Do you drink smoothies?
Do you know what makes a smoothie healthy vs unhealthy?
It seems that everyone today is drinking smoothies -- and that's a good thing -- as long as they're healthy. But how do you know if the smoothie you're drinking is healthy?
The straightforward answer is that a healthy smoothie won't have lots of "unhealthy additions". With junk food, you know what it is. With a smoothie, it may not be so clear cut. So this post will help you discern between healthy as well as unhealthy smoothies.
Here's a typical situation: you go to the mall, see a sign for a smoothie, decide you want "something healthy" to feel good, so you get this so-called healthy smoothie. Only to find out it's nothing more than sugary slush. Yuck!
Make sure you know what's in the liquid base of your smoothie. Here are some typical unhealthy ones you should avoid:
Sugar loaded fruit juices: A lot of fruit juices are nothing more than flavored sweet water. Next time you look at your juice container, see how much is real fruit juice.
Regular milk: Store purchased milk (whether skim, 1%, 2%, or whole) originates from cows that are typically abused, provided hormones and antibiotics, and also over milked. Chalk and also pus can many times be found in the milk.
Tap water: You may not realize it, but there is a lot of chemicals in the water that comes out of your faucet. Don't be surprised if there are trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs, lead, arsenic, perchlorate (a poisonous chemical located in rocket fuel), sucralose, and numerous other man-made chemicals.
Bottled water: So after reading about tap water, you decide to drink bottled water. Hate to burst your bubble but a lot of mainstream bottled water is absolutely nothing more than regular tap water. Pepsi even confessed that Aquafina comes from faucet water.
Now that we've covered the unhealthy items to make sure that are NOT in your smoothie base, here are additional items you should try to avoid having if you want a healthy smoothie:
Ice cream and sherbet
Syrups or powders
Sugar as a sweetner
Most store purchased honey
Non-organic peanut butters (Jif, Skippy, Smuckers)
Pudding mix
Cool Whip or whipped cream
Cream soda
Really, just use common sense. After reading the list above, would you consider any of those to be part of a healthy smoothie?
Now that you know what makes an unhealthy smoothie, here's how you can make your smoothie healthy and nutritious.
Fresh juice: There's absolutely nothing better than using fresh squeezed juice.
Raw milk, almond milk or coconut milk: If you're not lactose intolerant, raw milk is a wonderful option. Almond milk and coconut milk (and also water from young/Thai coconuts) are great to make use of also.
Good water: This includes water run through a great filter, genuine mineral water (Spring Mountain, Starfire), distilled, cleansed, and also the very best option spring water.
Tea: Utilizing a healthy or medicinal tea could truly enhance the nourishment of your smoothie mix.
Fermented beverages: Kefir (milk and water), kombucha, as well as Hindu lemonade. These are all incredibly healthy and balanced options, especially when homemade.
Below are some very healthy add-ins to include in making a delicious smoothie:
Fresh and frozen fruit
Fresh veggies
Fresh sprouts
Yogurt (natural, Greek, homemade)
Top quality protein powders
Excellent quality superfood green powders
Superfoods (cacao, maca, aloe vera, goji berries, spirulina, etc)
Herbs and also spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, mint, etc)
Local and/or natural honey
Stevia
Hemp seeds and also hemp healthy protein
Raw nuts and also nut butters
Various coconut products (shreds, flakes, raw meat, oil, butter)
Flax seeds and also oil
Chia seeds and also chia seed gel
Oatmeal
Jelly
Medical mushroom powders
Chinese natural herbs
Mineral supplements
As you can see, there's many items that can make your smoothie healthy. Know that your smoothies from TikiTreats are healthy: they're 100% natural - no added colors, flavors or preservatives. Made from a fresh fruit puree, non-fat yogurt with active cultures, and we sweeten it with a banana. Absolutely delicious!
If you're looking to make your own smoothie recipes at home, click here to pick your favorite to try.
Share your experiences with healthy vs unhealthy smoothies below.
