Your Ultimate Guide to Awesome Smoothies
Are smoothies a good way to lose weight?
If a smoothie helps you offset other calories you would otherwise consume, it can be an effective weight loss tool. The best way is to prioritize ingredients low in calories and high in protein and fibre.
My Love for Smoothies
In my imagination, smoothies are always thick juices that keep you nourished and satisfied.
The magic of a smoothie is that it gives you the benefits of fruits & veggies in the liquid form which ensures that our body absorbs the ingredients steadily since it’s already mechanically broken down. It is the easiest way to sneak veggies, fruit, and healthy ingredients into a meal, especially helpful for picky eaters.
My Smoothie Philosophy
I build my smoothies to keep me full and nourished. I’ve never been able to whip up a light thin smoothie. Obviously, I want every ingredient to be a real whole food full of nutrients. Let’s not opt for the artificial powders. Smoothies shoot our blood sugar way up if they are straight fruit and milk or some simple carbs like oats.
While there will be carbs in our smoothie, we need other nutrients to counteract the blood sugar spike and that’s where the additions of fat, protein, and fibre can be added. All of these digests much slower than simple carbohydrates, which allows the blood sugar to stay steady and causes the smoothie to be digested over time—keeping your full for longer. I love to experiment! With time and my own recipes, I have ultimately made my own awesome smoothie must-haves.
My Smoothie Appliances and Techniques
A few essential tools that I use in my smoothie operation include a good sharp knife for prepping the fruit, a spatula to remove every last drop of the smoothie from the blender, airtight containers for storing freshly cut fruit in the freezer, and the all-important blender. Although a food processor can be used to make a smoothie, I prefer a blender.
Preparing a smoothie is probably one of the most uncomplicated tasks. For the ultimate smoothie, I have included these helpful techniques:
- Use the most delicious seasonal fruits at their peak in flavour, ensuring they are organic, non-gmo and from your local farmer’s market.
- Before freezing fruit, wash and dry it first. Placing fruit in the freezer for at least thirty minutes or until partially frozen assures that the smoothie will have both a thick consistency and a rich, fruity flavour.
- Store-bought individually frozen fruit can be substituted for fresh frozen fruit, but it should be used within six months of the purchase date. Avoid using frozen fruit that is packaged in sweetened syrup.
- If using ice in a smoothie, the individual pieces should be slightly smaller than the fruit to prevent any chunks of ice remaining once the smoothie is blended. If you don’t own a high-speed blender, you can make your own crushed ice by simply placing ice cubes in a resealable bag and crushing them with a mallet or rolling pin.
- When adding ingredients to a blender, always add the chilled liquid first, then the frozen fruit, and the ice or frozen yogurt last.
- Start the blender on low speed to crush the ice and blend the mixture. Gradually increase the speed until the mixture is smooth. It may be necessary to turn the blender off periodically and stir the mixture with a spoon, working from the bottom up.
- If the smoothie is too thin, add more fruit or ice. Conversely, if the smoothie is too thick, add more liquid.
My Smoothie Tip
In the summer you can enjoy your smoothies as a popsicle. I love this idea and the combinations are endless, and once you try it, you’ll love it too. This way you can eat fruit without having to eat other ultra-processed products full of sugar and preservatives.
The sweetness of these refreshing popsicles come from the fruits of your choice. You can choose from all our options; from strawberries, banana, papaya and cherry, or you can be daring with raspberries or blueberries and banana for some creaminess. Another great option is to add avocado, as it is a fruit with healthy fats and many other beneficial properties and will help the mixture be more consistent.
Simply place the fruits of your choice in the food processor and blend them well. Then, if you can tolerate it I recommend adding your favourite milk or even fresh cheese to give it more consistency and flavour. When you have the mixture, you can pour it into moulds to then freeze. Enjoy your homemade popsicles with the nutritional advantage.
My Smoothie Therapy
Smoothies being delicious and full of nutrients, are a pleasure to look at because they are full of colour and life. Chromotherapy is a technique has been studied in psychology. It’s about taking care of yourself by focusing on the pigments that give food some colour, such as in this case fruit and vegetables, because they have a protective function for the body. Colours also produce in us sensations that help our body and mind, and influencing our mood and feelings.
Check out some of my smoothie recipes: Dandelion Smoothie, Green Detox , White Creamy Smoothie
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