Behold, the smoothie: Done right, smoothies can be a great meal or a snack in a glass, since they’re packed with fiber and vitamins. Done poorly, they can add to your waistline — fast. Some smoothies, especially those you purchase rather than make, contain 500 to 800 calories, making them a hefty meal. They can also be high in natural sugar which can spike your blood sugar and make you hungrier. One challenge of the perfect smoothie is achieving the right sweetness, without overloading on sugar. But when you control the ingredients, smoothies are a fantastic way to get a no-cook, nutritious meal or snack that you can take on the run.  I love starting the day with a smoothie. Feel like I’ve just done so much for my health and I’m still in my jammies!!!

Here are my tips on how to enjoy the health benefits of Smoothies without the downfalls:

• Leave your smoothie a little chunkier and chew some of it.
• Swirl the smoothie in your mouth a bit before swallowing so digestion gets a head start before it hits the stomach.
• Don’t use high-sugar fruits or vegetables in your smoothies such as bananas, mangoes or carrots if you are worried about fruit sugars. Use apples or berries instead. (List below.)
• Keep a 4:1 ratio of vegetables to fruit.
• Add ground hemp, flax or chia seeds to up the fiber and protein content, slowing down sugar absorption.
• I list gluten and dairy free options for those who are sensitive to these and because I try to leave these out myself most days.

My list of ingredients: There could be more added but this is what I like and what I’ve used so far. I try to use low sugar fruits and vegetables and always have a leafy green vegetable in there. Some days when I want something sweeter there might be more fruit vs veg.

• coconut water (unsweetened)
• almond milk (unsweetened, read the ingredients)
• spinach
• celery
• cucumber
• avocado
• blueberries
• raspberries
• watermelon
• peaches
• apples
• oats (soaked overnight)
• hemp seeds
• chia seeds
• spirulina
• flaxseeds
• sesame seeds

You can freeze the berries overnight if you want a cold smothie. Great when the weather is warm!!! Though you need a powerful blender to chop through them.

Here’s the recipe I started with, this one is delish! I should mention that I am quite willing to slurp down something that tastes disgusting if it’s healthy. No smoothie experiments will go to waste in my home. 

• handful of blueberries and raspberries
• handful of spinach
• handful of romaine lettuce
• 1 stick of celery
• about half a small cucumber
• one apple
• Mix of goji berries, chia seeds, matcha etc that I got in Holland and Barretts when shopping for seeds.
• teaspoon of powdered spirulina
• almond milk/coconut water
• Juice of a lemon

I blend the seeds first so they’re super smooth, then add the rest and blend until creamy.

I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe. Keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for updates and feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

Emma x