Health Fitness

The health benefits of green smoothies

Many people find the idea of ​​eating lots of servings of fruits and vegetables every day overwhelming. The thought of eating salads every day or bunches of lettuce and spinach may be enough to discourage people from following a healthier diet. Fortunately, there are some painless ways to get more leafy greens into your diet without feeling like a bunny. Many people who have a hard time eating leafy greens choose to drink them in the form of green smoothies. Green smoothies are fruit smoothies that have green leafy vegetables like spinach or kale mixed together. Getting used to the taste may take a bit of time, but once you do, you can drink the equivalent of a whole salad in the form of a green smoothie.

Drinking green smoothies is a great way to increase your vegetable intake. Some common vegetables that can be easily added to smoothies are romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, celery, and cucumbers. Of course, you shouldn’t add all of these at once. Most people who drink green smoothies recommend a ratio of 40% vegetables to 60% fruit to keep it tasting good. If you are just starting to drink green smoothies, choose a mild green like spinach and add a small amount to your smoothie. Once you are more used to the taste, you can increase the amount of vegetables you are mixing.

Besides increasing your vegetable intake, green smoothies can also help you eat more fruits. A smoothie can contain a peach, a handful of strawberries, a banana, some blueberries, and an apple. This adds up to at least three or four servings of fruit in a delicious drink. Most people dilute their smoothies with 100% fruit juice, although some people choose to use water or milk to give their smoothies a drinkable consistency.

In addition to the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking them is also a great way to incorporate more healthy fats into your diet. It’s easy to add healthy fats without altering the taste or texture of the drink. Adding the flesh of an avocado to a green smoothie will significantly increase the healthy fat content without changing the taste. If avocados are hard to find in your area, try adding ground flax seeds to your smoothie. The easiest way to do this is to buy whole flax seeds and grind them yourself little by little. Even a few tablespoons of coconut oil added to a smoothie will significantly increase the nutritional punch of your drink.

Many people wonder if drinking green smoothies is better or worse than juicing fruits and vegetables. Although the jury is still out, they have some important advantages. When you drink juice, you lose the fiber in fruits and vegetables that is part of what makes them so good for you. They allow you to drink all that fiber easily. It also takes a lot less fruit to make a green smoothie than it does to make a cup of juice, making green smoothies cheaper for many people.

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