Sneaky No Added Sugar Smoothie
Despite all of my efforts in running a “healthy” household, somehow my teenage son still gravitates to all things sweet, and tends to avoid meats, proteins and fats. If I do buy occasional treats/sweets, he goes to them first before choosing something healthy, when left to his own devices. He’s a real carb cruncher. I suppose he comes by it naturally, since it’s my side of the family, particularly my father’s side, which is all about sweets. Fortunately, my son likes fruit, so I created a smoothie for him years ago that not only has fruit but I also “sneak” in other ingredients to give it a boost of other healthy benefits. He often asks “What did you sneak in today”?
Servings:
1-2
Prep Time:
5 min
Introduction
Sneaky No Added Sugar Smoothie
By: Rebecca
Despite all of my efforts in running a “healthy” household, somehow my teenage son still gravitates to all things sweet, and tends to avoid meats, proteins and fats. If I do buy occasional treats/sweets, he goes to them first before choosing something healthy, when left to his own devices. He’s a real carb cruncher. I suppose he comes by it naturally, since it’s my side of the family, particularly my father’s side, which is all about sweets. Fortunately, my son likes fruit, so I created a smoothie for him years ago that not only has fruit but I also “sneak” in other ingredients to give it a boost of other healthy benefits. He often asks “What did you sneak in today”?
Ingredients:
-
¾ to 1 whole banana*
-
½ cup blueberries*
-
¾ cup milk of your choice
-
¼ cup oats
-
¼ cup to ⅓ cup of natural (no added sugar) peanut butter or other natural nut butter
-
½ tsp of vanilla extract
-
Dash of cinnamon
-
3-4 ice cubes
- ½ tbsp. Barlean’s Total Omega, orange creme flavor
- ½ tbsp. of Mary Ruth’s liquid morning Multivitamin, original raspberry flavor
- 1-2 scoops of collagen powder
Things I sneak in:
-
1 tbsp. of chia seeds
-
⅛ to ¼ cup of baby spinach
-
¼ of an avocado
-
½ to 1 tbsp. of MCT oil
Place all ingredients into a blender, blend until smooth and enjoy!
All smoothies can be “tweaked” to personal taste. This is the base smoothie that I use. Some days it’s sweeter than others.
*I prefer to use frozen bananas and blueberries so that the smoothie has a head start in already being cold.
Quick Health Notes:
Blueberries – Naturally sweet and low carb. Full of antioxidants.
Spinach – Baby spinach is pretty mild, nutrient rich and easy to sneak in because it doesn’t affect the flavor of smoothie.
Avocado -fiber, potassium and fatty acids
Bananas – add sweetness, good source of vitamin C, potassium and can aid in digestion.
Peanut Butter – protein, fats and lots of vitamins.
Oatmeal – fiber, antioxidants.
Chia – good source of protein, fiber, antioxidants, Omega 3 fatty acids.
Collagen powder – protein, good for cellular repair and strength.
Cinnamon – may be linked to lowering blood sugar, adds flavor.
MCT oils and Barlean’s Total Omega – helps to add essential fatty acids, fuel.
I hope you or your picky eater enjoys this. As I said, you may find you want to adjust here and there to cater to your own personal taste. You may find that it’s not particularly sweet if you are just getting used to lower sugar. Eventually, you’ll want to be sure to limit and not go overboard on the fruits so you can stay lower carb. 🙂
