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Simply Tina | Tina Gravalos

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Healthy Easy Recipe, Food Photography, Food Blogger

The Building Blocks to Making A Satisfying + Delicious Smoothie

May 27, 2020 · In: Nutrition

Here’s the thing, smoothies can actually taste good and not look like dirt!

I’m talking to all ya’ll that put every fruit + veggie under the sun in your smoothie and un-joyously take it down the hatch only to find yourself throwing out more than half of it.

But hey, it’s not your fault. I used to do this too. So, let me teach you the ways of making a smoothie that actually tastes good and will actually fill you up and maybe not look like you dug up some dirty from your backyard and added it to your blender.

If you’re looking to make a smoothie into a meal, here’s what you need to ask yourself.

What’s my protein?

What’s my fat?

What’s my carbohydrates (fiber)?

Including all of these into your smoothie and in all meals in general, will set your body up for receiving the nutrients it needs to go through its many daily processes.

So, why do we want to include all of these nutrients? Well, for starters, including high amounts of these nutrients are going to help keep you feeling satiated until your next meal. Second, here’s a little sneak peak into what these macronutrients can do for our bodies:

Protein

  • helps to make connective tissue, muscles, enzymes, neurotransmitters

Fats

  • help with hormone production/regulation, inflammation, mood, blood sugar management

Fiber

  • helps with blood sugar management, moving food through digestive system, improves heart health

What you don’t want to do

I love fruits but packing them into your smoothie can actually be harmful for your health. Sugar is sugar, no matter what form its in. It breaks down into the body as glucose. If we’re packing a ton of fruits into our smoothies, that’s a lot of sugar for our bodies to handle. Especially if we’re making a breakfast smoothie. We want to start off with a blood sugar balancing smoothie to help keep our blood sugar in check throughout the day.

Here is how I like to build my smoothies

1 cup fruit – I like to use antioxidant rich berries like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or mango, kiwi, peaches, banana, pineapple – you don’t have to put a cup of fruit, if you prefer more greens, go nuts!

1 cup (or more) veggies – cauliflower, spinach, kale, zucchini, cucumber

Fats – I usually don’t measure here but something like a couple of heaping tablespoons of coconut butter or nut butter, 1/2 an avocado (frozen or fresh), coconut cream, full-fat coconut milk, MCT oil, coconut flakes, coconut yogurt, full-fat sheep or goat yogurt, hemp seeds, chia seeds

Protein – scoop of protein powder + scoop of collagen powder, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds

Fiber – can be from fruits + veggies but also hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds

I add more than one source of fats because for me, the more fats I have in a smoothie, the longer I stay full.

The smoothie pictured above is this:

⋆ 1 cup chopped strawberries, banana, kiwi

⋆ 1 cup frozen cauliflower

⋆ 1/2 cup frozen avocado chunks

⋆ 1/2 cup filtered water (I added more as I was blending to get the consistency I wanted)

⋆ 1/2 cup almond milk

⋆ 2 tablespoons coconut butter

⋆ 2 tablespoons hemp seeds

⋆ 1 scoop unflavoured protein powder

⋆ 1 scoop collagen powder


So, there you have it! If you have any questions, pop them in the comments below!

Products I used:

Protein powder: Genuine Health Fermented Vegan Protein Powder

Collagen: Designs for Health Canada Whole Body Collagen

Fruit mix: (Strawberry, Banana, Kiwi Mix from Loblaws)

By: Tina Gravalos · In: Nutrition

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PINEAPPLE BLOOD ORANGE MOCKTAIL 🍍🍊 How bea PINEAPPLE BLOOD ORANGE MOCKTAIL 🍍🍊 

How beautiful are blood oranges? 😍

I’ve been playing around with mocktails and I think this might be one of my faves! 

Here’s the how to:

1/2 cup pineapple chunks
Juice of 2 blood oranges
1-2 tsps raw honey
1/2 cup coconut milk
Sparkling water
Ice

In a glass or cocktail shaker, add the pineapple, blood orange juice and honey. Muddle until the pineapple is mashed.

Pour in the coconut milk and stir. With a fine mesh sieve or strainer, place on top of a glass and pour about half of the pineapple mixture into it and use a spoon to get the juices out. Repeat with another glass.

Add ice to the glass and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of blood orange. 

Enjoy! 💛 

* you can add a pinch of sea salt
* you can eat the muddled fruit or add a tsp or 2 to your drink!
* use pineapple juice if you prefer 

#mocktailrecipes #easyrecipes #simplerecipes #recipeoftheday #recipedeveloper #foodphotographer #wellandgoodeats
PRODUCT SWAPS PART 4: Baking! 🧁 I mean…look PRODUCT SWAPS PART 4: Baking! 🧁 

I mean…look at this baking section at @naturescanada 😍 They literally have ALL you need for all lifestyles. Whether you’re gluten-free, dairy-free or just looking for some healthier options, they have you covered! 

Extracts: Look for extracts with no artificial flavours or colours

Flours - These are some of my favs: cassava, coconut, almond, spelt and a gluten-free blend. I like to use rolled oats a lot too and you can make your own oat flour with them.

Chocolate - I use cacao powder, allergen friendly chocolate chips and chocolate bars (broken up into chunks).

Fats - Grass-fed butter (salted or unsalted) and coconut oil.

Eggs - locally sourced goodness! 🤗

Sweeteners - Maple syrup, honey, cane sugar and coconut sugar. 

Liquids - I like to use unsweetened coconut milk from a carton or can.

And just for fun, marshmallows! 🤭

Remember, it’s not about being perfect. It’s about making better choices and ENJOYING life! ❤️ 

What are some of your favourite ingredients to bake with!? 

#productswaps #healthierswaps #simpleingredients #healthierbaking #bakingsupplies
Counting down the days until peach season in Canad Counting down the days until peach season in Canada so I can make this peach jalapeño popsicle recipe I whipped up for @jillian.harris's blog. 😍 It features a jalapeño simple syrup!
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I made a link in my bio with the recipe. Check it out. 🤗
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Happy weekend, ya'll! ❤️
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#popsiclerecipes #icepops #simplerecipes #easyrecipes #peachrecipes #simpletreats #easytreats
PRODUCT SWAPS PART 3: Cooking! Ok ok this one is PRODUCT SWAPS PART 3: Cooking!

Ok ok this one is definitely a favourite for me! 👩🏻‍🍳

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the spices section @naturescanada 😍 I mean, what don’t they have? Having so many amazing options to choose from makes me feel confident I’m making healthy choices for me and my fam. 🤗 

So let’s dive right in.

Cooking oils - I know this is a hot topic but these are the things I cook with. Greeks (like me lol) have been using olive oil forevvveeerrr so I’m going to also use it foreva because it’s a part of my culture. 😉 Avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter and ghee. When buying olive oil and avocado oil, look for darker glass bottles to prevent oxidation. Also, don’t be afraid of butter! 🤗 Grass-fed butter is packed with healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins. Ghee is great too. Ghee is made by melting butter. It gets separated into liquid fats and milk solids. The milk solids get removed and then voila you have ghee! 

I personally don’t buy vegetable oils like canola, sunflower oil, etc. They are highly refined and processed and just no bueno for me. 🙅🏻‍♀️

Spices - make sure to read labels! You would I be surprised at what gets added to spices. If you’re buying dried dill, the ingredients should just be dill. 

Salt - same thing as spices…there should only be salt as the ingredient no fillers or any other nonsense! I’m a big fan of @redmondrealsalt ! 

As always, let me know if you have any questions. 🤗 

#productswaps #healthyliving #simpleingredients #healthylifestyle

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