Smoothie Building 101

 When building a smoothie it’s important not to over complicated it. Smoothies are great for you don’t feel like cooking or when you’re on the run. You never want to try and pack to many nutrients (or foods) into a smoothie because before you know it you’ll have a brown colored nasty tasting drink

When I build a smoothie I use the following as a guide:

½ - 1 cup of fruit 

1-1  ½ cups of alternative milk

1 tbsp nut butter 

1-2  large handfuls of greens

1 tbsp of seeds (for each seed you add)

~ 1  scoop of protein powder (if you’re using it)

Suggestions and examples:

Fruit

I usually try to add frozen berries of some sort, they make my smoothies cold and have great antioxidants in them. If you’re wanting something a little sweeter in your smoothie you can try backing the berries to 1/2 cup and adding in 1 small banana (about 6 inches in length) or half of a medium/large one or 1/2 cup of fruit that is sweet- like peaches, mangoes, or apples.

 Milks

My favorite alternative milks to use are almond or hemp but you can of course use any milk you want or even stick to water. A rule of thumb that I use for for store bought alternative milks is minimal and harmless ingredients, If you can’t understand the ingredients don’t buy it. A good brand to buy if you are on the run and don’t have any time to make your own alternative milk is Goodmylk Co. They have an online store and can be delivered right to your doorstep.

Greens 

Making a smoothie is a great way to get sneak your greens in. One thing that I feel is important for everyone to know is that that when you are blending up greens you are leaving some of the fiber content intact so you will still get the nutritional value of the greens, when you juice greens you’re leaving some of that good good fiber out. No hate on juicing I enjoy a juice too, but if we’re going to fiber and nutrients, stick to blending your veggies. I like to use some basic leafy greens, by freezing them once they look like they’re starting to wilt. Lastly, make sure you choose greens that will absorb flavors well, spinach and kale are a couple of my go-to’s.

Nuts & Seeds

The same rules apply for nut butters, they are great to add thickness to your smoothie, just make sure that there are no added sugars, hydrogenated oils, or preservatives in them.

Seeds are my favorite part but I try to keep a minimum of two seeds in my shake. Great seed combinations to use are chia seeds and hemp seeds. This will add some protein, anti inflammatory agents, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds and flax seeds will add some anti-inflammatory agents and omega 3 fatty acids. You can also of course use pumpkins seeds in a smoothie. You do not necessarily have to put them in the blender you can always add after and mix them in for some texture and crunch. However when using flax or chia seeds be sure to grind them up prior to adding them so that you can release all of the nutrient prior to consuming them.