Smoothie Sensation
9 delicious smoothie recipes to kickstart your day and keep your energy going
About Eve is crazy about smoothie. It's not just a great drink, but it's our go-to drink when we're having a super busy day. Packed with nutrients and natural goodness, smoothie is a fantastic way for you to maintain a healthy diet and also enjoy it as treat. But do you know smoothie may not be as healthy as you think it is? Before we share with you our favorite smoothie recipes, read on about smoothie 101.
Eve Writes | 03 May 2019
Health & Wellness: Get Healthy
You may be familiar with smoothie diet where someone only takes smoothie as part of their weight/fat loss program. You may even know someone who managed to successfully lose weight and fat in their smoothie diet regime.
While it's true that fresh smoothies offer some form of nutrients and energy, they may not be as entirely healthy as you think they are. Fresh smoothie, especially homemade ones, can contain too much sugar or too much calories if you're not careful when you're preparing them.
Before we share with you our favorite smoothie recipes, which are carefully calculated and measured to ensure you get the most out of them, let's take a deeper look at this amazing yet tricky drink.
Smoothie gets you out of hunger - not keeping you full
Smoothie is liquid. And researchers have found that calories in liquid form contain less satiety than calories you find in solid form. Satiety means a state of fullness. It makes you feel full, but may not necessarily keeps you full. If you've been on smoothie diet before, you know how full you feel after finishing a glass of high fiber smoothie. But you may also notice, it's not uncommon for you to feel hungry again after a few hours. Many people make the mistake of thinking smoothie can and will keep you from feeling hungry for at least half the day so you only need to take another glass of smoothie for dinner.
This wrong perception and also consuming inaccurate type of smoothie will not help you lose weight efficiently. You may not necessarily gain weight if you were on a smoothie diet, but you may notice that you're not actually making a difference when you step on that scale.
You feel it's healthy because of what you put in your smoothie
We don't think we're the only ones who think the more healthy stuff we put into our smoothie, the healthier and the better it is for our body.
We used to put the wrong kind of healthy food in our smoothie before we realize what we're doing wrong. It's kind of oxymoronic isn't it - the wrong kind of healthy food. After all, how can something be wrong if it's healthy? That was what we thought too, until we learned about the sugar and calorie content in all those healthy stuff we put in. Sure, a peanut butter banana vanilla smoothie sounds heavenly (plus, they usually make oh-so-pretty Instaworthy photos!), but you'd be surprised to know how much sugar and calories that baby is packing.
When it comes to smoothie, you definitely have to be careful about what and how much you put in before you turn on that blender.
It doesn't count as your 5-a-day portion
Everyone is aware of the food pyramid, and there are various national campaigns in many country following the recommendation by World Health Organization "5 A Day" where we should eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetables each day.
Based on new recommendations, smoothie can only count as no more than one portion of your 5-a-Day, even if you put in 5 or more types of fruits and/or vegetables in your smoothie. However, don't be disheartened - smoothie does still count to that portion because it significantly contributes to your daily vitamin C intake. You just need to know and watch what you put in them.
Smoothie is not the ultimate meal replacement
While there are research that shows significant weight loss among patients who are on liquid meal replacement program, the efficacy of smoothie's role in long-term weight loss is still debatable and being studied.
Even though you may take a glass of smoothie in the morning as breakfast, it's still necessary for you to have some form of solid food such as fruits, nuts, or a cracker. You can still turn your smoothie into a perfectly acceptable meal replacement. Other than putting in fruits and vegetables, you need to be aware of the protein and fat content of your smoothie so it can supplement your body before it's time for you to have your meal.
Preferably, take your smoothie as breakfast or dinner, but make sure you still take your lunch. Not only your body needs solid food, too much liquid diet can cause you to gain the weight again after you go off the liquid diet.
Calculate and measure before you blend
It may be quite difficult to know the exact amount of calories, fat, sugar, protein etc in our food, but it goes a long way for you to at least have an idea.
All it takes is quick search on the internet or through the use of an app. You can learn the nutrient content of each food type in ratio to its portion. The more you're aware of the content and the more frequent you practice this, you will come to memorize the content for the most common foodstuff you take.
We talk about understanding calories in your food here.
Bottom line
Basically, with anything and everything relating to your health, it's always better to make informed decision before you try something. Read as much as you can and find information from various sources until you're confident in what you know. If you know anyone who is a health practitioner or a nutritionist, it's a good idea to ask them any question you have.
Remember to understand the caloric content for each food type per portion you put in your smoothie and watch how much of the food you put in. With regards to making your own smoothie, here are some things to keep in mind to make sure you're not drinking something that's only partly beneficial when your goal is both long-term weight management and health.
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Whole fruits and vegetables - Fresh and organic produce can help make your smoothie packed with nutrients
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Nuts, seeds, and grains - Oats, chia seeds, almonds, cashews, and flax seeds are all great smoothie maker. Their nutty creamy taste can often serve as substitute for dairy and they're a great source of iron, zinc, and fiber
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Healthy liquid base - While many prefer their smoothie to be creamy, there are many healthy options you can use as dairy such as almond milk, coconut meat, nut butter, and Greek yogurt
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High quality supplement additives - To pump up your smoothie, you can also add good supplement such as probiotics, protein powder, collagen powder, coconut oil, spirulina, bee pollen, and matcha powder
If you're going on a long-term diet program and would like to incorporate smoothie into your diet, it's a good idea to plan your smoothie so you don't go overboard. As said earlier, it's not uncommon for a rookie to put in as many things as she could into her smoothie so it's healthier, so pace yourself and enjoy the experience of making your own smoothie.
9 powerhouse smoothies About Eve loves
Why not try them out and let us know which one is your favorite!
References:
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Are Smoothies Healthy? Are They Good For Weight Loss? | Pritikin
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Are Smoothies Good for You? The Answer May Surprise You | University Health News
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Are Smoothies Healthy? Here's What the Experts Say | Time
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5 reasons why smoothies are not a shortcut to a healthy diet | Heart Matters
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What's new about the Eatwell Guide? | Heart Matters
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Are Smoothies Good or Bad? | T Colin Campbell
