Is Your Smoothie Healthy?

I love smoothies!

I especially love drinking a smoothie after a workout or as a meal replacement at breakfast. However, smoothies are great to drink as a treat too because they are just so darn tasty!

Still, ever stop to wonder if your smoothie is healthy? Particularly when purchased from a smoothie shop or from your local grocery store?

Below are three reasons why your smoothie may actually NOT be as healthy as you think.

*I wish to be transparent with my viewers/readers. This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the links and make a purchase I will be paid a small commission.

Ninja Professional 72oz Blender

Too Much Sugar

Ever read the back label of a store bought smoothie? If the answer is no, then you will be surprised or even shocked to learn how much sugar is in one bottle.

For instance, one serving size bottle of Blue Machine from Naked contains 55 grams of sugar.

Likewise, if you buy your smoothie from a smoothie shop like Jamba Juice, a medium size Acai Super-Antioxidant has 70 grams of sugar.

WOW!

That’s a lot of sugar.

If you are someone who is drinking smoothies to be healthy or to lose weight, the last thing you want is to drink something that’s loaded with sugar.

Not only is it counterproductive, but quite frankly, it’s just plain unhealthy because all that sugar sends your blood sugar soaring.

Plus, if you drink smoothies that consist of nothing but fruit, you can exceed your daily recommended servings. FYI, fruit has a lot of sugar.

Again, counterproductive.

So, the next time you purchase a store bought smoothie from your local grocery store or from a smoothie shop, or if make your own smoothies at home, be mindful of all the fruit, added sweeteners, and fruit juice bases used to build your smoothie.

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Too Many Calories

Referring to the back label of a store bought smoothie again, ever check to see how many calories are in one serving size bottle?

Well, let me fill you in.

It’s A LOT!

The Blue Machine smoothie from Naked contains 320 calories for one serving size bottle.

A medium size Acai Super-Antioxidant from Jamba Juice has 440 calories. That by the way, does NOT include calories from extra add-ons.

That said, an extra 5 calories here and an extra 25 calories there can really add up depending on what you have added to your smoothie.

If you are someone who is counting calories to lose weight, it’s imperative that you don’t allow sneaky calories from food items masked as “healthy” to sabotage your diet.

The Natural Fibers in Fruit Can Become Pulverized

It’s recommended that you get in at least 3-5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. I don’t know about you, but I don’t always get that in.

That’s one of the reasons why I like smoothies so much. I can take all of my fruits and vegetables and put it in a blender or juicer to make a beverage and easily drink it as a meal.

Truth of the matter is blending or juicing your raw fruit and vegetables into a smoothie or juice can break down the insoluble fibers.

The soluble and insoluble fibers found in fruits and vegetables help to ensure that our bodies absorb and digest sugar slowly to avoid spiking our blood sugar.

Simply put, it’s healthier to eat your fruits and vegetables raw. It just is!

I am not suggesting to not drink smoothies ever again, but whenever possible, try eating your fruits and vegetables raw.

How to Make a Healthy Smoothie?

Now that you know how a smoothie can be unhealthy, here is a winning combination to make a healthy smoothie at home.

Greens + Healthy Fat + Protein Source + 1 fruit

For example,

-1 cup of greens (like spinach, kale, or chard)

-A healthy fat (like a 1/4 slice of avocado, a serving of a nut butter, or 1 tablespoon of coconut oil)

-Protein Source (like protein powder, or seeds like hemp or chia. However, a nut butter can be used as a protein too)

-1 fruit like a banana or a handful of strawberries (as a carbohydrate)

This healthy smoothie combination is a lot different from how I used to make my smoothies.

Firstly, I NEVER added greens or any other vegetable for that matter to my smoothies like carrots or beets.

Secondly, I would overdo it on the fruit. Sometimes I would add as many as four kinds of fruit to my smoothie. As mentioned earlier, fruit has sugar.

Lastly, I never would add a protein source. Interestingly enough, my primary care doctor once told me that I should be eating protein at every, single meal.

Since then I started to add peanut butter to my smoothies, but two tablespoons of peanut butter only gives me 8 grams of protein. Whereas if I use a protein powder, I can get as much as 21 grams of protein or more from two scoops.

So, there you have it! A recipe for a balanced, homemade healthy smoothie that’s low in calories and sugar.

Check out my video below to see how I make my smoothies healthier.

Music for “Is Your Smoothie Healthy?” Video

Artist: Silent Partner
Track: Fresh Start
Genre: Rock | Bright

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Thanks!

-Tanisa