Is a Breakfast Smoothie the Key to Longevity?

Smoothies have become a popular way to make sure you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and getting the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that you need for good health. If you’ve not started getting the benefits yourself yet, it’s time to learn why smoothies can help you to live a longer, healthier life and get some tips on what not to do with them to ruin the health effects. 

Why Smoothies Are Healthy 

Smoothies have a few plus points working in their favor and one of the biggest is the ability to pack a lot more fruit and veggies into your life. If you’re someone who could do with getting more helpings of fruit and vegetables every day, smoothies can be an easy way to bump up your intake and chances are, you’ll be consuming far more than you would if you ate the whole food versions. It’s also a great way to broaden your horizons with the type of vegetables you eat and get nutrients from ones you wouldn’t normally eat whole. 

Adding vegetables to your smoothie can be a super easy way to make sure you’re absorbing lots of the nutrients you need for good health. If you’ve not been eating great until now, your digestion may not be as efficient as it could be and can mean you don’t absorb vitamins and minerals as well. 

One of the great things about smoothies is the chance to use different combinations of fruit and vegetables to boost your intake. Green smoothies are a perfect example of this as they usually have a fruit in there too (often blueberries or banana). You can tailor them to include ingredients that offer more nutrition. For example, blending leafy greens, berries and avocados will give you vitamin C, vitamin E and a huge range of vitamins and minerals that you may not otherwise get from your diet. 

Getting Started with a Smoothie

If you’re totally new to the idea of making smoothies, it’s often best to start small and build things up. Try creating healthy smoothies once a week to begin with and look to build up to doing it every day.

Start off with fruits and vegetables that you already like to eat whole and gradually branch out into other options. I like to begin with frozen blueberries and fresh (or frozen) spinach.

What to Include in Your Smoothies 

I like to start with my Daily Nutritional Support powder in my daily smoothie. This guarantees I’m getting all my vitamins for the day and it adds protein as well. It’s easy to mix, tastes great, and is third-party tested. Smoothies keep the fiber content of fruit and vegetables intact as you’re blending the food as a whole and are easily digested. I want to save my energy for other things in the morning instead of using it for hard-to-digest breakfast foods! You can also add more fiber to your smoothie in the means of oats, chia seeds and flax seeds if needed. I also like to add this Daily Fruit & Vegetable Blend to add to my fruits and vegetables for the day. (My favorite flavor is crisp apple.)

It’s also easy to blend healthy fats and protein into smoothies too. Some fruits are a natural source of healthy fats, including avocado, or you can add chia or flax seeds or hemp hearts, which add some protein as well. If you’d like to add more calories to your smoothie, almond butter is always a good choice or more fruits such as banana. 

The best liquid to add is water or unsweetened nut milk. Play with a few recipes to see what you like!

What Not to Include 

Just be careful not to add in too many sugary ingredients into smoothies. This can quickly turn an otherwise healthy smoothie into a sugar bomb that spikes your blood sugar levels. Stick to a balance of fruits, veggies, protein and healthy fats, which will give you a nice balance of nutrients. Lots of fruits are naturally sweet and can satisfy cravings for something sweet without needing to add too much else.

Why I Choose a Smoothie for Breakfast

As I said before, a smoothie is a great way to start your day with vitamins and nutrients and is easy to digest. With 1/3 of a day’s energy used for digestion, I like to keep my mornings simple and give my body the hydration and nutrition it needs (not just calories!). It keeps me satisfied until lunch, when digestion in the human body is at its strongest. Give it a try!

Here’s a recipe for you to get started:

16 oz. Water

1 c. Unsweetened nut milk

2 scoops Daily Nutritional Support powder (or vegan protein powder of your choice)

1 scoop Daily Fruit & Vegetable Blend (optional)

1 c. Frozen blueberries

Handful of spinach

Click here to join my FREE 3 day Challenge titled “3 Day Formula for a Healthy Lifestyle”. A smoothie for breakfast is just one of the steps and you’ll be off to a great start!