But the problem is - NOT ALL SMOOTHIES ARE HEALTHY. Smoothies become unhealthy if we don't prepare them in the right way such as when we put a lot of sugar, harmful trans fat or anything that the body does not need.
What are the usual smoothie making mistakes? Doing these mistakes will result in a smoothie being a big fat bomb filled with calories that will eventually cause weight gain instead of weight loss.
1. Putting too much sugar
When looking for a new smoothie recipe, check for added sugar or sweet ingredients in it. Sometimes, sugar hides in ingredients we would mistakenly think to be ok – muesli, yoghurts, juices… If you are not checking the ingredients, you may end up with a smoothie that contain as much sugar as two cans of soda!So remember to avoid smoothies with any kind of added sugars as much as you can. If the recipe calls for an additional juice, put freshly pressed one and avoid the one you can buy in the grocery store. Store-bought fruit juices are packed with a lot of sugar so mixing them to your smoothie is no benefit at all.
Remember: Fruit juices found in supermarkets are just sugary water with added flavor. Those will not do any good to your body.
Here is a list of smoothie ingredients you should consider never adding to your smoothie:
- sugar or agave nectar
- ice cream or sherbet
- store-bought honey
- chocolate or other pudding mix
- chocolate syrup or powder
- whipped cream
- non-organic peanut butter with added sugar
- low quality protein powders
Complex carbs are not bad. Simple carbs (sugar) are because they get digested fast and spike your blood sugar. This stimulates your body to dump insulin into your bloodstream to process the sugar. Because your body can’t use all of the calories at once, the excess is stored as fat.
So if you make your own smoothies, remove the extra sugar and add spinach, kale or chia seeds to add fiber, which will slow down the sugar digestion. This will keep your insulin levels from spiking and help your body to digest your smoothie.
2. Adding More Ingredients
Many believe that green and fruit smoothies are very nutritious, so it can be tempting to add as many pieces of fruit or vegetables as possible. But by doing that, you also add extra calories, complicate the taste and make your smoothie look unpleasant. If you mix a lot of ingredients, your smoothie will look like a brownish goo.So don't get your hopes up that adding kale, spinach, avocados, broccoli, coconut milk and a ton of superfoods will get you skinny in a day. You should remember that not all ingredients go together. Some can make you feel bloated. There should be balance in everything. It is advisable to start with basic recipes having 3 or 4 main ingredients and then build from that.
3. Getting Hungry Quickly
Does your smoothie keep you full for a long time? It should because smoothies are considered to be meal replacements. If you drink your smoothie and feel like snacking half an hour later, there's no point in replacing your regular meal with a smoothie. You should reconsider the way you are preparing your smoothie.Simply adding vegetables and fruits to you smoothie does not provide the protein your body needs to function throughout the day. If your smoothie consists of only sugar with no protein or fat, you will surely get hungry in an hour. Additionally, if your smoothie does not contain enough calories that would make up for a regular meal, this cannot serve as a meal replacement.
You should therefore add ingredients that contain nutrients (protein and fat) that your body needs. You should have at least 10g of protein per serving of smoothie or you will risk getting hungry in less than an hour. Add any of the following ingredients to make your smoothie healthier and more filling:
- non-dairy soy or almond milk
- tofu
- nuts and nut butters
- Greek yoghurt
- beans
- cottage cheese
- quality protein powders
4. Using Low-Quality Ingredients
If you put low quality ingredients into your smoothie, you should not expect it to be miraculously nutritious. In order to achieve the healthy mixture you are wanting, you should not use low-grade protein powders or superfoods or non-quality fruits. Choose fresh produce. They're full of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.Don't add colorings, preservatives or other inactive ingredients that contain hidden fillers, chemicals or inflammatory agents into your smoothie. Additionally, avoid adding store-bought mixtures of oats filled with sugars or superfoods blends containing only micro-doses of the actual superfoods. Make it a habit to read product labels before buying. Check the percentage of the ingredients in the foods you are buying.
5. Taking Oversized Portions
If taking one serving of smoothie as meal replacement, drink 16 ounces. If taking smoothies as part of a meal, drink 8 ounces. Watch out for serving portions. Some have up to 64 ounces of smoothies. That is 4 to 8 times more than what is considered a portion. The volume is one thing, but you are also having way more calories than what you need.Consider this to add more insight on this point. Blending means grinding a lot of bulk to become a small quantity. If you were to take all the ingredients of the smoothie you're drinking and put it on a plate, you would be astonished at the volume you're having.
For example, can you eat one cup strawberries, a cup of yogurt, a cup of soy milk, one cup of orange juice, 1 banana, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and ¼ cup of oats? That is how much you're consuming if you blend everything and drink it up? It looks like you're eating less but in reality you're taking more than the recommended serving portion. No wonder a smoothie is over 300 calories.
I hope you don't make the smoothie prep mistakes mentioned above. Be sure to drink only the healthy smoothies.
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