Hey Chicks!

We all love smoothies for quick, convenient meals on the go, but is your smoothie actually a sugar bomb???

Today I’m sharing with you chicks my top three tips to help you reduce the amount of sugar that is in your green smoothies. Now this is something I see all the time with my clients, as well as with my students, when they’re creating their weight loss green smoothies. And if you didn’t see my past video on how to do that, make sure to go back and check it out.

But basically what ends up happening, is we are creating these amazing delicious smoothies that are full of nutrition, but then we end up turning them into sugar bombs. We start adding tons of extra things that are just adding so many calories and so much unneeded sugar to our green smoothies.

So these are my top three ways that you can start to still make delicious and absolutely fabulous green smoothies, but be reducing the sugar at the same time. Sound good?

So number one, is swapping out your bananas for avocados.

Now this is awesome because before you could only buy whole avocados, but now you can actually get them in the frozen food aisle in bags. They’re very easy to throw into your smoothies, and they’re still going to give you that delicious creamy texture, without all the extra sugar. They’re also a really great source of healthy fats, and they actually have more potassium than bananas do. So if you’re someone who works out, it’s really going to help with your muscle recovery, as well as a ton of other stuff in your body. Again, you can get these in the frozen food aisle, or you can use fres, and you’re still going to get that creamy texture, but reducing the sugar.

Secondly, is swapping out a lot of your fruit for berries.

So I always see people again, throwing in tons of sugarier fruits like mangoes and pineapple, all this stuff that ends up again just increasing the caloric intake for no reason. Whereas the best fruits for you to pick when it comes to reducing sugar, is any of the berries. So we’re talking raspberries. We’re talking blackberries. We are talking blueberries, strawberries, cranberries. There’s so many options out there, and you can switch it up regularly. And again, you can buy them in the frozen food section, stock up your freezer, so even when they’re not in season you have them to grab and throw into your smoothies. At the same time, you’re reducing your sugars, getting more antioxidants, and all that good stuff.

And then lastly, is the last swap which I see is people are adding so much milk, and they’re adding so much yogurt into their smoothies, which again has a lot of sugar in it. This is something that a lot of people don’t realize. In one cup of skim milk, there’s over 12 grams of sugar. So my swap out is unsweetened almond milk. There’s less calories, less sugar, and this is a really nice organic vanilla flavored unsweetened almond milk. So you still get that nice vanilla, again cutting out a lot of calories and cutting out a lot of sugar.

So, as simple as that. One thing I want you chicks to know though, is as you start to swap out if you feel like oh my gosh, I don’t like the taste of this, try just to do a half and half swap. So go from using let’s say a whole banana to using half a banana and a little bit of avocado, and try to slowly reduce the amount of banana and then incorporate more avocado. Let your taste buds change. Don’t do it all overnight. But then this way, you’re going to slowly start to reduce it and you will see a difference very quickly.

Check out the video to learn how to reduce the sugar and create a delicious well balanced smoothie – perfect for weight loss! And try this recipe below from Holistic Nutrition Weight Loss Expert Program Grad Renee!

Meet Holistic Nutrition Weight Loss Expert Grad Renee Longtin

Renee Longtin is a recent grad from our Holistic Nutrition Weight Loss Expert Program and created this amazing low sugar smoothie for one of her assignments. Hear what she has to say about the program:

“My name is Renée and I enrolled in the HWLE program class of April 2018. I’m also a graduate of the FNE program, class of September 2016. I’m currently working full-time on assignment as a Program Coordinator for the Government.

From an early age, I made the connection between lifestyle and good health (It’s important to note that exercise and nutrition are not the necessarily the cure for everything but they can have a positive impact on one’s overall physical and mental health). My own interest in this field grew in my early 20s when I started to experience health issues. At my worst, I had difficulty doing things most people take for granted such as being able to lift up my arms, walking across a room, reading a book and even breathing. I was eventually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and several other issues. As result of this disease, my muscles on my left side atrophied. Over the years I’ve worked hard to regain what was lost and I attribute much of what I’ve been able to accomplish to a sound lifestyle, along with proper medical care.

I chose to get certified in nutrition as it’s one of my passions. I wanted to better understand how my body responds to food, be able to sort through all the noise in the media and learn to apply that knowledge on myself first. I also wanted to eventually give something back and help others who may feel overwhelmed by the abundance of information out there and who might not know where to start. I’m a strong believer in addressing the whole person and meeting people where they’re at. It’s one thing give people information but it needs to be relevant to their current situation if they are to have any success. I think the ultimate goal is to cultivate long term habits with clients so that they eventually don’t need you at all.

After the positive experience with the FNE program, I was excited to learn that FIT CHICKS was also offering a nutrition program. Both programs are thorough and place an emphasis on practical experience. I felt that the HWLE program was a nice complement to the FNE curriculum. I also love all that FIT CHICKS stands for. At the core of their philosophy resides the importance of being a heart centred professional a belief which is very much aligned with mine.”

All modules were great but I especially enjoyed learning about they way our hormones function as well as how to coach clients. The assignments were fun and by the time you’ve completed the course, you’ve built a complete toolkit that you can start to use immediately when coaching clients. One stand out moment was the awesome feeling upon completing the blood sugar management info sheet. I put in a lot of time and effort but in the end I had this document that could serve as a hand out to future clients. In the future I could even flush out the content to give a group info-session on blood sugar management.

I’m just about finished the course and I have several ideas on the backburner. However, at this point, I want to use the knowledge I gained from the course to fine tune a few things with respect to my health.

Both the FNE and the HWLE program have had a positive impact in ways that I wouldn’t have thought. For instance, public speaking was something which I did not enjoy (or so I thought). In the past, I much preferred one-on-one mentoring and coaching, But thanks to both programs, I’m now at ease doing group facilitations and presentations and I can say that I actually enjoy it.

I contemplated taking the program for over a year and I’m so glad I did. If you’re passionate about nutrition and wellness and are looking for ways to round off your knowledge, it’s totally worth it. You’ll need to put in the effort but that applies to anything worthwhile.

I want to give big thanks to Laura, Sarah and Jennifer. Anytime I had questions they were promptly answered. I truly appreciate their support, encouragement and feedback.”

Just Peachy Smoothie Recipe by Renee Longtin

“I find that I generally don’t do well will high fruit smoothies due to the higher sugar content and came up with the “Just Peachy Smoothie” as a solution to this issue. The base, a peach flavoured green tea, helps to reduce inflammation and promotes relaxation while remaining alert. The avocado,
a healthy fat that will keep you satiated, gives it a creamy dreamy texture while the cinnamon helps to promote insulin sensitivity. Finally, the collagen is a source of protein and helps to promote gut health. And pssst…I promise you won’t notice the spinach!”

INGREDIENTS

 1 c. to 1 ½ c. peach green tea
(or any fruit flavored green tea
 Handful of spinach
 ¼ c. ripe avocado
 ¼ banana (preferably frozen)
 1 Tbsp to 1 scoop Collagen powder
 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
 1/8 tsp cinnamon
 Stevia to taste other low glycemic
sweetener, to taste
 Optional: vegan protein powder

DIRECTIONS

1. Brew a cup of tea to desired strength and then cool in the fridge
2. Add the green tea, spinach, banana and dry ingredients and blend
3. Add the avocado and blend until just emulsified (don’t blend too much
as it will heat up the avocado and give it a bitter taste)
4. Pour in a glass and enjoy!

What’s your favourite smoothie recipe?

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