Having a healthy, nutrient-rich smoothie is the perfect way to start your day off right. They are an easy and convenient breakfast option. You can take them on the go, or take your time to make them into a smoothie bowl. Making your smoothies at home allows adding healthy ingredients that have a much lower amount of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients that you may get in a store-bought smoothie. By choosing exactly what goes into your smoothies such as protein, carbs, and fats, you can make a smoothie that is a good alternative for meals.
Smoothie Tips
- Try using fruits that are lower in sugar such as berries
- Add protein – You can get this from yogurt, protein powder, nut butters, and chia seeds
- Add some greens such as spinach or kale (You normally can’t even taste this once it’s all blended up!)
- Healthy fats – adding avocado and nut butters can also add healthy fats
- Limit added sweeteners such as syrups, sweetened yogurts, etc, by adding fruit, unsweetened Greek yogurt or plain almond milk
My Favorite Smoothie Recipe
Avocado-Mango Smoothie:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen mango
- About ¼ of an avocado
- 1 cup spinach
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- Ice cubes – if not using frozen mango
- ½ cup of water
Put everything into a blender and blend until completely smooth! After blending, I like to pour it into a bowl and put some mango chunks on top as well as chia seeds, walnuts, and other fun and yummy toppings.
By trying out a mix of different healthy ingredients, you’ll have some favorite smoothies in no time! I like to have fruitier smoothies some days and greener smoothies other days!
Written by Bridget Horgan with contributions from www.everydayhealth.com