Today’s smoothie is a Fiber Fuel Protein Smoothie. It’s a basic shake but packed full of fiber and protein…obviously.
The Recipe
1 cup of ice and water
1 serve of Vanilla Nutrition Shake (100 cal, 7g fibre, 9g protein)
1 serve of fibre powder (apple flavor – 8 cal, 5g of fibre both soluble and insoluble)
1 serve of protein powder (non flavoured, 20 cal, 5g protein)
½ apple
So we start with a cup of ice and water. Half fill the cup with ice, then while the ice is still in the cup fill that with water.
Chuck that in the blender and then add your serve of Vanilla Nutrition Shake, fibre, protein and apple. Blend.
If you’re using shakes as part of your health & wellness strategy, whether it’s maintaining health or weight loss or weight gain, it’s always best to use a nutrition shake, rather than a protein shake. Protein shakes are more for after workout recovery to repair and rebuild lean muscle (which of course assists in losing weight) whereas a nutrition shake is going to give us everything our body needs…especially when we combine it with the multivitamin. With the state of our foods a good quality nutrition shake takes the question mark out of “am I getting everything my body needs”?
The nutrition shake I am using is vanilla and I choose to use the gluten free/dairy free one. I’m not either of those but I do like to use this one because it actually has seven grams of fiber whereas the original shakes have just three grams so if you are looking to increase fiber in your day, then this is a good choice.
Then we are gonna add a scoop of additional fiber; apple flavor. This one has five grams of fiber so now you’ve got 12 grams of fiber in your smoothie.
In the nutrition shake we have nine grams of protein, and we’re going to add a serve of protein powder, which will give us another five grams so now we have 14 grams of protein in 12 grams of fiber. Chuck in half an apple which adds some more fibre.
Why Fibre?
So we’re looking at making sure our bodies get everything we need. And one of the things our body needs on a daily basis is fiber. Fiber comes from lots of different things. We’ve got whole grains, fruit and veggies, beans, nuts & seeds.
Fun fact: I went to a doctor Libby seminar a couple of years ago and at that time she reported that a 2012 (?) survey found that less than 10% of New Zealanders were getting a recommended intake of fruits and vegetables each day. That’s pretty bad. Fruits and vegetables do so much for our body including providing fibre. And shakes are a great way to add in more fruits and veges into your diet.
So what does fiber do? Fiber helps your bowels keep regular (reducing the risk of things like bowel cancer). It also helps keep you fuller for longer.
We get a lot of people saying that eating healthy is so expensive but it actually isn’t expensive.
If you are eating a good whole food diet focusing on proteins and fibre, you’re actually not going to need to eat as much food. So while the perception is that it’s expensive to eat healthy if you look at the amount you can reduce in your portion sizes comparatively speaking you’re gonna find that it’s actually not that expensive. Now I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be regulation around pricing on healthy foods but that’s a topic for another day. But if choose to eat seasonally (F&V) that’s when we’ll find the prices are lower.
In my opinion it’s actually more expensive to fill yourself full of the cheap junk foods because if that’s a regular daily occurrence then over a long period of time it’s not doing your body any good. Full of inflammation and more at risk of developing non communicable diseases things will eventually get expensive with all the doctors visits. And the public health bill?? That just keeps increasing with things that are largely avoidable.
Our bodies just aren’t designed to digest a lot of the crap we choose to put in our bodies.
And if we’re not fueling our body with what it needs, then it’s going to not work the way it should.
Back to fibre…women need 25 grams of fiber each day and men who need 30 grams daily – good place to start by adding in 5 – 7 serves of fruits and vegetables.
Why Protein?
When we combine fibre with protein, that helps us to stay fuller for longer which is going to help us consume less because we’re not going to feel hungry.
When we choose a protein source and build our snacks and meals around that (rather than foods high in sugars) then our blood sugar levels stay more balanced and we don’t have the never ending cycle of highs and lows in energy throughout the day – our energy levels remain more balanced giving us the feeling of having more energy.
What difference would that make to you if you had more energy?
How can we help you?
If you’d like more information on the brand of nutrition support I use then feel free to get in touch. But a great place to start is by filling in my questionnaire which also gives you the opportunity to tell me what you’d like more information on.
Nutrition shakes are a great way to keep your calories low without sacrificing nutrients. So if you are on a weight loss journey, or one of wanting more energy and vitality, then this is a quick, simple strategy easy to implement into your day. But remember, like anything – consistency is key.
And the best way to see if something is a good fit for you is to just give it a go for 5 days and feel the difference.
If you’re in the Wellington area come and try for yourself at our Smoothie Club. If you’re not then we have a low cost option that can be delivered straight to your door.
So get in touch, I look forward to hearing from you.