Dearest readers, I wanted to do a topic today for something I legitimately use that has helped me regulate weight, have more energy and feel healthier over the last few months. I hope you find it useful and beneficial. I would like to explain how I came up with the idea, why I chose a smoothie as a solution, how I picked my ingredients and finally some tips and tricks for you to consider. :)
Have you ever heard of Penn Jillette? Penn is a US celebrity- and author, magician, inventor etc. (according to Wikipedia). Some time ago, I came across a Big Think video where shared his potato diet. By going on a potato only diet, he dropped 100lbs in a reasonable amount of time by going on a potato-only diet. *Please note, I am only sharing this in order to explain what inspired me to do my own different thing and how it inspired me; be smart and do not consider this an endorsement of a potato diet, mwah! He decided on this diet after his health deteriorated due to obesity and his doctor found it necessary to recommend a partial stomach removal to limit his food intake. That, apparently, was a kick in the ass he said he needed. He researched and theorized that everything about the food we think we love to eat is nothing but habit. To prove this and truly lose weight, he went on a mono diet and yes, it was potatoes. He did not add anything to them, he did not take anything away from them. He did them boiled or baked, no set meal times, he ate when he felt the need. As a result, he lost quite a bit of weight already in first two weeks. He then slowly started adding more foods to his diet. You can get the rest by checking out the same YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=NelIXCuuSZ0&ab_channel=BigThink (I like to do my links this way so you know there are no tricks involved, no sales links etc.) Now, dearest readers, you may wonder how this lead me to a smoothie. Well, I realized that, if I buy his idea on food preferences being a habit, I could incorporate one and the same meal every day for a longer period of time and reap the benefits by engineering the heck out of it while leaving enough wiggle room for slight variations. This is how I landed on the smoothie idea.
Why a smoothie? Well, this one is simple. Smoothies are something you can meal prep by making your own smoothie base. In addition, they are quick to make on a daily basis. You can add protein powders, different oils to it to increase their calorie content and benefits. Another really good thing is that you can add cold brew tea or coffee to it in order to get an energy boost as well as things like antioxidants and other benefits found in teas like green tea, rosehip, hibiscus and more.
As far as ingredients go, you have to watch out for allergies and food intolerances if you think you have any. I like to include fruits like mangoes, bananas, kiwis, apples, pineapple and so on. As for veggies, I really only do spinach or kale but they do not agree well with me so I recently phased them out. Something I will never, ever skip out on are avocados, there must be some avocado in every smoothie I drink due to the nutrients and also due to their fat content and here is why. When we get to proteins and oils, personally I like a fermented vegan protein powder because it makes my smoothies thick and creamy. As for oils, this is where we get to the real deal- I love love love the effect that MCT oil has on me. The problem is, with myself and most other people, MCT oil by itself messes with your stomach. Adding another kind of fat to the smoothie mitigates this rather well. This is what avocadoes are for! :) Finally, I do not put cold brew coffee in my smoothie but I do soy milk and also some hibiscus and rosehip cold brew tea.
Finally, here is a major tip on the meal prep part for this super smoothie. I take an ice cube tray with bigger ice cube slots and I fill it up with fruits and vegetables smoothie base I make with a food processor. For me, one ice cube tray is good for a single meal and I drink one smoothie per day. Mind you, you will probably eat it with a spoon rather than drink it but hey, that works even better for me because it reminds me of ice cream! When I make this, I pay close attention to safe food handling and prep so I do not get food poisoning and recommend you do the same; this included careful cleaning of ice cube trays and your blender so leftover debris does not contaminate new smoothies and cause problems to you.
Have you tried smoothies as a replacement for one of your daily meals before? What was your experience like? Share if you wish and have a great rest of the week! :)
Have you ever heard of Penn Jillette? Penn is a US celebrity- and author, magician, inventor etc. (according to Wikipedia). Some time ago, I came across a Big Think video where shared his potato diet. By going on a potato only diet, he dropped 100lbs in a reasonable amount of time by going on a potato-only diet. *Please note, I am only sharing this in order to explain what inspired me to do my own different thing and how it inspired me; be smart and do not consider this an endorsement of a potato diet, mwah! He decided on this diet after his health deteriorated due to obesity and his doctor found it necessary to recommend a partial stomach removal to limit his food intake. That, apparently, was a kick in the ass he said he needed. He researched and theorized that everything about the food we think we love to eat is nothing but habit. To prove this and truly lose weight, he went on a mono diet and yes, it was potatoes. He did not add anything to them, he did not take anything away from them. He did them boiled or baked, no set meal times, he ate when he felt the need. As a result, he lost quite a bit of weight already in first two weeks. He then slowly started adding more foods to his diet. You can get the rest by checking out the same YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=NelIXCuuSZ0&ab_channel=BigThink (I like to do my links this way so you know there are no tricks involved, no sales links etc.) Now, dearest readers, you may wonder how this lead me to a smoothie. Well, I realized that, if I buy his idea on food preferences being a habit, I could incorporate one and the same meal every day for a longer period of time and reap the benefits by engineering the heck out of it while leaving enough wiggle room for slight variations. This is how I landed on the smoothie idea.
Why a smoothie? Well, this one is simple. Smoothies are something you can meal prep by making your own smoothie base. In addition, they are quick to make on a daily basis. You can add protein powders, different oils to it to increase their calorie content and benefits. Another really good thing is that you can add cold brew tea or coffee to it in order to get an energy boost as well as things like antioxidants and other benefits found in teas like green tea, rosehip, hibiscus and more.
As far as ingredients go, you have to watch out for allergies and food intolerances if you think you have any. I like to include fruits like mangoes, bananas, kiwis, apples, pineapple and so on. As for veggies, I really only do spinach or kale but they do not agree well with me so I recently phased them out. Something I will never, ever skip out on are avocados, there must be some avocado in every smoothie I drink due to the nutrients and also due to their fat content and here is why. When we get to proteins and oils, personally I like a fermented vegan protein powder because it makes my smoothies thick and creamy. As for oils, this is where we get to the real deal- I love love love the effect that MCT oil has on me. The problem is, with myself and most other people, MCT oil by itself messes with your stomach. Adding another kind of fat to the smoothie mitigates this rather well. This is what avocadoes are for! :) Finally, I do not put cold brew coffee in my smoothie but I do soy milk and also some hibiscus and rosehip cold brew tea.
Finally, here is a major tip on the meal prep part for this super smoothie. I take an ice cube tray with bigger ice cube slots and I fill it up with fruits and vegetables smoothie base I make with a food processor. For me, one ice cube tray is good for a single meal and I drink one smoothie per day. Mind you, you will probably eat it with a spoon rather than drink it but hey, that works even better for me because it reminds me of ice cream! When I make this, I pay close attention to safe food handling and prep so I do not get food poisoning and recommend you do the same; this included careful cleaning of ice cube trays and your blender so leftover debris does not contaminate new smoothies and cause problems to you.
Have you tried smoothies as a replacement for one of your daily meals before? What was your experience like? Share if you wish and have a great rest of the week! :)