Instead of grabbing a donut and coffee for breakfast why not blend up a healthy smoothie shake you can sip on the run. You can make as rich or lean in calories depending on chosen ingredients. There a lot of easy healthy smoothie recipes available on the web. Here are some basic tips to get you started.
A blender – dusts off that blender in the closet or buy one from the thrift store or borrow one for free. It’s a must have tool. The heavier the base the less shaking, and walking it will do during blending. Don’t over fill the blender!
Fruits of your choice – Healthy fruit smoothie recipes call for fresh ingredients to maximize the vitamins content. You can use frozen or canned fruits especially for the out of season ones or exotic fruits not available fresh. Make sure they are packed in their own juices or at least light syrup. Another option is dried fruits. You will need to cut in small pieces and rehydrated overnight. I use my dried Goji berries this way. Peel or not peel is a personal choice but best if cut up some to lessen the load on your blender.
Fruits choices – bananas, berries of all type, you may not like blackberries with a lot of seeds; melons, remove any fruits with large seed such as peaches, mango, papaya. Orange and grapefruits sections sometimes gum in the blender.
Vegetables of your choice – tomatoes, leafy greens, cut carrots are always good as a base; again cut in small chunks before blending. Celery unless cut up very small, the fiber get twisted around the blade. Make sure you wash all vegetables well and cut out bruise parts before blending. A small pinch of salt or spicy hot peppers can kick up the flavors.
Liquid base- water. Juice, Milk, yogurt, ice cream. Choose low fat and low sodium versions. lactose free products like soy, rice, and lactose free milk would work fine. Your liquid depends on your calorie budget and taste.
Extra protein source – add tofu, protein powder. Carnation Instant Breakfast powder is a good choice. It also comes in a variety of flavors and sugar free.
Extra nutrition and fiber– add nuts, ground flax seeds, wheat germ. oat and wheat bran.
Sweet sensations – Low calorie smoothie recipes won’t call for sweeteners and use fat free or low fat liquids. Otherwise you can add honey, molasses, maple syrup, Stevia powder or liquid.
There you have it! Try only 2-3 ingredients at a time first, add more to taste. It’s a nutritious and delicious decision for a healthy breakfast or at any meal!
Sample recipes: Healthy Smoothie Recipes
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