17 April, 2015
Strawberry Lemonade Green Smoothie (Lower Sugar Option)
Why is everyone so afraid of the sugar content of fruit? Fruit is healthy for us right? Fruits is an amazing source of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Yes this is all very true. Unfortunately our grocery stores are full of foods with added refined sugars. Things like barbeque sauce, salad dress, cereal, ketchup, snack bars, yogurt, and bread are containing unnecessary added sugar. Our blood sugars, hormones, and bodies may no be taking years of excess sugar so well. If you find that uncontrollable blood sugars are the cause of certain health issues then you may be in need of some lower sugar solutions. I am still a big love of potassium packed bananas and love them in my green smoothies. As far as sweets go I would always recommend grabbing a healthy piece of fruit over a candy bar to satisfy sweet tooth.
I wanted to create a smoothie recipe without banana for a few reasons. 1. I love switching up my smoothie routine so that I can vary my nutrients. 2. I know that there are some people out there that are not fans of bananas (it’s ok I still like you) and I didn’t want them to miss out on all the green smoothie fun. 3. While bananas are so nutritious they are a higher sugar fruit (with about 12 grams) versus a berry like strawberry that has about half of that at 7 grams (for 1 cup).
Green smoothies are my go to breakfast during the week and I crave them. I must add some healthy fats like nuts, seeds, or avocado in order to keep me full until lunch or I get hungry too soon. Add in protein with hemp seeds and you have a meal in a glass.
So while this Strawberry Lemonade Green Smoothie is SUPER delicious and I recommend that everyone give it a try because it is just that good. I created it for all of my friends that are watching their blood sugars or trying to regulate their hormones or who just really hate bananas. Enjoy!
Strawberry Lemonade Green Smoothie (Lower Sugar Option)
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries
- 1 small lemon or 1/2 large lemon seeds removed (I left the peel on for added flavor but you could remove the peel or just use the juice and the zest)
- 1/2 avocado peeled and seeded
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 3 brazil nuts
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons hemp seeds or 2 scoops collagen peptides
- 2 cups spinach any green you like
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
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Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Recipe Notes
*choose organic ingredients when possible.
This is so yummy! I love that it’s banana free!!!
Thanks! Always good to switch things up.
Hi Sara, do you have a nutritional panel for this recipe?
Unfortunately I don’t know exactly. I don’t focus on calories but rather on nutrients. But you could easily plug the ingredients into an online source like My fitness pal if your interested. One day I hope to post this information but I will have to find more time for that.