Green Smoothies

mandi195

Hi all! I lurk on some other boards here, and post sometimes, but don't think I've posted over here yet. I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on Green Smoothies. I started making them at home on Sunday, and have had one for breakfast and luch every day since then (with the exception of today, as I was running late). 

So far  I love them, love knowing that I'm fueling my body with healthy food, and they keep me full (mostly) until the next meal time. I do snack minimally on granola or pita chips each day, but other than that I haven't been hungry. 

I just wanted to see if anyone else was a fan of Green Smoothies, makes their own, and has any experiences or recipes they'd like to share! Right now mine consist of almond milk, a banana, frozen fruit (strawberries, pineappple, mango, peach), spinach, kale, a splash of water, dash of cinnamon, and sometimes some vanilla greek yogurt. 

entropicbeauty

Ditto Kwith - I'm not opposed to smoothies, but I also don't really eat them.

Also, to cut some sugar out, you might consider swapping vanilla greek yogurt for plain unsweetened greek yogurt. The fruit should be sweet enough on it's own

mandi195

I plan to try to use plain greek yogurt in the future; but I had a tub of vanilla still, so have been using that for now. 

I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and I usually add almond butter as well, which I somehow forgot in my OP.

Why is it "better to eat your calories than drink them?" I've asked my doctor about this, and she said it made no difference as long as I was taking in calories; just curious if maybe there was another source that said differently. 

unchatenfrance

I make post-workout smoothies with whey protein, which helps with recovery. Other than that I avoid drinking my calories - chewing resistance and taking the time to look at your food as you eat it instead of just chugging down some liquids is key to satiety from a psychological perspective. I will second kwith that you may want to add some protein (look for egg white powder rather than whey if you're going for a meal replacement rather than a recover drink because egg white protein is digested more slowly). You should also consider adding fat into that smoothie - whole milk, coconut milk, something, to slow down the digestion, aid in the nutrient absorption and keep you full and your blood sugar steady.

Again, I prefer to chew my food rather than drink it but if this is a good way for you to get your fruits and veggies in, knock yourself out.

ETA: ok, just saw the bit about you adding almond butter to the smoothie. Yay fat!

mandi195

thanks for the info. I have some whey protein powder at home that I've used for recovery in the past. I've debated adding that to my smoothies, but am really hoping to (eventually) let this love of green smoothies evolve into an all natural diet (no preservatives or processed foods), which means I'll have to find a different protein source. There is some fat in the almond butter, though I don't know how much off hand. 

Honestly, the smoothies fill me up and keep me satisfied for a good 4+ hours, which I think is pretty decent. I never feel like I'm starving or anything, and make sure that if I am hungry, that I have healthy snacks on hand to munch on. I know me, and there's no way I'd be eating 2 cups of hearty greens along with all of that fruit any other way; my lifestyle allows minimal time for eating, and I've found that the smoothies are a much better choice than my old staple, which was the dollar menu!

mandi195

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_green-smoothies-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:9b0751a5-a943-44d5-a83b-adaccad04f39Post:fc086aaf-2413-4665-8cb4-35cc0ec4e6ee">Re:Green Smoothies</a>:
[QUOTE]It takes longer for your body to digest solid food. The longer it takes, the longer you feel full, thus resulting in fewer wasted calories eaten. What I mean by that is that: if you can say full for 6 hours by eating 400 calories and only stay full for 3 hours by drinking those 400 calories, you'll have 3 hours of eating to keep yourself full for the same time that you would been full if you would have just eaten in the first place. I hope that makes some sense
Posted by xcalygrl[/QUOTE]
I see what you're saying here. That does make sense. 

malenfap

I try to make them everyday. You have to be careful with smoothies because it is easy to make them high calorie. Unless you want protein, I don't see a need to do a banana AND yogurt (the yogurt would be the protein piece to that). Either work as a great base.

If you don't want to invest in protein powder and are looking to up your protein, add some natural peanut butter

mandi195

Thanks for the info and ideas!

Ophelia0326

I don't make them as often as I would like to, usually cause I'm flying out the door in the morning and don't have time. I do pretty much the same ingredients as you - unsweetened plain almond milk, frozen banana, frozen berries, and spinach or kale. I like to add ground flaxseeds, chia seeds, or spirulina. Pea protein powder is pretty awesome and all natural too!