


In high school, we had an AMAZING smoothie shop (Smoothie King!!) just down the street from our school. It was definitely the place to go to grab an afterschool snack.
In my first post, I shared about my experience as a performer. Many times before or after rehearsals, my friends in the current show and I would run over to Smoothie King to grab a quick bite.
Smoothies are probably my favorite snack (or breakfast meal!) ever and I’m pretty sure it’s because of my smoothie king days! My breakfast or snack “go-to’s” definitely center around a delicious smoothie.
SMOOTHIES ARE AMAZINGLY HEALTHY
An awesome benefit of smoothies, besides the taste, is how healthy they can be! Smoothies are usually made up of produce and other “superfood” items that are jam packed with nutrients.
One of my favorite things about smoothies is how easy it is to sneak nutrients in without compromising the taste!
PICKY EATERS
Another thing I love about smoothies is how customizable they are! Some people are all about berries when others are all about tropical fruits. It’s so easy to find your own combination that fits your liking! The possibilities are endless!
My family and friends would tell you that I can be a pretty picky eater at times. If the food has a weird texture or interesting taste, I’m not about it. ALL the “nopes”!
This can obviously pose a problem when trying to eat clean and consume whole foods that are healthy for my body. Luckily, I’ve been able to push past a lot of those aversions by throwing them in a blender!
I’ve thrown in SO many different kinds of foods! In the past, I’ve thrown in spinach, kale, even green beans or broccoli when I’m running low on other “leafy greens”. It’s exciting to me that I can be getting all the amazing nutrients from so many different kinds of foods and not even taste them!
Kids are also notorious for being picky eaters. Smoothies are an amazing way to get your kids to eat vegetables and superfoods that they otherwise wouldn’t eat plain.
VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS
Kids also have trouble swallowing pillows or taking supplements. There have been so many times that I’ve hidden supplements or vitamins in my own smoothies as well as my kids. An added win for sure!
Others I know, like to put in protein powders to enhance and upgrade their smoothie to an awesome after-workout power snack. You can also throw some weight loss supplements in your smoothies too depending on what your health goals are!
THROUGHOUT MY HEALTH JOURNEY
If you read my post about my health journey, you’ll know I’ve done several different eating plans. Throughout the journey I’ve learned amazing recipes. I’ve also learned so many awesome substitution ingredients for normal everyday recipes to make them healthier.
During the time I was focusing on Trim Healthy Mama, I learned all about what mixing fats and carbs does to your body. THM also taught me about what foods are truly healthy and which to eat most often.
This particular smoothie recipe follows THM’s guide lines on an “S” meal (check out my post on How to Be a Trim Healthy Mama). An “S” meal stands for satisfying and focuses on being made of healthy fats (similar to the Keto diet).
STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE INGREDIENTS
My favorite “go-to” smoothie at Smoothie King has always been their strawberry banana, aka the Angel Food. It is amazingly delicious! However, strawberry banana smoothies have a lot of sugar in them because of the banana.
I love the consistency the banana gives a smoothie being so rich and creamy. While meeting with my nutritionist over the past year or so, she suggested I try substituting the banana for an avocado….
Let’s rewind to when I told you I was a picky eater… I have JUST come around to liking guacamole in the past several years. And that’s only IF there’s a whole lot of chips involved! Plain avocado is a NO-GO for me!
But being the “new-way” seeker that I am, I decided to trust her and give it a try. And let me say for the record… my mind was BLOWN!
I couldn’t taste the avocado at ALL! The avocado added an amazingly creamy thickness to the smoothie that nothing but bananas or dairy products normally could! Just throw in a bit of stevia or honey to taste and you’re golden!
HOW IT’S MADE
Personally, I’m not a fan of icey smoothies. I don’t like how watered down the smoothie gets by the end. But a good cold smoothie is the best! I have found that using frozen strawberries (or whatever fruit you’ve decided to use) is the best route without all the water ice leaves!
The frozen fruit used to be hard on my blender until I stumbled across this amazing find on amazon. This blender is by FAR my favorite I’ve ever used and is so well priced! (We use them so much I’m pretty sure we have two!)
Sometimes when blending frozen fruits, they can become stuck and hard to fully blend. A trick to help is to start with the almond milk and avocado since they’re the smoothest and not frozen.
Any time the ingredients are having trouble blending and get stuck, just splash a bit more almond milk in to loosen it up a bit. Works like a charm!
Like I said above, I love hiding superfoods in my smoothies. For this smoothie you can throw in some spinach (I like to use the frozen spinach from Walmart!) or even some kale! Don’t worry… you can’t taste it! (And for your ULTRA picky eaters out there, just throw in some more fruit if it tastes too “vegetable-y”).
DON’T LET THE COLOR FOOL YOU! It tastes AMAZING! (I added a lot of spinach to this one but you can certainly add less for a more pink color!)
Overall, smoothies are an excellent way to get your fruit and veggie servings in as well as other added nutrients, vitamins and supplements. They can be a great meal or snack, especially for picky eats, that’s tasty and healthy! Enjoy!
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Strawberry “Fat Busting” Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen strawberries (feel free to add more or try different fruit combinations!)
- 1 large avocado
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup almond milk
- ⅓ cup spinach, kale or other superfood
- Sprinkle of stevia or honey to taste
Optional:
1 scoop of Protein powder
Any other supplements, vitamins or weight management powders
Directions:
- Blend the avocado, vanilla, and stevia with ½ of the almond milk and frozen strawberries.
- If necessary, scrape sides of the blender and add the rest of the ingredients. If they continue to get stuck, keep adding a small amount of almond milk to loosen up the ingredients.
ENJOY!
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I hope you enjoyed this recipe! I’d LOVE to hear from you if you tried it! Shoot me an email to let me know what you thought! Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest and also check back for more recipes and “how-to’s” coming soon!!