Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss: The Best and Most Versatile Smoothies for Your Diet
Benefits of Smoothies for Weight Loss and Energy
So you’ve decided to lose weight. Great! You want to take it up a notch, so you’ve decided to cut out all sugar and eat only green smoothies for the next 30 days. Good idea?
That’s right: Smoothies are not a stand-alone diet plan, but a big compliment to one. There is nothing wrong with drinking green smoothies as part of an eating plan, but they aren’t the best option when looking to drop some pounds quickly and healthily.
If you want to incorporate a smoothie into your weight loss plan keep reading to structure your smoothie. Here are some wholesome tips on choosing an assortment of healthy smoothie recipes that will assist in your weight loss efforts without sacrificing taste or nutrition.
The Benefits of Smoothies for Weight Loss
First and foremost, smoothies can be an excellent way to increase your overall daily intake of fruits and vegetables — both of which are necessary for good health, including aiding in weight loss. A smoothie is a great way to pack a ton of nutrients into one drink. Whether you choose to go with a fruit-based smoothie or a vegetable smoothie, you’ll be getting more vitamins and nutrients than you would otherwise.
Smoothies can also be helpful in lowering blood sugar and insulin levels, which are two things that are typically out of whack when you are actively losing weight. With high levels of these, it can be incredibly difficult to lose fat and keep it off.
A Word of Warning About Smoothies for Weight Loss
While smoothies can be an excellent way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet, it’s important to remember that they are not a diet in themselves — they are a supplement to one. Using smoothies as a stand-alone diet will inevitably lead to weight gain. Period.
All smoothies have calories, and they aren’t magical calorie-free foods like some diet fads would have you believe. Also, keep in mind that many commercial smoothie shops use very high-calorie, low-nutrient ingredients like ice cream, peanut butter, and chocolate syrup to make their smoothies taste better.
If you are going to rely on smoothies for weight loss, you need to make them at home with wholesome ingredients and a measured amount of calories.
Go With Fruit, Not Leafy Greens
When choosing which fruits to put in your smoothies, it’s best to go with ones that are lower in sugar and higher in fiber. You should also avoid fruits that are high in sugar — especially if you are trying to lose weight. Fruit-Based Smoothies: These are made with a higher ratio of fruit to other ingredients, so they are naturally lower in sugar than other types of smoothies.
Fruit can also be a good source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Vegetable-Based Smoothies: These smoothies are higher in fiber than fruit-based smoothies, but they are also higher in (often undesirable) plant-based proteins.
Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and kale are common ingredients in vegetable-based smoothies, and they may not taste very good.
Read about how this mother of 2 reversed dangerous inflammation and lost over 70 pounds
Choose Quality Proteins
Depending on your age, weight, and activity level, you may need more or less protein in your diet. While smoothies do not make a complete meal, you can use them as an opportunity to add a bit more protein to your day. Make sure that it is high-quality protein. Here are a few protein options you can use in your next smoothie:
Greek Yogurt: One of the best sources of protein for people on a weight loss diet, Greek yogurt has about twice the amount of protein as regular yogurt.
Milk: While it doesn’t have as much protein as Greek yogurt, it can still contribute a moderate amount of protein to your smoothie.
Whey Protein: This protein powder is derived from milk.
Pea Protein: This plant-based protein powder is vegan-friendly and tastes very neutral which means that you won’t really taste it in your smoothie.
Increase Your Fiber Intake with Veggies
Fiber is incredibly good for you, especially when you are actively trying to lose weight. While smoothies are naturally low in fiber, you can easily add some to any smoothie you make with fresh or frozen vegetables.
Let’s take a look at a few veggies that are great for adding to your smoothies: This vegetable is packed with both vitamins and fiber, which makes it a perfect addition to a smoothie.
Broccoli: This vegetable is also high in vitamins and fiber.
Here are a few great smoothie recipes that will help to promote weight loss. Feel free to add or modify what best suits your taste.
Raspberry Smoothies
Raspberry smoothies provide a ton of nutritional value. They are high in vitamins such as vitamin e and c, antioxidants, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Below are the ingredients you'll use to make this amazing smoothie.
Ingredients
- Spinach
- Flaxseeds
- Raspberries
- 1 cup of plant-based coconut milk
Instructions
- Blend spinach and coconut milk until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth.
Raspberries are an excellent source of fiber and low in sugar. This smoothie is rich in antioxidants and iron.
Pineapple Ginger Smoothie
This smoothie helps with inflammation and is high in fiber, essential vitamins, and minerals. Try this quick and easy pineapple ginger smoothie recipe below.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- ½ cup frozen pineapple
- ½ cup frozen strawberries
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 cup of kale
- 1 peeled orange
- 2-inch ginger root
Instructions
- Add kale, ginger, orange, and almond milk to the blender.
- Blend on high speed until all leafy chunks are gone and you have a smoothie consistency.
- Add pineapple, strawberries, and chia seeds and blend again.
- Serve immediately.
This smoothie is great to have in the mornings.
Apple Celery Smoothie
Celery carries a tremendous amount of nutritional value. Celery can help to neutralize the acid in the foods we eat. It can also serve to reduce inflammation as well.
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 cup water
- ¼ fennel bulb (cored and roughly chopped*)
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 green apple
- 1 peeled lemon
- 1 serving protein powder
Instructions
- Blend spinach, water, and lemon juice (or whole lemon) together until juice-like consistency is reached.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
This smoothie is great for digestion because one cup of celery has about 5 grams of soluble fiber.
Bottom line — Smoothies are not a magic weight loss pill.
While smoothies can be a useful tool when trying to lose weight, they aren’t a magic weight loss pill — and they won’t help you lose more weight than if you weren’t drinking them at all. If you are looking for a way to boost your weight loss efforts, adding some smoothies to your diet is a great place to start. Just make sure you aren’t going overboard on the greens and that you are adding some healthy protein to your smoothie.
*affiliate link disclaimer* This article contains links to products that you may find useful. If you click on these links and decide to purchase I will make a commission for the sale of that product.)
