Ever since we were kids, eating our greens has always been tough work, and while we learn to stomach the flavor as we get older, we usually stick to only a few veggies in our diet, ranging from kale and spinach to broccoli.
To make matters worse, those that actually eat these veggies usually don’t consume them in larger quantities, meaning that they’re not getting their daily intake of the many nutrients these superfoods have to offer.
This is where smoothies come in, as they’re one of the best ways to mask the taste of certain foods we don’t like with other vegetables and fruits.
Spinach is fairly bland on its own, and drinking a spinach smoothie won’t make things any easier, but if you choose to combine it with other foods you may be more comfortable with, you may just be able to meet your daily iron intake with ease.
Traditional breakfast options, step aside
Ever since self-care became such a big thing in our daily routine, smoothies have been making their slow entrance onto the stage of breakfast foods, and a recent study has shown that Americans are becoming very comfortable with the concept of a liquefied breakfast.
Buttered rolls and PB&J sandwiches are not more, and it seems as if everyone’s working towards a healthier alternative, whether it’s in the form of a smoothie or a much more complex breakfast, consisting of various nutritious foods to get your day going.
In a way, smoothies solved an age-old dilemma, giving us the option to drink vegetables if we’re too squeamish when it comes to eating them, and it’s worked like a charm.
However, you should make sure that the smoothie you’re drinking is actually healthy rather than being a sugar-packed drink with traces of vegetables and fruits.
It saves time
No matter how you look at it, drinking a smoothie is much faster than having to prepare a full breakfast, and if you’re good at it, you may even be able to craft a smoothie with the same amount of nutrients you’d normally need upwards of 20 minutes to eat.
Thankfully, there’s a lot more to it than just saving time, as smoothies come with a variety of health benefits that a stack of pancakes covered in syrup simply can’t match.
Of course, even with smoothies, there’s a certain amount of time you’ve got to dedicate to preparing all the ingredients, and if you account for the time it takes to wash the appliance you’re using to make one, it may even take as much time as it would to prepare a standard breakfast.
The real difference lies in the fact that you can’t just drink 3 eggs, a biscuit, and an apple through a straw, and for those of us living a hectic lifestyle, smoothies are an incredible alternative.
Improve your health
Replacing a full meal with a smoothie takes a lot more than just putting together whatever veggies and fruits you had in the bridge and blending it, as there’s little to be gained from mindless mixing of ingredients.
In general, green smoothies are considered to be the healthiest, as they’re packed full of vegetables that have high amounts of iron and vitamins, making for a great addition to one’s dietary habits.
That being said, a certain amount of these nutrients is still lost when processing the food, as fresh vegetables and fruits are much healthier than their processed counterparts, meaning that eating kale salad still beats blending it in a smoothie for breakfast.
Make sure not to overdo it with the fruits though, as processed fruits are much more likely to cause issues with your metabolism due to the high amount of sugar they contain.
Spice things up
Finally, you should make sure that your smoothie is as tasty as it is healthy, and you won’t achieve that without some experimentation.
We all have spices we use on a daily basis and those that we simply can’t tolerate, which doesn’t mean that habits won’t change.
A tomato smoothie can easily go from a 5 to a 10 with just a dash of black pepper and oregano, whereas a tiny amount of crushed mint and cinnamon can make any fruit-based smoothie into a delicacy deserving of a Michelin star restaurant.
Nuts are yet another option for your homebrew smoothie but do make sure that you don’t overdo it, as certain varieties, such as Brazillian nuts, can contain high amounts of selenium, which can be toxic when consumed in large quantities.
Bottom line
At the end of the day, the smoothie you make will depend on your needs and the foods you like, although you shouldn’t shy away from certain foods just because you’re not used to eating them regularly.
Who knows, you may just learn to love certain fruits and vegetables if you’re able to ingest them with a straw.