In "For me, gluten-free is the way to be", I mentioned how I had begun drinking smoothies for breakfast. It is 3 months later and I am still drinking one smoothie a day. Here are a few great reasons that I began drinking them. Maybe one or two will be your reason to start.
1) CONVENIENCE
The reason I love smoothies is that they are so darn convenient. Mix ingredients up in a blender, put it in a cup and drink it on the go. I bring mine all over the house as I get the kids ready for school. I can even bring it in the car with me as I drive my son to school. What breakfast is so healthy and convenient? Omelets don't travel well, neither does cereal. Toast gets crumbs everywhere. Oatmeal is sticky. Another convenience is that you can prepare dry ingredients the night before to save even more time. And yet one more convenience factor is seasonal fruits and vegetables. You can have different smoothies year round if you buy seasonally fresh fruits and vegetables.
P.S. Recently I saw a blender that doubles as the smoothie cup. Once you mix all the ingredients together in the blender, it has a lid to take the smoothie to go. No more pouring the smoothie into a separate cup. And we all know how time is precious so why waste it pouring your smoothie into another cup. It's all about the convenience!
2) NUTRITIONAL VALUE
How can smoothies not be nutritious with all the great fruits, vegetables, protein powders, etc. that you can put in them? I love adding protein powder for an extra nutritional punch. However, some of the ingredients can be quite high in calories but this is not about the calories. It's about the nutritional impact. Smoothies pack quite a punch.
Some very healthy ingredients that I have used are:
- Berries
- Pineapples
- Mango
- Carrots
- Avocado
- Cucumber
- Old-fashioned Oats
- Nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt and milk
Some ingredients that I would suggest that you avoid would be:
- Sugar-sweetened fruit juice or concentrate
- Ice cream or sherbert
- Fruit in a can
3) VARIETY
You can make a smoothie out of almost any fruits or vegetables (or both), some ice (or not), some kind of liquid (or not). On My Fertile Lifestyle's Pinterest Board, called Smoothies, I have an infographic on "How to make a smoothie." It tells what fruits you can add, how to choose a base, how to thicken it up, what to flavor it with and suggestions for some power boosts. With that kind of chart, who needs a recipe?
4) WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
If you ever have a fruit or a vegetable that is overripe, don't throw it away. Freeze it. My sister taught me this one with an overripe cantaloupe. She cut it into chunks and I used it in one of my very first smoothies. At the moment, I have several different, overripe fruits in my freezer, waiting to be used for my next homemade fruit smoothie. That's my fertile lifestyle!
5) LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Smoothies have become quite popular in recent years. If you don't feel like making one, you can always buy one from places like Jamba Juice, Robeks, and Red Mango, just to name a few. So there is no excuse not to pick up a smoothie when you feel the urge.
So, if you have ever wondered why the buzz about smoothies, these are some of my reasons for drinking one every day. I'd love to hear from you, especially if you are a smoothie fanatic like me.
Your sister is very smart!! Try adding your greens, kale, spinach or collard greens. I keep those in the freezer and add a handful in every day.
ReplyDeleteYes, my sister, I know! I will be adding in all of those once I can buy them from the farm. I'll have to remember to freeze some too. An upcoming post will probably be about my experiences with CSAs.
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