First Thought Regarding Healthy Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss

Before we begin I would like to say… “DO NOT BUY SMOOTHIES PREPACKAGED SITTING ON THE SHELF”. Use fresh or frozen ingredients. It takes a bit more time but in the end it’s worth it. Besides would you rather drink smoothies from a factory where concocting strange formulas, designing fancy packaging and developing a smoothie with a long shelf life is the main goal? Not to mention profits. The cheaper the production costs and ingredients the more profits they make.. There are plenty of good companies that care about giving you a good product but in the end what matters most is profits. Profits are just reality of doing business. When you buy ready made products the company that makes those smoothies need profits to pay employees, ingredients, packaging, facilities, equipment, advertising, marketing etc. Without profits they can’t produce what you are buying from them.

Control What Goes Into your Smoothie

Also you have no control of what goes into your smoothie. What are they adding to the smoothie that they ARE NOT required to tell you? For example if a smoothie is sitting on a shelf how is it not going rancid? That’s simple… it’s called preservatives. Refrigerated or not it’s still sitting on a shelf. Don’t get me wrong there are some natural types of preservatives out there and it’s kudos to the companies that spend the extra for it. I think one of them is citric acid but if you made your own smoothie would you waste money and effort to put citric acid in it? At least you have control of what goes in your smoothie. You make the exact flavor you want, the variety of flavors and textures is almost endless. You’re only limited by imagination. Of course you will find yourself looking for a manufactured smoothie once in a while which isn’t all that bad. I’ve done it myself and when I do it’s the refrigerated type of smoothie. I just don’t make it a habit to rely on the manufactured smoothie is all. Also you will notice a big amount of the ingredients listed below are manufactured, packaged products but they are more like ingredients then a complete pay a drink solution. Simple ingredients you combine to make your desired smoothie.

Benefits of Healthy Smoothies

A well made smoothie not only satisfies and tastes great but the health benefits are tremendous. The ingredients you put into a smoothie will reflect how good or bad you feel and perform. Performance can be noticed when at work or at play. After drinking smoothies for a few weeks you will notice a boost in productivity and mental acuity. Your body is getting what it needs and your taste buds are getting what it wants. The vitamins, minerals and nutrients are key elements for optimal health. When you supply your body with the proper fuel it rewards you back in ways you might not even notice.

Sleep – You may notice it’s been easier to sleep.
Strength – You feel stronger.
Stamina – You could work harder and longer.
Weight – You notice you are losing weight.
Mind – You may be getting sharper.
Vibrant – You may feel generally happier and more energized through out the day.

Smoothies are great as a meal replacement or to keep you energized through out the day between meals. Just make your smoothie before you start your day or at night and put it into a thermos. It will stay cold and be ready when your are. Instead of drinking vitamin zapping coffee from that thermos drink a vitamin infused smoothie. Yes coffee depletes the body of vitamins. By the way if you are drinking Soda pop or Diet you must stop immediately. One of the most useless substances you can put into your body is soda pop (soft drinks). That’s a whole other article.

Ingredient Categories

The ingredients you use for smoothies are boundless. Here are some categories to help break it down. Don’t worry we will get to the 7 smoothie recipes. Just take a look at these ingredients and keep some available for the times you just gotta have a smoothie. this is not a complete list of smoothie ingredients but it should be enough to get you started.

Dairy – Milk, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir, goat milk. Some of us don’t like dairy or have high cholesterol so what we have are great substitutes for dairy.
Dairy Substitutes – Cashew Milk, Almond Milk, Rice Milk and Coconut Milk. I don’t recommend soy milk or any processed soy products. If you gotta have soy use organic Edamame beans.
Butters – Peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, hemp seed butter, apple butter.
Berries – Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, boysenberries. I like to buy them frozen because they keep longer and the cold makes the smoothie a nice temperature.
Protein Powders – I use Spirutein but there are a ton of good protein powder products on the market.
Power Adds – Brewers yeast, spirulina, wheat grass juice, bee pollen, flax oil, flaxseed meal and sesame tahini.
Flavors – cocoa nibs, carob powder, vanilla extract, mint leaves, cinnamon, all spice, anise, nutmeg, coriander and ginger.
Sweeteners – dried figs, dates, maple syrup, raisins, barley malt syrup, stevia powder and honey.
Fruits and vegetables – You will have to experiment with this. Generally if its soft and juicy you can blend it in a smoothie. For example if you want to add sweet potatoes to your smoothy you obviously need to cook them first and peel them. On the other hand Strawberries are good to go right out of the ground.
Grains – These need to be cooked first. Whole oats, barley, amaranth and quinoa are good examples.
Juices – If you have a juicer add your favorite juice to your smoothie. Carrot, apple, spinach is a good combo.

When adding dried fruits you may need to reconstitute them before blending.

7 Healthy Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss

1. Apple Date Power Boost

2 apples, peeled and cored
3/4 cup barley, cooked
1/2 cup dates, soaked over night
1/2 cup walnuts, soaked over night
1 lemon, juice only, use a reamer
1 1/2 – 2 cups, vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamom powder

Combine and blend

2. Pineapple Energizer

1 cup pineapple, fresh chunks
1 apple, peeled and cored
1 Valencia orange, peeled
1/2 cup rehydrated cranberries
1 tbs almond butter
1 tbs honey
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup water or coconut milk unsweetened

combine and blend

3. Blue Weight Loss Smoothie

1 1/2 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh
2 cups water
1 serving of Spirutein
1 tbs cashew butter
1 tbs bee pollen
1 tbs flaxseed oil
1 packet of Stevia powder

Combine and Blend

4. Cherry Zinger

1 cup cherries, frozen or rehydrated
1 apple, peeled and cored
1 cup spiced apple cider or water
2 tbs honey
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp ginger, minced fresh
1 tbs almond butter (optional)

Combine and Blend

5. Sauertomato

2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup sauerkraut
1 tbs Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 tsp garlic, minced, fresh or pinch of garlic powder
1 pinch parsley, minced, fresh

Combine and Blend

6. Pumpkin Appetite Squasher

1 1/2 cup pumpkin, canned or cooked fresh
1 cup vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
1 tbs maple syrup
2 tbs barley malt syrup
1/2 cup soaked dates
1 tbs hemp seed butter
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine and Blend

7. Taters So Sweet

2 sweet potatoes, medium size, cooked and peeled
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cup water
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs honey
1 Valencia orange, peeled
1/2 tsp anise powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine and blend.

Bonus Appetite Suppressant Drink

Juice from one or two lemons
Juice from one or two limes
1 tbs honey

Combine and mix thoroughly