Written with love, by Jennifer Dene
Instagram and Pinterest are some of the best sources of healthy living inspiration out there! I’m constantly motivated by the beautiful photos and creative ideas that women around the world are sharing.
But there’s a recent health food trend that isn’t sitting so well with me. I’m talking crazy big, crazy sweet breakfast bowls. Whether it’s a tropical fruit smoothie or an acai bowl with all the trimmings, these sweet breakfast beauties aren’t as healthy as they look.
While our bodies are designed to metabolize 25 grams of sugar each day - which is equivalent to about six teaspoons - many of these #healthybreakfast smoothie bowls actually contain upwards of 60 grams of sugar — especially when topped with extra fruit, granola and honey.
Talk about a sweet rush.
If you’re struggling to see results with your bridal wellness plan, you might need to take a look at how much sugar you’re consuming, and there’s no better place to start than on your breakfast plate.
Let’s break down an average smoothie bowl recipe:
● One large banana (14 grams sugar)
● Half a mango (23 grams sugar)
● 1 cup vanilla almond milk (16 grams sugar)
● 1 tablespoon almond butter (1 gram sugar)
● Handful spinach
Blended and topped with:
● 1 tablespoon honey (17g sugar)
● 1/2 cup granola (anywhere between 5g and 20g sugar)
● 1/2 cup fresh berries (3g sugar)
The total sugar in this “healthy” breakfast bowl is 80 — 100 grams. That’s your quota for half the week!
So while you might not be adding white table sugar to your breakfast in the morning, a fruity smoothie or breakfast bowl is affecting your body in the same way.
Fruit is a natural source of sugar — and one with the added benefit of fiber — but a little goes a long way and excess sugar in any form will be quickly stored on the body as fat. That’s why today I want to show you how to build a better smoothie; one that hits all the health notes of a blended breakfast and keeps you moving towards your bridal wellness goals.
How To Build A Better Healthy Smoothie
Start with liquid:
● 8 oz water or unsweetened milk of choice
Add vegetables:
(choose one or more from the list below)
● 1 cup baby spinach or romaine lettuce
● 1/2 zucchini or cucumber
● 1 stalk celery
● fresh fennel
Add protein:
(choose one)
● Pure whey
● Stevia sweetened vegan protein
● Hemp seeds
Add healthy fat:
(choose one)
● 1 tablespoon nut butter
● 1oz avocado (frozen for a thicker smoothie
● 1oz raw coconut meat (frozen for a thicker smoothie)
Add sweetener:
(optional, choose one)
● 1/2 banana (frozen for a thicker smoothie)
● 1 cup frozen berries
● 1 kiwi fruit
Toppings:
(optional, choose one)
● 1/4 cup low sugar granola
● 1 tablespoon chopped nuts
● 1 tablespoon coconut flakes
