A Splash with Smoothies

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Who doesn't love a smoothie? I used to get the Kale-ribbean Breeze Smoothie from the local Jamba Juice at least once a week, convinced that I was packing my body full of wonderful nutrients. Then I learned that a small Kale-ribbean Breeze, as of today, has 60 total net carbohydrates and 48 grams of sugar (http://www.jambajuice.com/menu-and-nutrition/menu/smoothies/whole-food-nutrition/kale-ribbean-breeze). A medium has 67 grams of sugar, and a large has 85 grams. Yikes. Even though all of this sugar comes from fruits, it is undeniably a LOT. After all, people should consume no more than "6–9 teaspoons, or 25–37.5 grams, of sugar a day" (https://www.familyeducation.com/life/sugar/are-we-too-sweet-our-kids-addiction-sugar). With this information, the pride I acquired from drinking my Kale-ribbean Breeze Smoothies faded quite considerably. But I wasn't about to give up one of my favorite foods. No way. So I decided to whip up healthier smoothies for myself at home, with my handy-dandy Blendtec blender. 
Fruit is great, chock full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. But it is also full of sugar; therefore, in this smoothie recipe, I limited the amount of fruit in order to decrease the sugar content. I upped the leafy greens, because I'm kind of obsessed with them, and added some nut butter for healthy fats. But enough of that; you can view the recipe below!

Super Scrumptious Smoothie

  • 1/2 cup frozen leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, chard, or arugula
  • 3 frozen strawberries or 12 frozen raspberries
  • 1-2 Tbsps Lakanto Monkfruit or Swerve Erythritol (monkfruit extract and erythritol are zero-calorie sweeteners that have no effect on blood sugar. You can read more about monkfruit here, or Swerve here.)
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 12 oz. (or more, if necessary) milk of choice (I like almond and coconut), cold brew coffee, or chilled tea - really any cooled liquid you feel like. Bai Molokai Coconut is really tasty!
  • 1-2 Tbsps almond butter or peanut butter 
  • Optional: protein powder, such as 1 scoop of Orgain creamy chocolate fudge organic protein powder)
  • Optional: As a smoothie bowl fan, I like to top my smoothie with some additional chia seeds, ground flax meal, coconut flakes, Lily's stevia-sweetened chocolate chips, or almonds after it's blended.
Blend all ingredients (other than toppings, if desired) in a blender. Pour into a glass or a bowl, if you want to make a smoothie bowl. Decorate with any toppings. Enjoy!

Carpe Diem,
Maya

Photo by Chelsea shapouri on Unsplash

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