My Go-To Green Smoothie this Summer

Sometime last year I started making a green smoothie for breakfast every morning! I listened to podcast interviews with nutritionist Kelly Leveque (look her up on The Skinny Confidential podcast) and read her book, Body Love, and was sold on her "Fab Four Smoothie" formula: protein, fiber, fat, greens. When following this formula and consuming more protein, [healthy] fat and fiber than I had been, I was consuming more calories initially but actually staying full all morning long instead of crashing mid-morning and needing a snack. By balancing these four "food groups" per say and keeping fruit and sugar low*, your blood sugar stays super steady and your body is satiated.

My favorite thing about starting my day with a green smoothie is that I get in a serving of leafy greens before 8am. Since there's no way I'm eating a salad for breakfast, this is pretty amazing! Especially when I use spinach, I truly can't taste it or tell it's there, other than the slight green tint of my smoothie.

I tend to mix up my smoothies often to keep them interesting (vanilla vs. chocolate protein powders, peanut butter vs. almond butter, different fruit, etc.), but I wanted to share the smoothie I've been gravitating toward this summer! It's light, subtly sweet* and super refreshing!

*Be warned - I never put more than 1/8 cup of fruit in my smoothies and don't add extra sweeteners like they often do in smoothie shops, so my smoothies may not be as sweet as what you're used to! I do this to keep sugar and carb intake low, and to not spike my blood sugar. Did you know that fructose turns to fat faster than any other form of carbohydrate?? 

Summer "Fab Four" Green Smoothie

1 serving

1-2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

*blend*

1/8 cup frozen pineapple &/or mango (about 2 little chunks of fruit)

1 20g serving of vanilla protein powder

1.5 tablespoons raw, unsweetened peanut butter

1 tablespoon acacia fiber

1 tablespoon chia seeds

3-4 ice cubes

*blend*

With my particular items, this smoothie puts me at 389 calories, 22g of fat, 28g of protein, 13g of fiber and only 8 net carbs. The best thing is it truly keeps me full all morning! I usually have my smoothie at around 7:30 while I get ready for work, and I don't eat lunch until around 12:30 most days, so this keeps me energized and satiated for 5+ hours. It really does make you feel good!

I wanted to add a quick note on protein powders because they can be both scary and hard to find! I, like many women, had the misconception that protein powders were for body builders and that they would make you gain weight. Not true! You'd have to be consuming tons of it to bulk up. Having one serving in a smoothie is going to energize you and make you leaner. Since I've added more protein to my diet I'm undoubtedly leaner and have more muscle tone (I haven't bulked up -- I'm just more toned now). Plus, my skin and overall health are better. Just be sure to look for a clean protein powder with as few ingredients as possible! Unfortunately many protein powders are packed with strange chemicals and sweeteners and aren't actually good for you. 

For awhile I was using only plant-based protein powders, and if that's your vibe I would recommend Tone it Up, Vega and Orgain.

Since changing my diet up recently, I've moved away from plant-based powders and am currently using the Collagen Fuel protein powders by Primal Kitchen. I'm planning to try their Primal Fuel next since it's a bit cheaper! 

This is a good article explaining the different types of protein powders if you'd like more information!

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Please leave me a comment or shoot me a message if you try my summer green smoothie!

Would you like to see more healthy recipe posts and healthy tips like this?