You roll out of bed for that dreaded 8 AM class and attempt to wake yourself up. You sprint to Starbucks and order a trendy pumpkin spice latte. Good idea, right? That cute little latte actually has a whopping 380 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 49 grams of sugar for a grande with 2% milk. Seems like a great way to stay awake in class, but the latte is not only filled with fat and calories, but the lethal combination of too much sugar and caffeine will leave you feeling jittery and unable to focus. A great alternative to your morning latte is waking yourself up with a refreshing, homemade, healthy smoothie! Here are some easy ways to spice up the usual boring smoothie and make it into a delicious one for breakfast or for a snack:
KALE: So trendy right now! Kale is possibly the healthiest thing you can put into your body. Use baby kale and combine it with ice, your favorite fruits, ice and nonfat yogurt for a delicious pick-me-up.
FROZEN FRUIT: I love keeping frozen berries in my freezer because they’re great to snack on and so healthy. They also make smoothies so much frothier so the consistency is almost that of a shake! Costco and Dole sell great frozen fruit bags. My favorite is frozen mango!
YOGURT: For a creamier shake, nonfat yogurt is the way to go. Greek yogurt is thick and chock-full of protein, so it’s a great option.
GREEN TEA POWDER: For those of you who are trying to wean yourselves off of coffee (a smart idea), green tea is the way to go. It’s full of antioxidants and is calorie, fat and sugar free. You can find green tea powder in any supermarket…just pour it into your smoothie for a little caffeine boost! So much healthier than that latte.
Recipe for Rachel’s favorite smoothie:
1 banana,
½ cup frozen strawberries
½ cup frozen mangoes
1 nonfat vanilla Chobani
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon flaxseed
4 baby kale leaves
A pinch of cinnamon
1 cup ice.
Combine all ingredients in a blender and enjoy! You’ll definitely have leftover J You’d have to live off-campus in an apartment to make this one, since we’re not allowed to have blenders in the dorms.
IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: It’s imperative that you make these delicious smoothies yourself! Smoothies from the ever-popular Jamba Juice are usually made with sugar-laden sherbet. The Strawberry Surf Rider Smoothie contains a whopping 320 calories and 70 grams of sugar…so not worth it.
Enjoy your homemade smoothies!!!