I’ve been adjusting my nutrition in the last few weeks. Needs must. I’ve been feeling terrible – low energy and high anxiety – and have finally decided to explore the link between nutrition and wellbeing more seriously. Hence the move towards smoothies.
There’s no such thing as a right or wrong smoothie. as far as I can see. Well, that’s not entirely true – if you pack yours full of sweet fruit and ice cream, it may not be as good for you as you might imagine! But I guess you knew that already. What I’m trying to say is, there’s no right time of day for a smoothie and no right recipe.
Some of you may like to use a smoothie as an easy meal replacement. Others as a boost after a good workout. I have mine in the morning, because I’m up for 3 hours before I get time for a good breakfast, so I make a smoothie to enjoy after I’ve written my blog and before I go out for my dog walk. That way, my body feels calm and nourished until my breakfast and isn’t stressing because it needs feeding.
I couldn’t give you a recipe because I tend to use what’s there. I have frozen spinach and berries in the freezer all the time as a standby. I also freeze bananas when they’re getting a little over ripe. I cut them up and spread them out on greaseproof paper and put them in the freezer on a baking tray and when they’re frozen, I put them in a bag and just take out four pieces for my smoothie when I need it.
I use fresh pepper, celery, spinach, berries, cucumber, watercress, rocket, – any fruit or veg that needs using up basically. And veer towards more veg than fruit.
Cinnamon is a great natural sweetener; fresh ginger gives a bit of a kick; a squeeze of lemon or lime can be refreshing. As for liquid, I use a little organic cloudy apple juice and/or water. Sometimes I add BlueberryActive concentrate.
For protein, you can add a nut butter, ground almonds or some seeds, but I’m lazy and I always add half a teaspoon of Green Protein Powder (other suggestions are Collagen powder, hemp powder or whey protein powder).
I got a Nutribullet for Christmas and that makes smoothie making so much more pleasurable. The only rule seems to be making sure the liquid covers the solid stuff. That’s about it basically. And I always wash the blade and cup straight away – it is so much easier, believe me!
So give it a go and do it your way. Some experiments will be worth repeating – others not so much. Eating healthily doesn’t have to be boring, that’s for sure!
