Many clients are looking for ways to increase fruit and vegetable intake. Preferably easy ways since we are all pressed for time, especially as we head into the school year. September always seems to mark the entrance into 9 months of incessant busyness whether you have school aged children or not.

Smoothies are a pretty, pretty great option for adding more produce to your eating pattern. They are tasty, portable, relatively quick to make, easy to customize and can be a balanced meal if you pay attention to portion sizes of ingredients. Even vegetables can be added to add more nutrients. Spinach, kale or cauliflower florets are common additions.

There are some considerations when adding smoothies into your regular rotation. For my clients managing diabetes, PCOS, and cardiac health issues, carbohydrate counting is probably the biggest thing. Honestly we should all watch portions and only blend and drink what we would realistically eat though. But those managing IBS have yet another aspect to consider, which I’ll get to in a minute. Carbohydrate serving sizes of fruits vary depending on the type and state of fruit. When speaking in terms of carb counting, berries and melon are larger portions than mango or pineapple for instance. If using milk or sweetened milk alternative as the liquid, there is also some carbohydrate in that, which needs to be part of the total. Sometimes using a lower sugar option like plain Greek yogurt and unsweetened almond milk can help with this while still resulting in a liquidy product.

For those watching FODMAP intake, choosing ingredients that agree with you is important but not impossible. Low FODMAP serves can easily make a delicious smoothie. Skyr is a good option for high protein dairy and unsweetened almond milk can help thin it out. Extra fiber and good fats can be added in the form of chia seeds or flax meal or 1/8 of an avocado. If adding a vegetable, cauliflower is likely not the best choice due to it’s mannitol content.

If you are a current client, we have likely discussed (ad nauseam) balancing meals, which means making sure there are sources of carbohydrate, protein and fat in meals to increase satiety. Proportions are also important, but focusing on getting them in also helps and can be fine-tuned eventually.  Here are some examples.

Carbohydrate sources: fruit, milk, sweetened alternative milk, regular yogurt, and oats

Protein sources: Greek yogurt or skyr, protein powder, ricotta cheese, and nut butters

Fat sources: flax meal or chia seeds, shredded coconut (unsweetened, so not the baking kind), avocado, and whole fat dairy  **Note** Chia seeds become gelatinous when wet which is something to consider if you don’t plan on consuming the smoothie soon after making it. This will cause the smoothie to thicken up over time.

For ease, some people prefer to make smoothie bags and prep desired ingredients and either freeze or refrigerate them to use during the next couple days. If you have multiple smoothie cups such as for a Ninja, refrigerating in those cups can take out a step when it’s go time. Then you are able to add the protein and fat ingredients that are not already included and blend. Otherwise, knowing general portion sizes and getting a base recipe committed to memory can allow for easy customization as preferences and seasons change.

Here’s a favorite of mine. I like this year-round for different reasons. In the warm weather it’s nice to have tropical flavors and in the cold weather it’s nice to have tropical reminders. Lately I’ve been drinking about half and saving the other half for later as that’s about how much I would actually eat if it weren’t blended. Consider how much you would realistically eat in unblended form and decide for yourself or discuss with me or your dietitian.

• 1 banana (barely ripe for low FODMAP)
• ½ C pineapple
• 1 C Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese (dairy alternative yogurt can be substituted for low FODMAP. Per my intern, Kite Hill has a good one with high protein, low sugar)
• ½ -1 tbsp flaxmeal
• ½-1 tbsp shredded coconut
• ¼ – ½ C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Another favorite uses some of the basics of the above version with some other options instead.

• 1 banana (barely ripe for low FODMAP)
• ½ C strawberries (up to 5 medium strawberries is a low FODMAP serve)
• ¼-½ C blueberries
• 1 C Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese (dairy alternative greek yogurt can be substituted for low FODMAP)
• ¼  avocado (1/8 for low FODMAP)
• ½ -1 tbsp flaxmeal
• ¼ – ½ C unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Enjoy or customize to fit your preferences. Either way, Enjoy!