Everyone loves a good smoothie, and it is no wonder that they have grown in popularity over the years. Smoothies are fairly easy to make but there are a few things to remember that could help you out when making yourself a smoothie.
Here are a few do’s and don’ts of making smoothies:
Do: Measure all ingredients
This will help you keep tabs on your nutrients as well as making sure that your solids and liquids are proportional.
Don’t: Mix everything in the blender at once
Mixing all of your ingredients at once without measuring will not only mess up your liquid and solid proportion but, it creates a platform for unhealthy ingredients to make their way into your smoothie.
Do: Opt for healthy ingredients such as coconut milk
Coconut milk, along with other healthy ingredients like Greek yogurt help to keep your smoothie as healthy as possible which in turn, delivers health benefits such as good digestion.
Don’t: Mix in fruit juices
Fruit juices can be very high in their sugar content which will only serve to contradict your bid to eat healthier foods.
Do: Add greens such as spinach
Spinach might not be the tastiest vegetable, and when consumed raw, it can be very bitter. But it is easy to mask its taste with other nutritious ingredients like fruits or carrots.
Don’t: Add bitter greens like kale
Kale is quite the bitter vegetable and masking its taste is not so easy. Because of this, adding kale might tempt you to overpower its taste with sugar which is not healthy.
Do: Try healthy proteins like nut butter and flaxseed
Adding good protein to your smoothie can help you if you are looking to build and repair muscle. Nut butter and flaxseed have good protein content but lack unhealthy fats.
Don’t: Add powdered protein
As delicious as store bought powdered protein is, it is filled with very high amounts of ingredients that are processed and offer nothing in terms of nutritional value.
Do: Try new ingredients
Smoothies offer a versatile platform to try out various ingredients and make your drink tastier. Adding new spices and herbs can enhance the flavor and add to the smoothie’s nutritional value.
Don’t: Add sugar
While trying out other ingredients is good for spicing things up and making your smoothie taste better, remember that sugar should not be an option when it comes to making your smoothie as it is not healthy, especially when consumed in large amounts.
Smoothies are both delicious and nutritious and offer a wide array of health benefits when consumed properly. There are a lot of tips to remember when making a homemade smoothie but the most important are keeping the smoothie clean and free of as much sugar as possible.
It is tempting to add unhealthy products to enhance the taste of a smoothie, but they offer little in terms of nutritional value and would likely cause a lot of health problems and diseases when consumed over a long period.