Health Benefits of Smoothies

A whole foods diet is one that is centered on fruits, vegetables, healthy oils, whole grains, and avoids unhealthy fats, processed food, and artificial chemicals. These days we are constantly hearing about which foods are healthy and unhealthy. People are bombarded with data about healthy eating, some of contradicting other information. The one thing we can say safely is that, in general, natural food is healthier than processed or refined food. Relying on more whole foods is one possible change that can make people eat healthier.

One meal that can be particularly difficult while on a whole foods diet is breakfast. Many of the dairy products, or breakfast meats, or breads, bagels or any number of things we associate with the first meal of the day rarely qualifies as whole foods. They are full of unhealthy fats, chemicals to increase milk production, processed starches, and refined sugars. Even the coffee we drink may not be natural. Preground coffee has additives to keep it separated, many creamers are full of chemicals that few people can pronounce, and they are usually full of the cheapest sugars we can find.

So what is an option for someone that has very little time in the morning to cook a meal from scratch? Smoothies. Homemade smoothies are full of fruits or even vegetables. You can control what goes into them. With a blender and a little produce, you can make yourself a healthy breakfast in minutes without any chemicals. You can control the sugar, the fat content; you can simply add more mild flavored vegetables to add more nutrients.

Finding ingredients for smoothies is as easy as wandering the produce aisle of the grocery store. Commonly used fruits are strawberries, bananas, blueberries, melons, peaches, apples, mangoes, and pineapples. You can use fresh squeezed juice from most citrus fruits like lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruits. You can even add some vegetables to make a smoothie even healthier like spinach, alfalfa sprouts, Swiss chard, or even romaine lettuce.

With a bit of practice, it is easy to customize a smoothie to your taste. Nobody needs a complicated recipe for this. Just learn what fruits you enjoy, which vegetables you can add, how little sweetener is needed, and whether you prefer a rich texture from yogurt or other dairy or more of a frozen texture by using frozen produce or ice. The most important part is to remember that this is part of a whole foods diet and is intended to be a meal. So make sure you are avoiding unhealthy fats, chemicals, or refined starches and try to make the smoothie as filling as possible.

Having a filling and healthy breakfast does not have to be impossible. While it may be difficult to have a traditional country style breakfast while on a whole foods diet, you can make homemade smoothies. With a strong blender or food processor you can make a smoothie out of any number of fruits, vegetables, frozen produce for more of an iced smoothie, and healthy dairy like yogurt for a richer or more filling drink. A whole foods diet is a major lifestyle switch, but it is not impossible.