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Achieve h.o.p.e. with a smoothie
by Stephanie P.
Achieve HOPE - which stands for high fiber, omega 3s, probiotics, and enzymes - through great smoothies!
I watched a PBS special detailing the benefits of HOPE - which stands for high fiber, omega 3s, probiotics, and enzymes - key ingredients for a optimized digestive system, and overall health. I realized the smoothies I was making have all 4 ingredients, making it not only a tasty drink and treat (almost a meal at times) but also super healthy in ways I didn't realize.
H and O = organic flax seeds by Barlean's, also fruit fiber, P = Lifeway's organic kefir or Nancy's lowfat organic yogurt, and E = any organic fruit. I may also add organic fruit juice, nut milks and nuts for more flavor. My alltime favorite blend is blueberries, bananas and pineapple juice. If you are apt to skip breakfast (shame on you) this would be an ideal alternative, quick and easy to make and drink!
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Keep control over your nutrition!
Smoothies or shakes are really a great way to make a quick and nutritious meal. I make sure I get my "HOPE" elements that Stephanie mentions by mixing together a lot of different things. The key to a successful smoothie is knowing your ingredients and measuring your quantities. It can be really easy to get fat by eating smoothies you buy from places like Jamba Juice.
There are two kinds of smoothies -- hand-shaken and blender smoothies.
My usual hand-shaken smoothie is something like this:
- 1 rounded scoop of protein powder
- 1 scoop of Green Food
- 2 Tb of raw cacao powder
- 2 Tb of ground raw flax seeds
- 1 c. of almond milk (if available).
I have a couple of plastic mixer cups that I use to pre-measure my dry ingredients so that I can just carry one in my shoulder bag to work on days I don't have a prepared lunch. This keeps me from take-out food -- saving me both money and keeping me from eating too many calories.
I don't usually make blender smoothies unless I am at home -- it's really easy to go overboard, so here are a few tips about making blender smoothies:
- use fruit instead of juice! Juice - it's basically concentrated fruit, so you're increasing the amount of calories & sugar by using a lot of juice; stick with whole fruit so you can measure the servings better;
- whole fruit has a big advantage over juice when it comes to fiber; most fruit has fiber but most fruit juice doesn't (ie, use a whole apple instead of apple juice).
- know your fiber sources -- if you're not using whole fruit, don't be afraid to mix things into your smoothie other than your basic protein powder - ground flax seeds are a great source of fiber, protein and lingans and other EFAs
- Be conscious of your portion sizes -- it's really easy to end up with a 900 calorie smoothie -- unless that is your only meal for the day, you could be getting into trouble.
Jenn's keywords: smoothie, nutrition, protein, fiber, recipe
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