Is Shake Sabotage Ruining Your Diet? Avoid These 4 Biggest Pitfalls

Fruit smoothies are often advertised as a great healthy way to lose weight or to supplement your diet with a nutritious drink. However, if you’re not on the lookout for smoothie sabotage, these fruity drinks can do more harm than good. Fortunately, if you learn the proper way to mix with this article, smoothies can still be an easy, tasty AND healthy option for any meal of the day.

Shake Mistake #1

The blender is NOT a calorie buster:

The biggest mistake people make with smoothies is forgetting how many calories they can have. Just because the ingredients are a drinkable puree doesn’t mean all the calories from the original fruits aren’t still there. Would you eat a slice of watermelon, a banana and a half, an orange and a handful of strawberries in one sitting? Probably not… but with a shake many people eat as much and more. (And then wondering why your calorie count is off for the day)

let’s figure it out

People often drink a shake and eat something else, like half a bagel, a sandwich, or some kind of snack, because the shake alone doesn’t satisfy hunger. Others drink a smoothie and eat something soon after. Being a liquid, it does not stay in the stomach as long as solid food. To solve the problem, you need protein and fiber. Both healthy elements contribute a lot to the feeling of “fulfillment”. However, you do want to make sure you get fruit peels (apple, pear, peach, etc.) for fiber, but not many fruits have protein.

The solution?

Everything is wrapped in tiny seeds. The chia seeds don’t add flavor to the shake (they don’t taste like anything), but they DO add complete protein (like that found in meat) and 2 types of fiber (soluble and insoluble) to help keep you feeling full longer . The more you add, the greater its effect, so you can stay satisfied until lunch. The body does not break down the fiber in chia. It doesn’t add calories, but it helps move food smoothly through the digestive system AND feeds beneficial bacteria (probiotics).

Shake Mistake #2

Too much sugar:

When reviewing smoothie recipes or a smoothie menu, check first for added sugar or sweet ingredients. Things like high-fructose corn syrup, cane juice, and even sweetened yogurts can sabotage your health plans with a sugar overload. Fruits also contain natural sugars (which is fine), but you should balance them with a veggie or two, so you can avoid a “sugar crash” later. Sugars and sweet fruits may not have fat, but they add calories that don’t do much for your health.

let’s figure it out

First of all, always refuse a smoothie with any kind of added sugars. You don’t need them for great flavor, if you know which fruits to mix and match. Next, add some vegetables. Don’t be afraid to toss a handful of spinach into a smoothie. Its flavor is easy to eliminate with a sweet fruit (such as a banana) and a strong fruit (such as a strawberry, pineapple, kiwi or raspberry) By mixing “sweet” and “strong” you can choose a vegetable and then remove its flavor so that all you get is that great fruit flavor you love. Cucumber is also good as it is soft. When combined with fruit, usually only the ‘fresh’ component is tasted. If you’re using a powerhouse fruit like pineapple, you can also add some kale and let the fruit do its job of fighting the flavor.

Use fiber to slow the digestion of sugars. Since fiber cannot be digested, it interferes with and slows down the conversion of carbohydrates into sugars. This is great, because it helps prevent insulin from spiking (this causes the ‘sugar crash’) and helps the body digest the shake at an even rate that is more likely to keep you feeling full for longer. Spinach, kale, and chia seeds are easy ways to add lots of fiber to any smoothie.

Shake Mistake #3

Budget-busting smoothies:

Indulging in a healthy treat shouldn’t break the bank. Store-bought shakes can be expensive, and if you’ve found that some of them have additives you don’t want, it’s time to find a way to mix for less.

let’s figure it out

Making your own smoothies at home is incredibly quick and easy when you follow these tips, plus you’ll save money, too. First, frozen fruit is always in season. Unlike canning, freezing preserves fruit without heat, so those healthy compounds and enzymes aren’t broken down in flash freezing. Bags of frozen fruit like mango, cantaloupe, raspberries, and more almost always cost less than their fresh counterparts. Enjoy out-of-season fruit year-round by heading to the freezer aisle. Take the next step and freeze your own fruit while it’s in season, like buying bags of blueberries (only available in the fall), kiwis (a summer treat not often found in the freezer aisle), or your favorite seasonal grape. You can also peel bananas, wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze them for a creamy smoothie without worrying about those pesky stains.

Time tip!

For a morning smoothie in a snap, fill the blender jar with a handful of veggies, your favorite fruits, and a splash of non-dairy milk. Then she puts it in the fridge. In the morning, simply mix and go, ready to drink in less than 30 seconds. That eliminates all the excuses to skip breakfast.

Pre-cut frozen fruit, pre-filled blender jars, an easy scoop of chia, and simple bags of veggies mean healthy drinking has never been so quick and easy. Mixing at home means you’re not paying a premium to have someone whip up something you could make in minutes. If you need a sweeter smoothie, you can sprinkle on some stevia powder before blending. This sweet herb is much sweeter than sugar (to taste) but does not affect insulin levels. Unlike artificial chemical sweeteners, stevia will not make you feel hungrier. Customize the level of sweetness with inexpensive stevia so even kids with a sweet tooth can enjoy fruits and vegetables every day.

Shake Mistake #4

It’s time to ditch the dairy (unfermented). Keep cow’s milk out of your smoothies. Alkaline foods fight inflammation, and cow’s milk is an acid-forming food. Aren’t oranges and lemons also acidic? They start out acidic, but as they are digested they become alkaline. Dairy has no such advantage. Vegetable calcium (such as in spinach, chia, and kale) is also easier for the body to absorb. If you opt for protein, you can use probiotic-infused Greek yogurt or unsweetened fermented kefir. (or even a scoop of vegan protein powder)

let’s figure it out

Use milk alternatives like rice milk, almond milk, cashew milk, or soy milk. (men should skip soy milk as it has plant estrogens) If you want a creamy taste, add banana or frozen banana. Greek yogurt with probiotics and kefir can also be used. If you want calcium, it’s important to have other minerals, like magnesium and boron, a trace mineral. Consuming these minerals together greatly increases your absorption capacity. Fortunately, chia seed packs all 3 into 1 small package. It also has the omega-3 oils you need to absorb the fat-soluble vitamin A from spinach or kale.

With these shake solutions, you can add great flavor and great nutrition to your menu.

The flavor combinations are endless, and using the prep time tips there is no excuse to skip the fruits and veggies. Think about how much better you’d feel if you ate a whole salad of greens…before anyone else had a single vegetable. Feel satisfied for hours on chia seed fiber and know you’ll never fall victim to smoothie sabotage with this great information.