We all do it, promise to be good and set health goals which slowly disappear as the month moves forward. But, instead of feeling guilty about not achieving, why not re boot with a few delicious smoothies and leave the guilt of having one too many mince pies in the past!
To re-ignite your January recovery here are some tips on how to make an awesome smoothie and, provide you with your 5 a day.
- Eating vegetables and fruit give the body a great source of dietary fibre
- Fibre cleanses the body of its toxins and helps support gut health plus it provides you with vitamins and minerals.
- Smoothies are a quick and an easy method of eating veggies and fruit because they are raw foods, they will contain more enzymes.
- Smoothies can also contain the whole fruit skin which adds to the mineral and vitamin count
- Remember you can add things like a little cinnamon, nuts and seeds or another form of protein like pea, hemp or whey protein, or a good tablespoon of cold pressed oil to power them up.
I will normally recommend smoothies to clients who may skip breakfast, or have limited time to eat first thing in the morning. They are quick and an easy method of eating veggies and fruit, because they are raw foods, they will contain more enzymes. Smoothies also contain the whole fruit skin and all and the great thing about this, is that you can get everything ready the night before, to make it easy for you to just get up and throw everything in ready to make a great breakfast smoothie which will sustain you until you have lunch.
Coming from a Mediterranean background myself, I remember as a child my mother making us a smoothie medley, using the same utensil she used to mash up our lentils to make a soup! When you make your smoothies, putting in a little protein will also be beneficial, support energy levels and blood sugar, I usually like putting in some cinnamon as I use this as a blood sugar stabiliser.
If your New Year’s resolution is to start 2017 healthy, then choose liquids like dairy free milk, or coconut milk as your base, put in less milk if you want it thick. Experimenting with your smoothie is the best way for you to increase your likes and dislikes, you can also add things like peppermint, ginger, green tea anything chilled, my advice is experiment a little to broaden your favourite tastes! You can even add some kefir if you want some additional gut support.
The fruit has a natural sweetness and adding pears, apples, if you suffer from constipation, have great benefits, as these fruits contain soluble fibre and cholesterol-lowering properties. Use ½ of each fruit to make your smoothie. Also, consider berry fruits as these are low in sugar or use a combination of fruit and vegetables like kale, cucumber, spinach will also lower the natural sugars in fruit.
If you are having smoothies in winter time, or when it’s cold, I would recommend adding warming herbs like ginger (used for the relief of nausea), cayenne pepper (good expectorant), nutmeg (natural anti-inflammatory), cinnamon, these spices have their own beneficial properties, like cinnamon and it benefits to help stabilise blood sugar.
Smoothie Ideas
Beetroot Brain Boost (Serves 1, as a meal)
1 red beetroot 5 walnuts (preferably soaked overnight) 40g of blueberries 40g of raspberries 1⁄2 avocado 300ml of filtered water
Detox smoothie
1 celery stick 1 red beetroot 1⁄2 apple Fresh mint 300ml of filtered water Scoop of whey, hemp or pea protein
Bio live breakfast smoothie
2 apples 1 handful of muesli 2 tablespoons of bio-live/or pour some Kefir in after you have blended everything else 2 tablespoons of mixed berries (fresh or frozen, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
Method for all of the above, just adjust to ingredients
1. Juice the fruit/veg and pour into a blender along with the muesli, yoghurt, mixed berries and ice. 2. Blend as much or as little as you like, depending on required consistency – the choice is yours!
Are you struggling to maintain your New Year’s Resolution?