Back in my day we had no blenders and although I lived in a town abundant in fruit and vegetable farms, nobody thought to put them all together and mix them up with nut milk to make a healthy breakfast drink.

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But what makes a good smoothie that us diabetics can drink?

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My dietician told me that green smoothies should contain green leafy vegetables and herbs, healthy fats, nut milk or water, fruit for sugar and protein.

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Green leafy vegetables and herbs are packed with vitamins and minerals that if consumed everyday, can lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.  Spinach, kale, silverbeet, romaine and rocket lettuce, broccoli, celery, parsley, coriander and watercress are just some of the green vegetables and herbs that make an excellent base for our green smoothies.  

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There are two types of fat - healthy and unhealthy.  Trans-fat and saturated fat are unhealthy forms of fat that can be found in fried food, processed cakes, biscuits, pastries etc., and in meat and dairy products.  Eating this type of food as our staple diet leads to clogged arteries, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

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Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, are healthy fats found in avocado chia seeds, walnuts and pecan, almonds etc., and make excellent green smoothies.  These fats lower disease and also the amount of cholesterol in our blood. 

 

One glass of dairy or cow's milk has 2.5g of fat of which 1.5g is saturated fat.  Although cow's milk is high in protein at 8g per glass, it is also high in carbohydrates (12g per glass).  Sugar is high in cow's milk at 12g per glass and there is no fibre content.  

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Almond milk, on the other hand, has fewer calories than cow's milk and far less carbohydrates at only 1g.  Almond milk contains both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats and unlike cow's milk, it contains NO saturated or trans-fats or cholesterol.  This type of milk is excellent for green smoothies.

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Fruit is added to green smoothies to provide a natural form of sugar, and for flavour.  Berries such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc., are best because they are low in carbohydrates and therefore, have a low glycemic index (GI).  Other fruit such as frozen banana, mango, pineapple, as well as oranges and lemon juice also make excellent green smoothies.

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In my eBook 'Stamp Out Diabetes in your Life - 30-day Menu', I have included different types of green smoothies for breakfast, every day for 30 days.  They are wholesome, nutritious and delicious.  Try them for yourself.  Click here for more information.

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Let's 'Stamp Out Diabetes in your Life', together 😊

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Cheers

Amelia Robinson

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The information gathered in this website comes from a number of resources -

medicalnewstoday.com, ncbi.nlm.nih.com, wikipedia, americandiabetesassociation.com, diabetesuk, healthline.com.