The Advantages of Making Smoothies

We are seeing a rising trend in drinking juice and/or smoothie for aiding weight loss and for other health reasons. In today's post I want to talk about the advantages that I find in drinking smoothies.

I must say the word "Smoothie" is definitely being over hyped and people tend to associate smoothies with a healthy diet and lifestyle. However, there are good smoothies and bad smoothies. In my opinion bad ones are those that contain chemical ingredients like additives, preservatives and other ingredients that is not the real fruit or vegetable; some smoothies are made from purée.  Good ones shouldn't contain these and should only contain raw fruits and/or vegetables, water, milk (non-diary or diary), natural fresh juice, and other natural ingredients. If I was to add juice into my smoothies, I would use the juice I made myself. For example, I would squeeze my own orange juice. Yes, it's time consuming therefore I only use juice when I have plenty of time. Also, some smoothies contain high levels of added sugar which doesn't make it healthy. Fruits naturally contain sugar and some smoothies that you buy contain added syrup/sugar.

I started drinking and making my own smoothies three years ago and I still have them daily. I have become more creative with them as I get a lot of inspirations from the healthy food related accounts on Instagram. Anyways, moving on to the advantages of smoothies.

Advantage 1 & 2- Quick & Highly Nutritious Breakfast

Me and my smoothie on the go

Many people skip breakfast either because they don't have time in the morning or they are trying to lose weight. If its the latter, I can go on all day moaning at you about it. All I will say for now is that you are making a massive mistake! If it's the first one, then smoothie can be a solution. You can drink the smoothie on your way to work. The process of making a smoothie still requires a bit of time, so maybe make it before going to bed and keep it chilled. I prefer my smoothies fresh so I always make time for it in the morning, but I wash my vegetables and fruits the night before. That does make a different, every minute counts right?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day so you want to make it as nutritious as possible as your body will absorb the nutrients more effectively on an empty stomach. So add about 3-5 or more ingredients into your smoothie to charge your body before lunch.

I always put lots of ingredients in my smoothie. That doesn't mean I drink 2- 3 glasses of smoothies, my smoothie usually is about 500 ml. I tend to add a lot of so called "superfood" with some other fresh fruits and vegetables and sometimes nut butter. The superfood includes baobab powder, maca powder, hemp protein powder, spirulina, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,gojiberries, etc.

Advantage 3- Feel fuller (than juice)
Smoothie contains all the bits which are the necessary fibers that your body needs for good digestion and makes you feel full. A meal high in fiber keeps you fuller for longer. 

Advantage 4- Sneak in what you don't like

A smoothie is a good for sneaking in anything you don't like, but happens to be good for you. Also a good way to get your children to have more fruits and vegetables. I hate avocado, but it contains so many health benefits so I sneak it into my smoothies every morning. My favourite combination is avocado, banana, almond milk, almond butter, kale and baobab powder. I cannot taste the avocado at all and the smoothie is so delicious. Score!

Sneaky avocado smoothie

For those who avoid avocado because of its high fat content, don't worry! It contains healthy fat known as monounsaturated fat, which speeds your metabolism up, gives you a feeling of fullness, nourishes the skin and joints, soothes the gut and digestive system. Helps burn belly fat!