Recipe: Nutrient-Packed Good Morning Smoothie

It doesn't matter who you are - sometimes you just don't feel like eating greens. Breakfast smoothies are a fantastic way to sneak in a serving (or if you're brave, two) of greens into your diet without compromising on taste.

How do you know if your digestion may not be optimal? You might have seen some signs, and it just takes being aware to connect the dots! You might feel like your food is sitting in your stomach like a brick for a long time after eating. Or, maybe you notice your food is going right through you (diarrhea, or food appears whole in your stool). Another common sign is if you get tired or fatigued after eating, which could be a clue that you might not have enough stomach acid to break down food as efficiently as possible. Certain conditions are associated with low stomach acid (also called hydrochloric acid or HCl). For example, low HCl is common found in people with hypothyroidism.

Smoothies and blended soups are a good solution for less-than-perfect digestion. The morning smoothie can give your body a break from digesting while absorbing the most nutrients possible; because they're already and blended up like they would be from stomach acid, you'll spend less of your valuable energy and effort toward digestion.

Want to know how most smoothies go wrong?

Adding too much sugar in the form of fruit can shoot your blood sugar up and cause an insulin reaction. The type of fruit you use matters! Low-glycemic fruits are ones that have the least impact on your blood sugar, and these are the fruits you want to choose for your smoothie, such as: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, pineapple, pears, and peaches. Of course, nearly any fruit can skyrocket your blood sugar if you eat enough of it, so you'll still want to watch your quantities, but include enough fruit to make your smoothie tasty.

Nutrient-Packed

You get tons of nutrients in the Good Morning Smoothie because of color! We've talked about eating the rainbow before. Getting lots of phytonutrients, those beneficial chemicals in plants that provide them their color, supports some very important body functions (like protecting our cells from damage or triggering gene expression). Check out the list of colors you can find in foods and what those specific foods and colors can do.

The Good Morning smoothie is actually a template you can change up to taste different every time.

NUTRIENT-PACKED GOOD MORNING FRUIT & GREEN SMOOTHIE

Paleo, Whole30, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free

Ingredients:

3 baby carrots
1 small handful of greens (1/2 to 1 cup, loose)
3/4 cup of frozen mixed berries
1/2 banana (optional)
1 scoop protein powder, adding up to 12-15g of protein (Note: try to avoid whey protein as this contains dairy/casein)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
Optional boost: 1 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 tsp maca powder