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I'm so excited to have Lindsay from Summit Sandwiches writing a guest post! If you haven't seen her blog, you really need to! It's filled with amazing photos, delicious meals and great workouts! Thanks Lindsay!...
Hello all! My name is Lindsay, and I write a blog called Summit Sandwiches. Today, I’d like to talk about a topic near and dear to my heart: smoothies.
To me, smoothies are the quintessential summertime beverage. Fruit-based, refreshing, and light. They go down easy and taste delicious.
Unfortunately, these fabulous fruit-based smoothies never seem to satisfy my hunger for more than a couple of hours. Within minutes of slurping up the last smoothie remnants at the bottom of my cup, I can feel my blood sugar beginning the surge and plummet routine that generally follows whenever I eat something packed with sugar. So what are the best ways to amp up your smoothie staying-power and increase its overall nutritional value?
My tip: regard your smoothie as a balanced meal. Would you eat fruit alone for a meal? I doubt it. Apply the same logic to your smoothie by including fruit, protein, vegetable, carb, and fat components. This way, your smoothie is not merely a snack, but a balanced and nutritious meal.
To start: choose your liquid base. Cow’s milk and soy milk are great choices because they both contain protein and will make your smoothie last longer in your stomach. Other options include hemp, almond, or rice milk. For added sweetness, juice can also be used, but it might not lead to maximum satiety. Usually, I use a combo of 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water to make my milk supply last longer than it would if I used 1 cup of milk every time I make a smoothie.
Pick a protein, any protein. Great protein-packed choices include peanut butter, Greek yogurt, tofu (yes, you can add tofu to your smoothie and it won’t taste totally bizarre), and protein powders.
Add your fruit. Obviously, fruit is the main appeal of smoothies, and there are an infinite number of combinations you can make. I like to start with a 1/2 frozen banana and add other fruits from there. Bananas lend a pleasing sweetness to smoothies and will overpower the taste of any bizarre elements (see next step).
Toss in some veggies. Yep, you heard me. We’re adding veggies to our meal smoothie because a meal is never complete if it’s lacking in the vegetable department. I’m sure many of you have heard of green monsters. I am a huge fan of adding leafy greens to smoothies because it’s an easy way to amp up the nutritional value of the smoothie without sacrificing taste. As mentioned before, the taste of the fruit should overpower the taste of the greens. I recommend adding a couple handfuls of spinach (which has the mildest taste among the leafy green family) and going from there. For the more adventurous, other options include kale, swiss chard, and romaine lettuce. Be warned: these guys have a stronger taste than spinach and might not be overpowered by the fruit. Avoid if you don’t think you’d enjoy a “grassy” smoothie taste (for the record, I don’t!).
Add some healthy fat. Healthy fats like nut butters and avocado help my smoothies to curb my hunger while providing lots of wonderful nutrients. In addition to the nutrition boost they give smoothies, nut butters add great flavor (particularly in PB banana smoothies!), and avocado adds a wonderfully creamy texture (and it’s taste is mild enough that you won’t notice it....promise!). Other healthy fat options include ground flaxseed and chia seeds!
Incorporate complex grains. Phew, the final step here! To really stretch the lasting power of my smoothies, I will usually add some raw oatmeal, granola, or cereal to my smoothie. Specifically, I sometimes blend in 1/3 cup rolled oats into my smoothie (which gives it a thicker, slightly grainier texture), or I might top my smoothie with a 1/2 cup cereal or 1/4 cup granola for some added texture and chew.
Here’s my “formula” for the perfect meal smoothie:
- 1 cup liquid
- 1/2 frozen banana + 1/2 cup other fruit
- 1 serving protein (i.e. 1 scoop protein powder, 2 tbsp nut butter, or 1/2 cup yogurt)
- 1 tbsp healthy fat (i.e. nut butter, chia seeds, or 1/4 of an avocado)
- 1 serving complex grains (i.e. 1/4 cup granola, 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup cereal, or 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup rolled oats)
- 2-3 handfuls of leafy greens
- ice
Add these to a hearty blender, and blend your little heart out. Depending on what you choose to throw in there, the resulting smoothie should range anywhere from 350-500 calories. While higher in calories than the average "snack smoothie," this calorie range is fairly typical for a normal breakfast meal. To boot, this smoothie is big on nutrition unlike the regular nutritionaly-empty and calorie- laden smoothies you can purchase at shops. This homemade smoothie is a cheaper, great-tasting, long-lasting, and incredibly nutritious meal option that will cool you off and energize you for hours during these dog days of summer.
Enjoy!
