Creating healthy, easy meals can be challenging, especially when we are on the go. One relatively new health food that has emerged in the blender age is the smoothie. Smoothies are ubiquitous these days, available everywhere from new age restaurants to fast food joints. They are an easy, convenient way to get a lot of nutrition in a short amount of time. But while smoothies can contribute to our health, they can also cause health challenges, depending on how they are made.

The Anatomy of a Smoothie

At its most basic, a smoothie is blended fruit. It is different from a juice in that the entire fruit (sans skin and seeds, depending on the fruit) is thrown into a blender and drunk in its mushy form, instead of just having the liquid extracted.

Beyond that basic definition, smoothies can include just about anything. Most smoothies have some sort of fat component, often something with protein like yogurt or nut butter. They also tend to include a variety of fruit. Sometimes people will add supplements like protein powder, digestive supports like fresh ginger and powdered cinnamon, or superfoods like spirulina, maca, or raw cacao.

We love to make green smoothies, which include leafy green vegetables like kale, spinach, parsley, cilantro, arugula, and lettuce. We may blend these with sweet fruit like bananas, or use a raw vegan fat like avocado or soaked almonds.

Smoothie Fails

What makes a smoothie healthy or unhealthy is what we put into it. Because relatively large amounts of food are broken into tiny bits, we can consume a lot more calories than we realize when we drink a smoothie. It is easier than you might think to make a smoothie with over 800 calories, most of that being sugar and fat. Because smoothies are liquid, we can drink a lot of calories without necessarily feeling full, and then feel hungry again shortly after.

Fruit is high in calories and naturally occurring sugar. If our smoothies are mostly fruit-based, and/or we add a sweetener like honey or, heaven forbid, fructose-laden agave nectar, we are racking up the sugar calories and potentially spiking our blood sugar levels.

Weight gain is triggered not so much by fat consumption, especially the healthy fats you are most likely to add to smoothies like avocados and nuts, but by eating too much sugar. Eating a lot of sugar overwhelms the bloodstream. Whatever is not immediately used for energy is converted into fat. This is what makes smoothies potentially fattening, the overabundance of sugar eaten in a relatively short amount of time.

Smoothie Wins

On the other hand, smoothies can be incredibly nutritious if they are prepared that way. Vegan smoothies that are primarily leafy green veggies, with some healthy fat, plant-based protein, and perhaps just a little fruit, are a great way to boost your health. You can enjoy a large serving of necessary, nutritious greens and camouflage them in fruity goodness if you find salads challenging to enjoy. You can even make a sugar-free smoothie with greens, lemon, avocado, and seeds.

The key to smoothies that support weight loss and overall health is careful ingredient choice. Include only what you would feel good about eating in one meal. If you would not eat four ounces of nut butter or three bananas at one time, perhaps reconsider adding them to your smoothie. Again, you will be taking in all of those calories without even noticing.

Include a bit of fat to make the vitamins in the veggies more bio-available and increase satiation so you feel full longer, but not so much fat that your smoothie turns into something like a desert. Add just enough fruit to make the greens palatable, not a whole fruit salad. Avoid including fruit juice of other high-sugar/high-calorie additions. Do not add concentrated sweeteners other than perhaps a bit of stevia. Make sure your smoothies are high in fiber, which will help slow the absorption rate of any sugar that is present.

Think of your smoothie as a meal, not just a drink. Use it to replace one of the main meals of your day. Do your best to enjoy it mindfully, while sitting at your dining table, as you would any other meal. Drink your smoothie slowly, even chewing it a bit to further break down the greens and help you absorb it more slowly and completely. If you are intending to lose weight or maintain your current weight, count the calories from your smoothie as a part of your daily total.

Smoothies are one of the most versatile and convenient foods available today. With the push of a button and the whir of a machine we can make elaborate concoctions of fruity or green goodness. But like anything else, smoothies are only as healthy as their individual parts, amounts, and proportions. Make your smoothies mostly green veggies, with a little healthy fat, plant-based protein, and minimal fruit, and you may be surprised by how good healthy can taste and feel.