A Better Berry Smoothie
Most smoothie recipes online, or on smoothie bar and café menus, are loaded with sugar, like these fruit smoothies pictured below.
I have zero doubt they taste 100% delicious. But ohhhh, the sugar!
Take a popular berry smoothie recipe I found online, made with these four ingredients:
3/4 C apple juice
1/2 banana
3/4 C frozen mixed berries
1/2 C vanilla yogurt
You may think, what’s the problem? Fruit and yogurt are healthy!
They certainly can be, but here’s the nutrient breakdown for this recipe:
64 g of carbohydrates (including 52 g of sugar and 3.5 g of fiber)
7 g protein
2 g of fat
Ounce for ounce, this contains three times the sugar of a McDonald’s milkshake. (For reference, a teaspoon of white sugar is 4 g, and honey is 6 g.) Plus, there’s little in the way of protein, fiber or healthy fats. This smoothie is apt to spike blood sugar, then bring your energy to a crashing halt.
Makeover time!
A Better Berry Smoothie
We can swap juice for whole fruit, use plain unsweetened Greek yogurt instead of vanilla-flavored, and add many more nutrients for balanced blood sugar and lasting energy.
Swap juice for whole fruit. Then add protein, veggies and healthy fats for a complete meal!
Ingredients
1/2 C water
1/3 medium banana
1/2 C mixed frozen berries
2/3 C plain Greek yogurt
2/3 C broccoli florets and stems
1/2 avocado
2 T flaxseeds
1 T raw, shelled pumpkin seeds
1/2 a lemon (seeds removed)
Instructions
Add all the ingredients above to your smoothie blender, or to a large smoothie cup if you’re using an immersion blender. Blend until smooth, then sip and enjoy!
Using the ingredients above, my Better Berry Smoothie contains:
44 g of carbohydrates (including 19 g of sugar and 13 g of fiber)
24 g protein (1-2 scoops of protein powder would add 10-30 g of protein)
27 g of fat
It’s also loaded with B vitamins, vitamins C and K, polyphenols, and a wide range of minerals including magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, and selenium.
Now that’s a meal!
Want to up your smoothie game using ingredients you have on hand? Check out my Real Guide for Power-Packed Smoothies!
