If you want to fall off the Low-Carb bandwagon, go visit one of the ubiquitous Jamba Juice's around town and order any fruit smoothie. In fact, right on their own website, they list the nutritional info for their Classic Smoothies, one of which is Aloha Pineapple.
This smoothie has a whopping 67 grams of carbohydrates with 63 of them coming from fructose. There's only 1 gram of fat, which might sound great if you don't understand nutrition and thinks that consuming dietary fat makes you fat, which of course it does not; fat helps slow the release of insulin into the bloodstream.
So with 1 gram of fat, that means there are almost 300 net calories. Every gram of carbohydrates equals 4 calories. 67x4=268.
One gram of protein also equals 4 calories and there are 5 grams of protein in the Aloha Pineapple, for a total of 20 calories, and 288 total calories.
When a food or drink contains mostly carbohydrates, that's obviously not good if you're on a low-carb diet. But not all carbs as you've hopefully learned by now are created equal. Some convert into simple sugar more quickly than others.
As a general rule, cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, and other greens like kale and spinach are the best carbs to consume.
For the perfect morning smoothie, then, it's essential that you only throw in your blender one or two servings of fruit. The best fruits to use are blueberries or other berries because they are rich in disease-fighting antioxidants.
If you're on the low-carb diet plan, do not eat lots of fruit because while they may contain lots of antioxidants, the blood-sugar-raising effects could trigger unforeseen health problems.
The key to making a healthy morning smoothie or drink is to include adequate amounts of dietary fat. A heaping spoonful of nut or seed butter (organic peanut butter or almond butter or sunflower butter, for example), or a generous squirt of olive or flax oil will provide you with all the essential dietary fat you need for several hours, which will help you feel full.
In addition to moderate fruit intake, the easiest way to make sure you're getting your daily dose of antioxidants is to buy Miracle Matcha Pure Tea Powder and sprinkle one-half teaspoon in the smoothie.
Miracle Matcha Powder has three times the antioxidants that regular green tea has!
You should also add a healthy protein source. If you're feeling like Rocky, add one or two raw eggs. If that doesn't sound appetizing, include a scoop or two of protein powder.
Use whey protein isolate if you're allergic to lactose, which, along, with casein, is a major protein in milk. Egg white protein is also considered one of the best.
If you're vegan or want to eliminate as much animal-derived sources of protein from your diet as possible, consider pea protein or rice protein, or a blend of the two. Hemp protein, which also contains Omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, is also a good choice.
On very warm or hot days, as well as on days where you want to try intermittent fasting, you can even do a second healthy low-carb shake and just have one main meal with a slow-burning carb like quinoa or wild rice.
There are some people who think they are on the low-carb wagon but don't realize how much sugar fruit contains. As a consequence of this lack of nutrition knowledge, they load their morning smoothies with lots of fruit.
Also, to sweeten your smoothie, don't fall prey to dubious health claims like agave nectar being lower on the glycemic index, or the advice to use honey. Sugar is sugar. Restricting the amount of sugar for every meal is key to staying low-carb. Instead, sweeten your smoothie with stevia, a natural plant that is sweeter than sugar but won't spike your blood glucose levels.
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