Smoothies are such a great, easy way to get in servings of fruits and vegetables, and fill you up!
Soon people will be headed back to school or work and will be looking for an easy breakfast to fit into their hectic mornings – smoothies are GREAT choices! You can make different ones every day – they are easy and quick to make and portable so you can take them with you!
There are no rules when it comes to what you put into the blender or magic bullet – whatever you like works out great. Generally you will want to use a base of yogurt or milk (or almond or soy milk if you don’t do the moo!) then any fruit you desire – berries such as strawberries, blueberries, cranberries and raspberries are great choices as they are loaded with antioxidants and vitamins and taste great. Bananas help to thicken the shake and add more vitamins and potassium. I have even been known to add spinach leaves to my smoothies – trust me – once you blend it up with fruit you won’t even taste it AND you get a greens serving in! Peaches, kiwis, apples, mangos…. The list goes on and on. Carrots, cucumber, broccoli…. You get the idea – ANYTHING!! Fresh fruits and veggies are great but frozen works just as well and can be easier to use. Brew up a pot of green tea and let it cool in the fridge – use that as a base to get even more antioxidants in! A squeeze of lemon or lime juice can add some zing and extra vitamin C too!
Other ingredients you can add are cinnamon, honey, ground almonds, cocoa powder, a dash of vanilla, and I’ve even heard of people adding oatmeal! If you want to make your drink into more of a proper meal or snack protein powders are a great addition – just make sure you check with your health food store on which ones are good because a lot are loaded with sugar and fillers! If you really have trouble getting your daily veggie intake in – this is a great time to add a scoop of powdered veggie supplement. Omega oils and flaxseed can be added too.
So, experiment to see what you like – try something new every day and see how awesome you feel after having easy healthy smoothies as a meal or snack!
