Tell me about smoothies...

I want to get on the smoothie wagon! I made some this weekend, but need a better blender. Getting the ninja today! I've been pinning a bunch of recipes on pinterest. Does it replace a meal or supplement? How does everyone treat this? Just want to be healthier again since I am back at the gym since October!

Re: Tell me about smoothies...

I like smoothies, and I make/drink them, but I think they can be healthy or unhealthy, depending on how you make them.

I try to be mindful of calories, so I have to be careful with smoothies, because it's easy to condense a LOT of things down into drinkable form and not realize what you are consuming. Even healthy things like fruits, veggies, etc. have calories, and sugar, etc.

I treat the smoothies more as a snack or after dinner dessert replacement, but I make them a lot more in the summer, because I like mine icy. I usually use unsweetened almond milk or skim milk as a base and go from there. It's hard for me to feel satisfied with something in drinkable form being a meal, if that makes sense. I feel much fuller eating actual food, even if the calories and nutrients are the same in both the food and the smoothie. But that's just me! I know plenty of people like them for a meal. I can see doing it for breakfast, but I really like to drink hot coffee in the morning, not a smoothie, so I don't do that.

I think if you are doing it as a meal replacement, you want to make sure you include some protein (so maybe nut butters, Greek yogurt, etc.).

Tell me about smoothies...

I use them as a meal or a snack depending what I put in them. The key is not to go overboard with very sweet fruits and make it veggie based with a protein thrown in. I like to add hemp seeds, chia seeds, Greek yogurt or garden of life protein powder. A favorite for me is almond fruit with frozen dark cherries or blueberries, a few cups of spinach, yogurt and Chia seeds. Bananas, avocados, mangoes and yogurt give a very creamy consistency.