Smoothies…
Yummy, delicious and good for you! Well not necessarily.
Smoothies have become very popular because they are quick, convenient and great tasting.
The problem is that not all smoothies are healthy. You need to BE CAREFUL of the ingredients.
I had a smoothie that a friend made for me the other day and it tasted great!! It was delicious and very satisfying.
It was actually too satisfying. I was full for hours beyond what I normally would have been.
There was SOMETHING in that smoothie.
I HAD to find out what.
I asked my friend what she had put in it.
Here it goes…
– 1 cup mango juice
– 1/2 cup frozen mangos
– 1 cup icecream
– 1 tablespoon of honey
Okay – so if you make your smoothie like this…think again.
While I agree that there is some goodness in it (mangos) and it is fairly natural – the end result is not a healthy balanced shake.
This smoothie is MOSTLY SUGAR!!! No wonder it tasted so good. It was LIKE DESSERT FOR BREAKFAST!!
I asked my mom who was a dietitian to break down this shake for you (and for me too).
This is what she found.
Calories: 730kcal
Fat: 22g
Carbohydrates: 101g
Sugars: 95g
Fibre: 1g
Protein: 7g
I couldn’t believe it. No wonder I wasn’t hungry. This was NOT a Power Girl Smoothie.
Now I don’t want you to get too hung up on calories, fat, carbs and protein, – BUT you do need know a bit about them in order to make healthy choices and not be fooled into thinking something is healthy – if it’s not.
This Smoothie is a perfect example of something that people THINK is good for them – but really isn’t.
Even if this shake was made with frozen yogurt which also seems like a healthy choice, you’d just be getting LESS FAT and probably MORE SUGAR.
So what is so bad about this smoothie.
The obvious thing, is that it is LOADED WITH SUGAR!!
I would suggest sticking to a smoothie that has no more than 40g of carbs.
This shake also has very little protein. I would suggest aiming for at least 25g of protein.
I’ll tell you what. I’ll make it super easy for you.
I’ll give you a Smoothie recipe that is not just great tasting, but good for you.
Berry Smoothie
– ice (3 – 4 cubes)
– 1 cup plain non fat GREEK yogurt
– 1/2 cup berries
– 1 tbsp agave nectar
– 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla or plain almond milk
Now THIS shake is not only tasty but is actually GOOD for you!
My mom broke it down.
Calories: 250 kcal
Fat: 3g
Carbohydrates: 35g
Sugar: 32g
Fibre: 3g
Protein: 26g
Now this is for you Power Girl.
If you are going to reach for a smoothie or shake because you have heard how good they are for you, then make one like this.
I think this has a lot of flavour, but even if you doubled the amount of Agave (which I don’t recommend) you would still only have 48g of sugar – which is still half of the sugar of the first smoothie.
You can add other fruits too, but no more than 1/3 – 1/2 cup of total fruit.
You could even be creative and make a healthy Pina Colada smoothie by using pineapple and 1/2 tsp of coconut fat.
Coconut fat is actually good for you.
It is a healthy fat and healthy fats help your body to burn fat.
There are also protein powders that you can buy that allow you to make a healthy shake very quickly.
I like shakes made with whey protein because whey is known to boost your immune system (help you fight germs and bacteria) and whey helps to build beautiful lean Power Girl muscles.
I like Isagenix shakes because the ingredients are great and the taste is amazing.
There are lots of good quality shakes you can buy at the health food store too.
If you want to buy a shake powder at the health food store it can be really confusing.
I’m lucky because my parents know so much about nutrition, and you could ask your parents for help too. I want to give you some tips about what to look for.
Whey protein – organic and from pasture fed cattle is best. If you can’t have cow dairy then Hemp protein is an option.
My parents don’t recommend soy protein. Remember that 20 – 25g of protein per serving is good.
Carbohydrates – NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!!!
You are better off having a natural sugar in small amounts. Research is showing that artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Nutrasweet are NOT HEALTHY.
Fructose (sugar from fruits) in small amounts is okay and so are other natural sugars sources like AGAVE.
Healthier sweeteners that are in some shakes are stevia and xylitol or malitol.
Fibre – any amount of fibre is always a good thing
Fats – because your body needs healthy fat, you should have some fat in your shake. 5 – 10 g is good.
Just to give you an even better idea of what to look for I’ll tell you more about the Isagenix shake I use.
It contains:
Calories: 240 kcal
Fat: 6g
Carbohydrates: 26g (if I add 1/2 cup of fruit I add about 5 – 10g of extra carbs/sugars
Sugar: 15g
Fibre: 4g
Protein: 23g
You can use this as a guide when you go shopping or you can CLICK HERE to order some Isagenix shake from www.leanandcleannow.isagenix.com
Please keep all this information in mind when you are at fast-food juice places.
Those “healthy smoothies” are NOT all that healthy when you really look at what is in them.
Many of these juice places will let you add extra protein – and that is a GOOD thing – BUT watch the sugars and carbohydrates in them.
If they don’t fall within the above recommendations then they are not much better than FAST FOOD!
This was a tough blog to write.
It has taken me longer to write this than any other blog that I have written.
Only the best for YOU!
I want to share with YOU all of my secrets!
Be great 
Your friend and coach,
Jessy
