Smoothies. Stopped a few years ago. page

[OnlyBodyWeight]

Anyone else reject smoothies when they went primal?

Jammed with banana, fruit, choco. protein powder
Massive sugar bomb
Massive insulin spike
FAT

I have one every few months, but strictly treat it as a tasty junk food indulgence.

[GuineaPigQueen]

I think people overload their green smoothies with fruit.

You can replace the good consistency of bananas with avocado and then use berries as a sweetener. I then like to cram as much kale, spinach, celery as possible in it.

Of course, maybe you're just referencing fruit smoothies. Those are definitely a once in a while treat for me. I drink 1-2 green smoothies per day. Heavy on the greens, light on the fruit. I like using unsweetened coconut milk as the blending medium.

[PoppaCap]

So you're saying my smoothie - coconut milk, banana, spinach, whey protein powder, blueberries, & strawberries - is not what I should be eating every day for lunch?

Man I love these!!!

[carlh]

What's wrong with fat?

[Owly]

You may find fruit problematic in a smoothie for you, but I can quite happily manage a banana and some strawberries in with my unflavoured, unsweetened whey protein and continue to lose weight despite daring to consume some fruit.

Not everyone does well with carbs, and for those folks, maybe a smoothie is a bad idea, but some of us handle them just fine and don't see a banana as some sort of terrifying fat-producing monster.

[Balance]

I make smoothies all the time and I have never had a problem with them. I have never had any weight fluctuations with them either and I have been doing the Paleo/Primal thing for over 4 years now. I agree with Owly in that a banana and some berries shouldn't be too bad for you. Just as long as you are using whole foods and no added sugar I would think its okay from time to time. Here are my two go-to recipes.

Recipe #1
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 small banana
1/2 cup of coconut milk
2 handfuls of kale
1/4 cup of ice

Recipe #2
1/2 cup of coffee
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1 small banana
1 tablespoon almond butter
2 Tbs. raw cacao
1 scoop unsweetened whey
1/4 cup of ice

[merryish]

Which part of a smoothie isn't supposed to be good for us?

I can see if you're trying to stay in or near ketosis, the banana is probably not always a great idea. But I eat smoothies a lot (a lot!) and I'm not clear on why they should be rejected. Do most people just put a lot of non-primal stuff in?

Mine go something like this:

1 can coconut milk
half a bag of organic frozen fruit
A dollop of heavy cream
... the end.

Most of the time the fruit is frozen strawberries/blueberries/blackberries, but sometimes it's pineapple with a dash of orange or strawberries with mango and frozen banana. Other times I substitute frozen coffee cubes for the fruit, and add in a couple of squares of dark chocolate. (Frozen cherries and dark chocolate in this recipe = heaven.)

That recipe makes enough for two, and I generally have one on the spot for breakfast, and save the other for the next morning or dessert the next day as "ice cream". I haven't noticed it affecting my fat loss, and it's YUM. MY.

[Saoirse]

smoothies are a lovely cold treat (i use frozen bananas and frozen berries). yes, for me it's a bit of an insulin spike and is not satiating, but maybe it works for others.

[Knifegill]

I gave them up when I tried one after going a few weeks without. Felt all yucky and sugary all over. That was a while ago. I might be more suited to the carb load now than I was back then.

[JesseJe]

Interesting stuff. I have a green smoothie almost every morning now that I cut out eggs. Goes like so:

banana
2 small slices pineapple or few strawberries
1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries
bit of water
2 giant handfuls spinach

It's pretty great but it doesn't fill me up. Going to try and find another breakfast option and make them more of a treat.