Anatomy of a Nutrient Dense Smoothie

In the many years of optimizing my first meal of the day, I found that the best way is to start the morning with a nutrient packed, quick and easy to make meal like a smoothie! Think about it - your digestive system has been at rest for the whole night while you sleep, so it is better to give it something that is already broken down in a liquid form by a blender. Also, we are all in a major time crunch in the morning and a smoothie doesn't take more than 5 minutes to make, pour in a glass and off you go smoothie in hand! Additionally, sometimes when I literally have 5 minutes to eat, I also used it as a meal replacement for lunch/dinner or can make a small portion to have as a quick snack.

I have included below a helpful breakdown of how to build this well balanced meal:

• Vegetables - I usually put a handful of leafy greens and alternate between cauliflower and zucchini depending on how creamy I would like the smoothie to be. No, you won't taste the cauliflower, trust me!

• Fruit - my top choice are usually berries as they are low glycemic and packed with antioxidants.

• Protein - the flavor you pick is key! Chocolate goes well with berries while vanilla with mango, pineapple, apple, peach.

• Healthy fat - if you are using nut milk, watch your total fat intake as the nut milk contains good amount of fats already.

• Supercharge - adding a little sprinkle of super food goodness can help you depending on what you are trying to achieve. Maca will boost your energy levels, cinnamon can kick sugar cravings and green powders like chlorella/spirulina can add extra nutrient density.

• Liquid - I tend to use nut milks and alternate the type of nut milk I am using. Water, coconut water and tea are going to make the smoothie less thick and lower in calories.

Well, happy smoothie-ing!

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Hi, I’m Ekat, an integrative nutrition health coach and and a bio-individual health activist who believes in the power of food and lifestyle changes to help you find your way your vibrant health and achieve optimal wellness! I created Healthfully Ekat as a platform to help you find, restore and maintain your own bio-individual healthful balance. Learn more