The Perfect Morning Smoothie | Lean and Green Body

With July 4th behind us, summer is officially here! The start of summer means bikinis, beaches, beers, and barbecues. Lots of indulging. How can you have fun in the summer heat without over-indulging, maintaining your weight, or even losing a bit of weight and toning up this summer?

The way we start our day is key! Start your day with a smoothie. Pack your smoothie with tons of nutrients, proteins, fiber, and healthy fats. This will ensure you start your day off right and will keep you full until lunch. The combination of protein, fiber, and healthy fats will stave off hunger, and literally turn off your hunger hormones (leptin and ghrelin), keeping you full for hours. Leptin is a hunger hormone made by your fat cells to suppress your appetite and greatly influences body weight. As we gain weight, the levels of leptin in our body increases, making our bodies work harder to suppress our appetite. Many obese individuals actually build up a resistance to leptin. Ghrelin increases your appetite and signals the brain that it is time to eat.

Keep your ingredients simple and minimally processed… less is more.

My favorite protein powder right now is Garden of Life Vanilla. I have been using this protein powder for over five years now. This is a vegan plant based protein, hypoallergenic and easy to digest. This protein powder has 22 grams of protein per serving, 4 grams of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), a full profile of probiotics and enzymes, and 0 grams of sugar.

Chia seeds are an excellent source of fiber, with 10 grams of dietary fiber per 1 oz servings. Chia seeds are high in omega 3’s, a great way to help decrease inflammation in the body, and are high in protein, with approximately 5 grams of protein per 1 oz serving. These little seeds pack big punch and are a great addition to any smoothie, salad dressing, or even your water!

The Perfect Morning Smoothie | Lean and Green Body Blog

Fats had a bad rap for years - the whole “fat free” era in the 90’s was horrifying. The fat free phase in America made many people skeptical about fats; however, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are an essential part of a healthy diet. Mono and polyunsaturated fats aid in digestion, and heal the body from the inside out. Two of my favorite fats right now are Organic Virgin Coconut Oil and Organic Raw Almond Butter. Think about fueling and healing your body when choosing what fats to add into your smoothie.

Keep protein, fat, and fiber as the essentials in every smoothie you make this summer. Your body will thank you!

Limit or eliminate fruit from your smoothie. This will substantially reduce the sugar content, preventing any unnecessary spikes and drops in your blood sugar, helping to keep your energy steady all day.