It kills me when one of my friends says they drink a smoothie on a regular basis instead of eating meals. I will admit I grab a smoothie sometimes when I’m out and about because it’s convenient. My husband does it too. We love them! Smoothie king is our guilty pleasure! BUT we try to eat regular meals as often as possible and not supplement a smoothie in place of a meal.
Smoothies tend to have way too much fruit in them. They also have syrup which the fruit was sitting in, that’s incredibly high in sugar. I don’t know many people who get veggies in their smoothies so you’re basically getting an overload of sugar. The average fruit smoothie is 500-600 calories with around 49-60g of sugar. That’s twice the amount of sugar you should have in a day!
If you are making smoothies at home, this can be a different story. I will still argue that they shouldn’t be replacing meals. However, you can work them into your diet to your benefit! I make a “smoothie” protein shake. In my protein shake I mix protein powder, fruit, spinach, milk and sometimes an avocado. This is my post workout drink. The difference is that there is WAY less sugar than the smoothie places! I measure out the amount of fruit I need for one serving. I also add in spinach for extra magnesium and iron which is great for you post workout!
Remember, just because it has healthy items in it, doesn’t mean it’s the best option. Read your nutrition labels. Check the sugar and fats! And for goodness sake, don’t replace meals with smoothies on a regular basis. Occasionally is ok. Eat your fruits and veggies in the proper portions!
This mornings breakfast was a protein shake! Being a stay at home Mom I first thought I’d have all this time to make myself healthy meals during the day and get stuff done. Wrong! No one prepared me for how time consuming it is to take care of a baby! It’s a full time job! Props to those moms who have twins, triplets or more than one child! There is always something to do. Your baby needs to be fed, changed, played with or you’re working on crawling/standing/etc. Some days I just don’t have time to sit down to eat a meal let alone one that’s well balanced. Rather than just grab a granola bar I make myself a protein shake. This is the perfect meal replacement. And I can throw it in a shaker bottle and take it with me. Some days after dinner if I’m craving something sweet I’ll make one rather than having ice cream or sugar! It’s definitely a healthier alternative and I don’t feel guilty after eating it!
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