I have
been drinking smoothies in the morning for a long time. Most of the time they consist
of the same ingredients: yogurt, banana’s, spinach and linseed. But this week
I decided to try a different type of smoothie each day and give you some info
on why this is a healthy but also delicious snack. I get most of my fruits on the local market here in Amsterdam North (I'll do a blog on that asap) because most of the time it's much cheaper than in your local supermarket. Most of the smoothies I made this week contained some kind of red fruits because I couldn't find too many mangoes or pineapples at the market, sorry!
Monday
This handsome looking smoothie here on the left contains banana,
mango, lowfat yoghurt, linseed, wheat bran and honey.
This is a really good smoothie to start a day with. Because this smoothie consists mostly out of banana, it's also good to drink this before a workout. Banana's can give you a real energy punch and they sustain your blood sugar. They also protect you against muscle cramps during workouts.
I eat/drink bananas because (i copied this from a nutrient site because it's too difficult to explain): "Bananas act as a prebiotic, stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria in the bowel. They also produce digestive enzymes to assist in absorbing nutrients."
Tuesday
This is a delicious smoothie with greek yogurt, berries, juice of a small lemon, a teaspoon of linseed oil, banana and 2 leaves of mint.
It's a really fresh smoothies because of the greek yogurt and mint. So I suggest drinking this one on a warm afternoon.
Mint is also very good for you digestion and it soothes the stomach in case of indigestion or inflammation. And it just tastes amazing!
And when you've got asthma, mint can be used as a good relaxant and it relieves congestion. But don't use it too much!
Wednesday
In this smoothie you will find a banana (of course), berries, low-fat yogurt and wheat bran. Not a very exciting one, but also very healthy and tasty. If you've never heard of wheat bran, don't worry. I'll explain to you some things about it. Wheat bran is good for all sorts of things. I use it for my IBS, but it's also good for lowering your blood pressure and apparantly is also good for preventing stomach cancer and hemorrhoids! Researchers all still looking at the effects of wheat bran, which include: preventing more types of cancer (bowel/rectum) and type 2 diabetes.
And on the plus side, wheat bran is not expensive and you don't have to use a lot all at once!
Thursday
So I thought I might be a good idea to also come up with some juices. You do need some type of juicer for this unless you don't mind having fruit pulp in your drink. You can always sieve the drink but that's quite a lot of work.
Juicers aren't that expensive either and you will not regret buying one!
This juice contains an orange, 2 apples and raspberries. There was a time when I hated raspberries. I wouldn't eat anything that even had the slightest amount of raspberries in it. But nowadays I love them. They contain loads of vitamins: C, B11, E and K. And they contain numerous of things like ellagic acid, which you can also find in goji berries, pomegranate and walnuts!
TGIFriday
In this thankgoditsfridayjuice you will find two apples, strawberries and raspberries and the juice of half a lemon. I don't put lemon juice in all my smoothies and drinks, but I do in some of them because I really like that sour taste of lemons and guess what?! Also very healthy! I found this great article on why lemon juice is good and instead of highlighting a few points, you should really read all of it, so here's the link:
http://www.fitsugar.com/10-Reasons-Lemon-Juice-Good-You-14860617
Saturday
I was out of apples today but I did by some pears on the market yesterday (I love pears, when they're either still a bit hard or all juicy and soft). So this juice is made with one orange, a pear, blackberries and a little drop of lemon juice.
Oranges are super duper healthy, they contain loaaaads of vitamin C. They help prevent a numerous of illnesses, they can give you an amazing energy boost (who needs coffee? just kidding, I do) and it lowers your cholesterol.
What are you waiting for?! Go forth and make this juice!
Sunday
This last juice is suppose to be made without a juicer. My nice made it and I asked whether I could use it for my blog. So here it is. It contains strawberries, a fig, an orange and a banana and you just add some water.
I personally don't eat all too many figs, I have an issue with the structure. But you don't really have that structure in a smoothie, so I should try them some time especially because apparently they are a really good way to stimulate weight loss! And what girl doesn't want to lose weight?
After writing this blog I realized how good fruits are and that we should definitely try to eat more of them in stead of cookies and sweets (even though cookies are amazing). I know fruit can be quite expensive, that's why you should make an effort and try to find a cheap stand at your local market or find an exotic supermarket near your house. For example, in Amsterdam we've got loads of Turkish and Moroccan supermarkets with cheap fruit and meat.
I hope I've inspired you to maybe have a healthy smoothie once a week or more!
