 Sometime last summer, a couple of my friends were talking about raw foods and green smoothies. I decided to invest in a powerful but inexpensive blender and experiment with shakes and smoothies. The one thing that happens to me is that I get bored easily with the same snacks every day, so I developed some tricks to keep things interesting on my taste buds and healthy for my body.
Sweet and Savory smoothies. Over the summer, I was hooked on cold green smoothies. I started by crushing ice (which I think is key to flavor and texture). Then I blended in a mixture of greens (kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, lettuce, etc), an apple or other fruit, and some water or juice. In the beginning I would sometimes add a touch of Stevia to sweeten it up.
As the weather has gotten cooler, I’m making more savory smoothies with kale, tomatoes, avocado, lemon, and sometimes garlic, too. Greens actually have a lot of amino acids and protein, so they’re perfect for a snack or to complement a meal. I don’t drink the entire blender in one sitting but divide it up over a couple days..
Protein shakes. Protein shakes are another great way to boost nutrition and satisfy hunger. There are many different protein snack shakes out there, including the one we developed for our Personal Program for Weight Loss Resistance, WheySational. WheySational is a bit different from others you might see in stores because it’s made with metabolic boosters for weight loss and probiotics for better digestive health.
Here are some tips to mix up any protein shake:
- For a sweeter taste: add a banana, frozen blueberries or strawberries, baked apples, maple syrup, or a few sprinkles of Stevia
- To make it more satisfying: whip up your protein powder with a little bit of yogurt, coconut milk, or almond milk instead of water. You might also consider adding an avocado to thicken things up.
- For more chocolate flavor: add cocoa powder
- For a refreshing taste: mix your shake with fresh mint leaves or add a dab of peppermint oil
- For cool colors: you can mix a vanilla shake with carrot juice or cooked red beets.
One woman in our Weight Loss Resistance program sent some recipes to enhance Wheysational, so I thought I’d share them. Whatever you do, change it up every once in a while. Our bodies crave diversity!
Linda’s recipes for WheySational
The “Apple Pie”
1 scoop vanilla WheySational
6 to 8 oz. unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. apple pie spice
No blender needed - put in a container and shake!
My Darling Clementine
1 scoop vanilla WheySational
8 oz. unsweetened almond milk
1 clementine or mandarin orange (seedless)
1/4 cup unsweetened Greek yogurt
This one is better with a blender. |