I have been talking a lot about health, fitness, and dieting lately to help others lose weight during the new year without doing anything radical, expensive, and dangerous. Sometimes people do unhealthy things to themselves out of desperation to find quick fixes to problems. Although I don't want to glamorize being overweight, which seems to happening in the media these days, I also don't want to suggest people do something radical and unhealthy to change their ways that many diets suggest. I lost 25 pounds in 3 months with slow and small changes to my diet and exercise routines. 6 months after losing the weight I continue to keep the weight off as I developed good habits in that time that will last forever.
Smoothies
One of the things I did when starting to make small changes to my diet was to incorporate a smoothie as an after lunch drink. I essentially would eat less of a lunch and then follow it up with a smoothie. It wasn't a meal replacement, but more of a meal supplement. I think this helped me to lose a few pounds, but more importantly, it got me to eat more fruits and vegetables that needed to play more of a role in my diet.
You can see an image of me making a smoothie above. I think that day I used Apple Juice, Pineapple, blueberries, banana, and ice.
You can certainly get smoothie recipes, but I do smoothies the old fashioned way. One, buy fruit at the farmer's market or store that is in season and inexpensive and wash it thoroughly. Two, toss the fruit in a blender with ice and blend. And three, drink!
I try to incorporate a good balance of fresh and frozen fruit. Make sure you properly wash all fresh fruit. I typically buy organic fruit from local farmers. I swear by having a banana in every drink as it helps with consistency, but you might think differently. Some people will put frozen yougurt to help with consistency, too. And, last, you will usually have to use some type of liquid as a base so the smoothie is indeed smooth. I typically use carrot juice, but you can use whatever you want.
Note it doesn't have to be just about fruit. I use carrot juice as a base liquid and will throw fresh spinach and anything else we have lying around the house that can be tossed in a blender. Usually I focus more on fruit smoothies, however, and use the vegetables for soups and dips I make with the blender.
You will need a blender for this obviously. I tend to use the blender a lot, so I bought a Vita-Mix
. A little more money but I make soups, dips, and smoothies all the time and it has never, ever broke down. If you don't plan on using the blender very much, you can certainly get something less expensive to see how it meets your needs. However, be warned, once you start using the blender for smoothies, the whole family will want smoothies and you will probably start to make soups, dips, and other snacks like me :)
Thoughts on smoothies and incorporating them into your diet:
- Allergies - Be careful of allergic reactions. I tend to use a nice blend of various fruits and vegetables for which I have no allergies. If you are trying out fruits and vegetables that are not normally a part of your diet, be cautious! Just sample a small bit and see if you develop rashes, swelling, or anything else overnight to see if you are allergic before incorporating in your smoothie.
- Acid - Fruit can have a lot of acid which could upset your stomache, mouth, teeth, gums, lips, and as mentioned before, cause an allergic reaction. Don't go crazy with the amount of citrus-based fruit or other fruit with a lot of acid.
- Brush Teeth - Might seem like common sense, but you might want to brush your teeth, gums, and tongue after a smoothie so the acid does not wear off the enamel on your teeth and you get cavities :)
Again, just use common sense when trying something new in your diet. Incorporate slowly and make sure you don't experience any negative effects. Check with your doctor, etc.
That being said, I love smoothies. Easy way to incorporate fruits and vegetables in your diet and a good supplement to your meal.
Health, Fitness, and Exercise