Smoothies and Power Bowls  

A piece by our founder

We have become a society that eats on the run.  With the popularity of smoothies and power bowls this has only increased.   Entire restaurants and restaurant chains, such as Jamba Juice, are dedicated to whirling out smoothies.  My granddaughters after school head to the nearest Jamba Juice for their ‘power smoothie”.  So are they really a healthy option?

The enemy once again in these two food items is sugar.   Commercially made smoothies are made with fruit juice, tons of fresh fruit, nuts and nut butters and yogurt and yes they do have the addition of greens such as kale, spinach and ‘super greens’ but some of these smoothies contain as much as 54 grams of sugar.  I can hear my joints creaking.   The same goes for Power bowls.  

So how do you enjoy the art of eating on the run while maintaining a healthy balance?   The first answer is to make your smoothie at home.  Use unsweetened Almond or any other kind of nut milk, a protein powder that packs a nutritional punch like Vega's protein and greens vanilla powder  a low sugar fruit such as blueberries, raspberries or blackberries (berries have the least amount of sugar per ounce – bananas are the worst), plain greek yogurt (we recently tried Oikos and it has 10 grams of protein and only 2 grams of sugar per 100 grams (a serving)), chia seeds, turmeric, matcha powder, unsweetened cocoa powder and collagen powder.  Add ice and blend away.  The same principal applies to power bowls.  If you must buy a smoothie at a smoothie bar opt for unsweetened nut milks instead of juice, low glycemic fruits etc.  Remember to read the nutritional label BEFORE you order your smoothie or power bowl.  Inform yourself and don't be shy to ask questions and pay attention to what's actually going into the blender.  Your joints and your skin will thank you.