It’s time for us to admit to ourselves that we’re a nation in denial. I’m talking about eating dessert for breakfast. Let’s say you avoid the worst offenders—cinnamon buns, pancakes, anything “stuffed” with anything. Maybe you even ignore the cake disguised as muffins that show up in the office far too often. You feel virtuous, knowing you already had your breakfast smoothie.
We're sorry to report that your breakfast isn’t healthier because it came out of a VitaMix.
"Smoothies can be incredibly high in sugar if you’re not careful,” says Deborah Murphy, a registered dietitian in Chicago who runs a blog Dietitian Debbie Dishes. The most common pitfall, she says, is using sweetened yogurt, sorbet, or fruit juice, which puts the sugar count through the roof. A small berry smoothie at Smoothie King made with raspberry sorbet and blueberry juice comes in at 84 grams of sugar. That’s three times the daily recommended amount.
Even without added sugar, smoothies can easily veer into dessert territory. Frozen bananas give smoothies that luxurious ice-cream-like texture, but Murphy says most of us are overdoing it. One banana is the most you should be using. And if you’re including other fruit, cut that banana in half.
“Some fruit is good. Two, three, four cups of fruit is not good,” says Alissa Rumsey, a registered dietitian based in New York and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. At Liquiteria, a NYC-based smoothie chain, a smoothie with blueberries, banana, and almond milk hits 35 grams of sugar. That amount of fruit can send blood sugar levels soaring, and your body releases a flood of insulin in response. “Insulin is a storage hormone, and it’s more likely to store the sugar as fat,” explains Rumsey. Then your blood sugar plummets and you get the 10 a.m. munchies. Hello, bagel spread.
Your smoothie shouldn't taste like a milkshake, but it doesn't have to taste like a compost bin. Getting your recipe right requires an easy three-pronged approach.
The golden ratio for smoothies is one cup of fruit and two cups of leafy greens like spinach (yes, you should be putting vegetables in your smoothie. No, you won’t taste them). You can swap one of the cups of spinach for ½ cup of carrots, cucumber, or another non-leafy vegetable. This base recipe will give you enough nutrients and fiber without sacrificing taste.
Fats like nut butter, coconut oil, and hemp seeds are great because they’ll help you feel full for longer. Keep portions at 1 Tbsp. for butters and oils and 2 Tbsp. for nuts and seeds.
Protein is your smoothie’s secret weapon. It battles those blood sugar spikes and keeps you full for longer. Rumsey recommends aiming for 10 to 15 grams of protein, which sounds like a lot, but you can get there with just half a cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (Rumsey swears the chunks will disappear) or a little more than 1 cup of soy or cow’s milk. Protein powder is an option too, though some have added sugars and artificial ingredients, without the vitamins and minerals that whole foods provide.
If you’re sad about cutting back on the frozen banana, use ¼ of an avocado or ½ cup of silken tofu for creaminess. Try coconut water instead of fruit juice (just be sure to add a protein source like yogurt too). And don’t put the blender away just because the weather is changing. Half a cup of canned pumpkin or roasted sweet potatoes blend up great with Greek yogurt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. These starchy vegetables have tons of vitamins and are still low in sugar compared to most fruit. A half cup of roasted beets adds brilliant color and sweetness along with berries and spinach. Add cocoa powder and vanilla extract to a banana and silken tofu smoothie to give it a whiff of decadence and save the cake for another time, like brunch.