Does banana carbs outweigh the good of kale? page

[Liz123]

I have been eating primal since the start of Feb. I have about 80 pounds to lose, so I try to stay in the 50 to 100g carb range.
However, I am themom of a 4 year old, and a 3 month old, and time is at a premium. I don't like eating eggs or bacon in the morning, they feel to "heavy" for me.

My favorite breakfast is to combine:
1 banana
300g kale
100g beet
1/2 cup berries
1/4 cup carrots
1/4 cup nuts
2 tbs pumpkin seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds
2 tbs sunflower seeds
1 apple
1 cup water

Mix in the vitamix.

This makes about 1.5 liter of smoothie, which I drink mostly half of for breakfast, and the rest for lunch, plus eggs.

However, because of the banana, this is pretty high carb. BUT, the banana is what makes the smoothie work. The taste of banana tend to override the rest.

So, the question becomes, does the carbs that I get from the banana negate the good from all the rest, or should I stop worrying about it?

Dinner would be meat and a big salad, with a salad dressing of
1 apple
1 orange
Handfull of cranberries
1/2 cup nuts

Mix in vitamix

Again, this is pretty high carb, but I find that with that salad dressing I can put in pretty much anything I want in the salad and it is still edible. I don't like cooked veggies much, but can happily eat raw cauliflower, broccoli and kale or spinach with the salad dressing.

So, together with the smoothie, that is way over 100 carbs, but I have found that when I try to eat something else i stuggle. These are simply the easiest and tastiest things that I prefer.

Again, after the long post, the question becomes this:

I don't want to sabotage myself by eating to much carbs, but does the carbs from the fruit that is added negate the good from the veggies and nuts and stuff?

[jammies]

Is this working for you so far? Do you feel as though you've gained energy, lost fat, or seen any other benefits? If so, then stick with what is working for you.

Personally, I don't think those smoothies are a great choice except for a couple times a week. I think it is much better to eat your calories than drink them.

You could always fast through breakfast and eat a larger lunch if you don't like food in the morning. I really like soup for breakfast. If you let go of the idea of having specific foods for breakfast, the easiest thing (and fastest) is just to have left-over dinner for breakfast.

[Liz123]

Thanks for the reply, Jammies, I suppose I was trying to get a few things across, and not doing a good job of it.

I get pretty cranky pretty quick if I don't have breakfast. But I have never liked anything "heavy", which I suppose would translate to stuff with protein in it, for breakfast. I would never like to have a soup for breakfast, or anything else that I had for dinner. Before I cut out grains I had steel cut oats for breakfast.

Also, because of the Vitamix, none of the foods are in the smoothie in any other way than what they would have been eaten had I just took something and ate it. The kale I buy, and chop into fine pieces stem and all, and freeze in ziplock baggies. The beet I peel and chop into pieces and freeze in ziplock baggies. In a way, I suppose it would be a liquid salad. The other thing is that that would be the only thing I have for breakfast. I don't have any cravings for any other food before lunch, and sometimes would go far into the afternoon without having anything other than the smoothie.

I do not like nuts on their own as a snack, but love them in the smoothie and salad dressing, they make it nice and creamy. Also, when I remember, I add a tablespoon of coconut oil to both.

I did not weigh myself before I started cutting out grains, but I did feel that my clothes were getting looser a bit. Since I gained a lot of pregnancy weight, it is a bit difficult to tell what the baseline was. However, from the stories, and given that I have 80 pounds at least to lose, I would have thought that the weight would come off quicker, which is why I started looking at the carbs, even though everything I was eating was something that I am preparing from scratch (no processed stuff)

I have tried not to do the smoothie, or the salad dressing (again, apple would be with peel and all, and orange just peeled), but what ends up happening is that I simply have a heck of a lot less veggies for the day. No other recipe for cooked veggies appeals to me the way that the raw veggies does.

I do think that I feel better, but since I did not really have any major health issues to begin with, and since I haven't had a good nights' sleep in half a year (3 month old thinks sleeping for 3 hours on end is a major accomplishment), it is difficult to tell if I have more energy.

[Misabi]

Would you be able to eat all the items in the smoothie if they were still whole?..

Anyway, liquid/liquidised food is more easily digested and absorbed, requiring less energy to be expended on the digestion process, much like eating cooked food over raw.

If your goal is to lose fat you may find your results are better eating whole foods.
Personally I find that I'm hungrier sooner after eating a smoothie than a meal, even when the fat/protein/carb contents are similar.

[aussiesue]

Have you thought of cutting out the apples, there is a fair wack of sugar in each apple. Prior to going primal I have cut out nearly all fructose/sugar and only have a couple of pieces of fruit (if that) a week.

[jfreaksho]

*snip*

I get pretty cranky pretty quick if I don't have breakfast.

*snip*

In a way, I suppose it would be a liquid salad.
*snip*

I did not weigh myself before I started cutting out grains, but I did feel that my clothes were getting looser a bit. Since I gained a lot of pregnancy weight, it is a bit difficult to tell what the baseline was. However, from the stories, and given that I have 80 pounds at least to lose, I would have thought that the weight would come off quicker, which is why I started looking at the carbs, even though everything I was eating was something that I am preparing from scratch (no processed stuff)

1. Crankiness is a typical sign of low blood sugar. You are not yet in control of your hormones or your blood glucose levels.
2. Liquid calories go down really easily. Don't drink your food.
3. Take measurements- neck, chest, biceps, waist, hips, thighs- record these and wait a month. You can lose fat without losing weight.
4. Your body will want to heal before dropping weight. It can take months for some people. Relax.

[Diana Renata]

It's a banana and kale. Don't worry about it.

If you're really concerned, I'd worry more about the nuts & seeds.

Just enjoy it. It doesn't make that big a difference.