The Smoothie Myth

Making good food choices is a must, even when it comes to smoothies.

Green smoothies, smoothie bowls, protein smoothies...

They’re all the rage! These fruity beverages are everywhere, from social media ads to large fast-food chain menus. At first glance, they seem like a great way to load up on vitamins and start the day on the right foot. But is this really the case?

While smoothies aren’t bad for you, they must be properly made to have real nutritional value. To make your smoothie worthwhile and filling, you need to make sure it contains sufficient fibre and protein, and not too much sugar. Here are a few tips:

To increase fibre content, add one of the following ingredients:

• 60 mL (¼ cup) oats (3 g fibre)
• 15 mL (1 tbsp.) ground chia or flax seeds (3–4 g fibre)
• 30 mL (2 tbsp.) wheat bran (3 g fibre)

To increase protein content, add one of the following ingredients:

• 80 mL (⅓ cup) Greek yogurt (9 g protein)
• 125 mL (½ cup) silky tofu (6 g protein)
• 125 mL (½ cup) soy beverage or milk (3–4 g protein)

To reduce the sugar, swap out

• a few fruits for some vegetables
• juice for cold herbal tea, kombucha, or milk
• flavoured yogurt for plain yogurt

Lastly, be wary of smoothies in fast-food restaurants. Although some products may indeed be high in protein, most of them contain staggering amounts of sugar and calories.