Her Unique Glow

I LOVE smoothies!

I have a smoothie almost every day.

Not only are they a delicious drink, fantastic breakfast, amazing snack...but they're also a yummy scrummy 'fun' food too!

There are SO many amazing, creative and fun ways you can add smoothies into your life and enjoy them throughout the day and they're also a great opportunity to add in even more nourishing whole foods, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds into your diet.

Why do I like smoothies?

• They’re a great way to pack a lot of vitamins, minerals and nutrients into one meal/drink
• They’re great for incorporating a lot of supplemental ‘health’ foods such as probiotics, protein powder, greens powders etc (handy when you're trying to amp up the nutrient profile of your meal - fellow mamas out there, you know what I'm talking about!)
• You can load them up with all the necessary nutrients to help your body thrive such as fats, fibre and protein
• You can tailor them to your own liking by using ingredients that tickle your taste buds and by adding textures that make them more palatable to you (such as by adding courgette or avocado to make smoothies creamier)
• They’re a super easy way of getting greens into your diet (especially if you don’t like the taste/texture of them)
• They’re great for fuelling your body in the morning to set you up for the day - nutrient load your morning meal so you're good to go (again, mamas will love this one for little kiddies!)
• Smoothies are amazing for re-energising your body after a workout
• You can pack your smoothie with anything that makes your body hum to the most 'dancey', awesome, upbeat tune ever!

So yes, I’m a massive fan of a good smoothie! When it comes to making your own, there are so many recipes out there and so many ingredients to choose from that you can quite literally design a smoothie that fuels your body in the most epic way possible!

Watch out points:

• Don’t pack too much fruit into your smoothies. Try to add in as many veggies as possible and then add in fruit for flavour/sweetness/taste
• Try limiting your fruit intake to a quarter cup (especially fruits such as bananas and mango)
• When buying protein powders (or any health powders), check the ingredients! Make sure you know exactly what is going into your body
• Try to always add PROTEIN, FATS, FIBRE and GREENS into every smoothie so that your body is getting exactly what it needs to function optimally. Smoothies are very filling and can (sometimes) be meals in themselves, so make sure that you're still getting everything your body needs
  
• Adding in milk and yogurt (even dairy free) can be a great way to make smoothies thicker
• Adding in courgette, avocado and nut butters are a great way to create a more creamy texture to your smoothies
• Water is a great way to thin smoothies down if they're a little thick. Be mindful of adding fruit juice. 150ml of fruit juice counts as one of your five a day as fruit juice is included in your free sugar intake
• Supplement powders are just that - they must supplement your diet and not be the primary focus. Make sure that if you choose to use these powders, that they're adding more to your smoothie rather than replacing whole foods
• Smoothies (as with any food/drink) are meant to be enjoyed! So always focus on how it's making you FEEL rather than using them as a way to control or restrict your food intake

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Want to discover some delicious, nutrient packed, scrummy smoothie recipes?

Check out my recipe books where I share some of my favourites:

GLOW FIT NUTRITION GUIDE & RECIPE BOOK

NOURISHED KITCHEN RECIPE BOOK

HOW TO EAT HEALTH-FULLY

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Here are 3 smoothie recipes for you to get you started:

PB & J SMOOTHIE

This is probably my number one smoothie and for sure my ‘go to’ recipe – especially when it comes to breakfast time.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 frozen banana
• 2 tbsp frozen blueberries
• 1 cup almond milk*
• 1 serving vanilla protein powder (optional)
• 1 tbsp peanut butter*
• 1 tsp hemp seeds*
• 1 tsp chocolate greens powder (optional)
• 1 tsp probiotic powder* (optional)

Substitutes:You can use any milk you like – coconut, rice, oat, cashew. You can substitute the peanut butter for almond butter or any nut butter you like. Alternatives for hemp seeds are chia seeds or flaxseed.

BERRY SMOOTHIE

I love how light and cooling this smoothie is! Because of the added spinach, the colour is on the brownish side – but I promise you, it still tastes incredibly yummy and if you love berries then this is the one for you!

INGREDIENTS:

• Big handful of spinach
• 2 tbsp frozen blueberries
• 1 tbsp frozen strawberries1 cup almond milk*
• 1 serving vanilla protein powder* (optional)
• 1 tsp ground flaxseed*
• 1 tsp chocolate greens powder (optional)
• 1 tsp probiotic powder*

Substitutes:You can use any milk you like – coconut, rice, oat, cashew. Berry protein powder is also great to use in this recipe. Alternatives for flaxseed are chia seeds or hemp seeds.

CHOCOLATE SALTED CARAMEL SMOOTHIE

This is the most decadent smoothie I have ever made – if you’re a chocolate lover or just after a treat, then this will definitely hit the spot! Plus, the magnesium from the cacao and the added maca powder are great for boosting your energy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 frozen banana
• 1 cup almond milk*
• 1 serving salted caramel protein powder* (optional)
• 1 tsp almond butter*
• 1 tsp hemp seeds*
• 1 tsp maca powder*
• 1 tsp cacao powder*
• 1 tsp chocolate greens powder (optional)
• 1 tsp probiotic powder (optional)

Substitutes: You can use any milk you like – coconut, rice, oat, cashew. You can substitute the almond butter for any nut butter you like. Alternatives for hemp seeds are chia seeds or flaxseed. The maca powder and cacao powder are completely optional. It depends on what you have in your pantry but the smoothie is just as delicious without them.

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