I love smoothies! I actually shouldn't say that I love them because I don't ever want to go to a smoothie shop and buy one, but I love making my own at home. It gives me such great satisfaction to get so much great nutrition in one glass of drink. Maybe that's the achiever in me. I feel like I can put way more nutrients in my body in this one drink than any meal that I might make myself.
Above is my smoothie that is around 200 calories. I make smoothies a lot and usually will substitute either breakfast or lunch with one. It cuts down on my calories, because really I think I might be trying to lose 10 pounds for the rest of my life! It's also better than what I might grab for myself at the drive thru on the way to school.
1. Frozen fruit (1 cup): I always start with frozen fruit and whatever bag I buy from the store always varies. This particular one is banana, strawberry, mango and pinnapple. A lot of times I will peel bananas and put them in plastic bags and freeze them. Those are great for smoothies.
2. Ultimate Pro Fit – one scoop = 100 calories. The Ultimate Pro Fit offers a unique blend of seven different soluble and insoluble fibers to help keep you fuller longer and promote healthy digestion. The Ultimate Pro Fit has been “boosted” with FITboost, an antioxidant blend of super foods, – including cacao powder, macs, and fruits – which enhance the body's ability to support immune system health. One scoop gives you 14g of protein & 3g of fiber.
3. Almond Milk (1/2 cup)- We quit buying dairy milk a long time ago and so all we use around here is almond milk. We don't really pour a glass and drink, but only use in cooking, on cereal and smoothies. Almond milk is a great way to get calcium, vitamin A & E and it's has fewer calories than cow milk.
4. Spirulina (1 tsp)- I was first introduced to this a few months ago when I was going to do the Fresh Fruit Cleanse. I went to Whole Foods and spent way more money than anyone normally would on stuff for smoothies! Anyhow, I'm still adding this stuff to my smoothies. It gives you lots of protein.
5. Greens – This powder mixture packs a great punch. I take this powder daily, whether I put in a smoothie or just mix with water. It's orange flavored and so it doesn't taste like grass, which mosts alkalizing drinks do. The GREENS contain a natural blend of 38 herbs and nutrient-rich “super foods”. They provide vitamins, minerals, enzyme, an phytonutrients in their naturally occurring, bio-active, bio-available form. The exclusive, natural blend of ingredients in GREENS is designed to alkalize the body and bring it back to a pH-blanced state, helping to balance the immune system and support overall health and vitality. I feel like the biggest benefit to the greens in my life is not only the sense of well-being from putting so much good stuff in my body, but I feel more energy and as a mom of four that's a great value.
6. Vitamin D drops – The best way to get vitamin D is through the sunlight, but in the winter I don't get enough sun that's for sure. I put these drops in our water every day and in my smoothie if I make one. Vitamin D is a great way to help fight off colds, improve immune function, protect against some form of cancer, and help the absorption of calcium.
There you go. That's some of the things I've been putting in my smoothie lately! What do you add to your smoothie? If I'm feeling really crazy I sometimes add chocolate chips to my smoothie, and that doesn't really help with the ‘always trying to lose 10 lbs' thing I have going on! Click HERE to join the discussion and leave me a comment about what you put in your smoothies! I'd love new ideas!
*My mom is a distributor for IT WORKS and that's where you can get your GREENS & PROFIT – both things that my whole family uses and thinks highly of.*
