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| Me and my smoothie on a cold autumn morning |
My breakfast is two beer glasses full of frothy, vital goodness. Every.single.day, since two years. I'm addicted to fresh fruit-greens smoothies. Smoothies are amazing and they're the best breakfast in the world! Here is why:
* I get a shot of nutrient-dense food early in the morning. It´s an amazing head start, and even if I eat junk the rest of the day I know I´ve done something good for my body.
* It's the ultimate beauty food: fresh, packed with antioxidants and vitamins, smoothies help keep my skin clear and fresh!
* Smoothies are delicious. Whether you are a fruit or a veggie girl, you´ll find something you love!
* It´s super quick to make and drink. My husband sometimes has 2 minutes for breakfast, and that is enough to drink a smoothie. My kids slurp it all in almost long gulp!
* Morning is a great time to eat fruit. Fruit digests super quick so it is best eaten on an empty stomach and not be mixed with other heavier food (otherwise it ferments before it gets digested).
* Green smoothies are the best way to get greens into your body -- the are the most nutritious food and yet we eat tiny quantities of them. Also, morning is a great time for green smoothies: they are easier on the taste buds as we have a clean taste palette.
I started making my smoothies out of fruit and water. I always add a banana to it, to make it creamy. I also love adding super-foods, like flax seeds (for shiny hair), maca, bee pollen.
Over time I started adding a bit of greens (spinach, swiss chard, celery). That tasted weird in the beginning, but my taste buds grew to love it. Now I drink mostly green smoothies: a ton of greens with a few pieces of orange, a chunk of ginger and some superfood. Yum! I´m looking forward to trying wild greens in the spring!
Tips for making smoothies:
* Start simple: blend a banana, an apple and any other fruit you have in your kitchen. Don´t forget to add water! Drink out of a cocktail glass or a mason jar.
* In the beginning you will feel hungry a while after the smoothie breakfast: my body was used to muesli that took ages to digest. I think it took around two weeks for my stomach to adapt to the fast-digesting smoothie and for me to realise that an empty stomach is not the same as being hungry.
* Flax seeds, nut butter or chia seeds are a great thing to add to make you feel a bit fuller.
* You´ll need a half to one litre of smoothie for breakfast. You might think it´ s not possible to drink so much but don´ t forget that a big part of it is water!
* Start out with more fruit than leafy vegetables, gradually add more greens.
Some recipes to try:
This Squidoo lens has a bunch of good information
Also check out Top 5 Filling Raw Smoothies For Breakfast.
And of course my favourite smoothies: frothy beet smoothie, spinach smoothie recipe from an (ex) spinach hater and chocolate smoothie.
Do you like smoothies? Any special recipes you'd recommend? I'm always on the lookout for new ones!
Do you like smoothies? Any special recipes you'd recommend? I'm always on the lookout for new ones!
