Small Changes and Breakfast Smoothies
Last week a private training client was telling me about her daughter. The daughter is a very successful small business owner with a beautiful family and an advanced case of workaholicism and overscheduling disease. The daughter had recently experienced a health issue related to not taking care of herself, particularly not eating enough or drinking enough water.
Because I have worked with this client for many years I had heard similar stories about this particular daughter before. My client is very diligent about her health and has a hard time understanding why her daughter doesn’t take better care of herself.
I understood that there was little I could do in this situation besides empathize with my client. I did offer one small suggestion, however. Realizing that it would be hard for the daughter to make sweeping health changes I thought maybe she could make one small change – a morning smoothie.
I am a big fan of Kelly Leveque and her Fab Four smoothie recipes. It is what I have for breakfast most weekday mornings. It is a great way to start the day off on the right foot with the optimal balance of nutrients and it keeps you satisfied for hours.
The Fab Four formula is fat, fiber, protein and greens. You have a lot of options in each category so you can have as much variety as you like. For fat you can add a spoonful of almond butter or avocado or MCT oil, for fiber a spoonful of flaxseed or chia seeds, a scoop of your preferred protein powder and a handful of kale, spinach or other greens. Blend with your milk of choice (I actually just use water) and a small amount of fruit such as a quarter cup of blueberries or half a banana. That’s all there is to it.
What makes this combination special is the balance of nutrients and the limited amount of sugar. The combination of fat, fiber and protein keeps your blood sugar stable so there is no spike and subsequent crash. You can get more ingredient ideas on Kelly’s website.
So for breakfast this morning I had 1 ¼ cup of water with 2 scoops of Ora Organics chocolate protein powder, 1 spoonful each of chia seeds, flaxseeds and hempseeds, 8 frozen cherries, and a spoonful of almond butter. We didn’t have any fresh greens on hand this morning so I did without the greens. I put it in the freezer for about half an hour while I finished getting ready and walked the dog before I drank it. I love it and here it is almost five hours later and I am just starting to get hungry for lunch.
My client passed along the breakfast smoothie idea to her daughter. Will she try it? Maybe, maybe not. How about you? Will you try it? I suggest trying it for two weeks and see how you feel. Take note of your energy level, satiety level and then decide. What works for me may not work for you so it is important to listen to your body and make the small changes that can keep you feeling your best!
