Healthy Smoothies

I find it's so important to start each day with a balanced, nutrient-rich breakfast. You can make this smoothie quickly and head out the door knowing you’ve gotten a healthy start to your day. You will know you haven’t just filled your body with empty calories that drag you down, and you haven’t missed out on the most important meal of the day. (And by the way, coffee does not count as breakfast!)

Smoothies are a great way to pack in important nutrients. Since I recommend my patients get at least 8 servings of vegetables per day, starting your day with a smoothie is a great way to get at least 1 serving of vegetables at breakfast. The average American gets a total of just three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. How many servings do you get?

Once you cook vegetables, they start losing nutrients so raw veggies are important. Making smoothies (as opposed to juicing) with raw vegetables gives you all the fiber as well as the nutrients. Fiber is great for your digestive system and helps you feel full.

One caveat, don’t overdo it with fruit. I know that fruit is sweet and delicious, and in small quantities, it’s great for you. But you want to be sure to include nutrient-rich green leafy veggies like spinach, kale, or lettuce in your smoothie.

Choose organic whenever you can to avoid the pesticide residues that remain on produce. For a list of the top most contaminated and least contaminated fruits and veggies, visit ewg.org for the shoppers list.

Eating lots of vegetables and fruits, as you know is good for you! It can help you ward off heart disease, certain types of cancer, painful intestinal problems and many other debilitating diseases. For example, Harvard-based Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, “included almost 110,000 men and women whose health and dietary habits were followed for 14 years. The higher the average daily intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. Compared with those in the lowest category of fruit and vegetable intake (less than 1.5 servings a day), those who averaged 8 or more servings a day were 30 percent less likely to have had a heart attack or stroke.”

Starting your day with a healthy smoothie also helps set the tone for the day and you’re more likely to choose healthier foods thru the rest of the day. You’ll feel more balanced and energetic so you’re less likely to fall for those unhealthy choices.

So, let’s get started with the smoothie!

Start with the right blender. You want a high quality blender that can easily and efficiently blend the ingredients without leaving chunks of food behind. I use the Vitamix. There are other comparable blenders out there you can use as well.

There are lots of smoothie recipes out there, so to help you I have included some of my best health tips for a healthy morning smoothie:

1. Fruit is great, but don’t overdo it because it increases the sugar content.

2. Add a liquid that does not add sugar. Look at the sugar content, or just use water.

3. Add a high quality protein powder for balance. Need a good one? Go here to buy my favorite protein powder that my patients love: Thorne VegaLite

4. Include at least 1 serving of leafy greens.

5. For extra fiber, try chia seeds or flax seeds.

6. Choose fresh, organic ingredients.

If you stick to those six health tips, not only will your smoothies taste great, but they’ll be healthy too. One of my favorite recipes that incorporates these 6 steps is my, “It’s Easy Being Green” Smoothie Recipe. Enjoy!