Let’s face it. Our lives can be crazy with jammed packed schedules and difficulties finding time to make healthy and nutritional meals. If simply for the sake of convenience and pure enjoyment, I thought it might be fun to explore the latest as it relates to healthy (and even not-so-healthy) smoothies.
I began my journey by learning of 20 healthy smoothies as determined by
Prevention Magazine. Each smoothie offers a delicious way to start your morning or have a snack in the afternoon or finish your day – whatever you might be seeking. One of the best aspects of smoothies is that they require a minimal number of ingredients and are usually easy to put together. Plus, the recipes include yummy fruit flavors such as banana-ginger, orange dream creamsicle or very berry breakfast. Here is our warning to our healthy eaters. The so-called “healthy” smoothies may not be your definition of healthy. For instance, the caloric intake varies from 100 to 300 with sugars averaging around 11 to 44 grams. So you do need to read each recipe to determine if it is truly your kind of healthy.
Smoothie Recipes to Explore
Breakfast Smoothies:
If healthy is what you are really want in smoothies and you want to have at breakfast, then Fitness Magazine has the right list for you! Their breakfast smoothie options are the following: blueberry spinach, almond, strawberry banana oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly protein, intense workout high-protein, orange protein and possibly the most important one, the happy digestion smoothie. Plus the Fitness Magazine writers walk you through important ways to keep your smoothie truly healthy.
Smoothie Options:
And just in case, you are really interested in exploring all of your options. EatingWell has a whole section dedicated to the luscious and exciting world of smoothies. They have categories for reference and to ensure that you get to experience the smoothie of your choice. Your options include but are not limited to: healthy vegan, healthy vegetable, healthy smoothie bowl, healthy almond smoothie, healthy chia seed, low-fat, healthy green and of course, the healthy 5-minute smoothie for those of us who need a quick and easy recipe.
So are smoothies really good or bad for you? A recent article in the Center for Nutritional Studies found that smoothies can be helpful for your diet but there are some cautionary notes as well. Since smoothies are liquid, it is important to realize that liquid is easier to go down than food. Be careful to not drink more than you would usually eat. Take time to read the nutritional value to truly understand what you might be drinking and many nutritional experts encourage us to eat rather than drink all of our nutrition.
I am curious. What was your favorite smoothie recipe? Or do you have one that you love and would be willing to share here? Looking forward to hearing your favorites.