W30 approved smoothie?

[Laura B]

It's not that smoothies are bad for you or even not good, it's that the Whole 30 is about changing your relationship with food. They advise against drinking your meals as it isn't the same as chewing your food, swallowing it, and allowing your stomach to do a bit more work.

[Robin Strathdee]

One of our main problems with fruit smoothies is that they really promote overconsumption - we'd much rather you sit down and eat all of those things (preferably with a meal containing protein, veggies and fat). Most folks find that they couldn't eat the volume of fruit whole that they could in a smoothie. That's a whollup of sugar to throw at your body, and generally very quickly if you're drinking it rather than eating it. Plus, it doesn't give you lasting, consistent energy. It will spike you and then you'll crash.

Drinking also doesn't activate your hormones appropriately, the way chewing and swallowing whole food does. You don't get the same satiety response in your brain from drinking your food as you do from eating it.

Finally, we want you to eat full meals and only snack if you have to. Snacks should not be for convenience and they should always look like mini meals (protein, veg, fat). If you're hungry mid-morning, pack a snack to bring with you. If you're not hungry, then you don't need the fruit smoothie ;0)

Hope that helps explain a little more!

[JulianneInJoy]

I am beginning to understand more about the reasons behind not "drinking" your meals. That said, I find parsley to be hugely beneficial to my well-being. But eating a bunch of it does not appeal. Here's the smoothie I'm currently drinking - which gives me lasting energy and does not lead to a crash experience. I am tending to drink it with some eaten protein (plain meat, mostly). Very satisfied.

3 good-sized bunches of parsley

1 large cucumber

1 bunch celery

1 cup pineapple

1 heaping tbl cinnamon

well water

3 limes

I put it all in the vitamix and end up with 1.5 gallons of smoothie (in three large, .5 gallon mason jars) that keeps for about 5 days.

Sometimes i use part kale and part parsley, and sometimes I add in fresh green beans. Sometimes ginger. But the mostly veggie to a little fruit ratio remains the same.

I am interested in feedback on this. Thanks!

[bamboocore]

Here are a couple recipes:

1) Green Smoothie: http://bamboocorefitness.com/organic-green-smoothie-recipe/

2) Berry and Veggie Smoothie: http://bamboocorefitness.com/organicberryandveggiesmoothie/

Hope this helps!

[GFChris]

Here are a couple recipes:

1) Green Smoothie: http://bamboocorefitness.com/organic-green-smoothie-recipe/

2) Berry and Veggie Smoothie: http://bamboocorefitness.com/organicberryandveggiesmoothie/

Hope this helps!

To clarify, smoothies are discouraged on a Whole30. The idea is to chew your food vs drink it, as chewing is more satiating.

 

Note this thread was started in May 2012, which, I believe, is before the Hartwigs began recommending against smoothies in the Whole30 rules.

[Vian]

You are right that this smoothie is not Whole30-compliant, but it gives us an opportunity to discuss several issues. One is the use of coconut milk from a carton as shown in the picture. No coconut milk in a carton is Whole30-compliant. The stuff in a carton comes with additives that should be avoided. The second problem is the use of juices as the material of the smoothie. It would be okay to add apples, carrots, or beets, but using the juices to make a drink is like drinking the juice as a drink. Drinking a cup of juice is not a Whole30 kind of thing to do. It is okay to use some apple juice as a sweetener, but not as a drink. Also, the recipe warns against adding more than a pinch of spinach (which is surprisingly sweet in a smoothie) to avoid making it taste like wood chips. Please! With the big load of fruit in this smoothie, you could put a ton of spinach or kale in the mix and still get an extremely sweet drink.

 

I know this is an old post and thread, but I just thought I'd point out that I've actually found compliant coconut milk in a carton in the asian market. It's Aroy-D brand and is nothing but coconut cream and water according to the ingredients.

[LouH]

I use the Arroy D in a carton too, I guess it wasn't around in 2012

[Kmlynne]

I really don't want to step on any toes or anything.....  However, I can help but noticing that many people who continue to drink smoothies (even with all compliant ingredients) cite their reason as not having enough time in the morning for breakfast.  I used to have smoothies on a regular basis  (1/2 cup fruit, 1-2 cups spinach, water).  I have found (albiet with a little preplanning) that my time preparing breakfast in the morning is actually quicker eating whole foods.  It is so easy to pull out a few boiled eggs, add some carrot/celery stick (or other vegies) and a few blueberries.  Frittatas have become even better!  I pull out a piece, add some guac and am ready to go!

[AVazquez]

I have some ripe bananas, so I wanted to make a shake. I know the Whole30 doesn't recommend shakes, and I want to stick to the recommendations, but I plan to drink this shake with my breakfast. Can someone please tell me if this would be okay:

 

2 ripe bananas

1 cup of frozen blueberries

1.5 cups Coconut milk

Chopped dried figs

Cinnamon

 

Thanks!

 

 

[GFChris]

I have some ripe bananas, so I wanted to make a shake. I know the Whole30 doesn't recommend shakes, and I want to stick to the recommendations, but I plan to drink this shake with my breakfast. Can someone please tell me if this would be okay:

 

2 ripe bananas

1 cup of frozen blueberries

1.5 cups Coconut milk

Chopped dried figs

Cinnamon

 

Thanks!

That's A LOT of fruit and sugar hit all at once.  Fruit is optional on a Whole30, and if you're going to have it the recommendation is 1-2 servings a day, where a serving is a fist-size of fresh fruit. With a shake like this, you're getting 3 fresh fruit servings, plus dried fruit (which we recommend to limit), plus the fat in the coconut milk in a single sitting.

We would advise against something like this. If you want fruit with breakfast, have 1 whole banana *or* 1 cup of berries that you chew, along with a meal of protein, veggies and fat. Again, we discourage smoothies because chewing whole food is more satiating than drinking liquified food.

[SugarcubeOD]

I have some ripe bananas, so I wanted to make a shake. I know the Whole30 doesn't recommend shakes, and I want to stick to the recommendations, but I plan to drink this shake with my breakfast. Can someone please tell me if this would be okay:

 

2 ripe bananas

1 cup of frozen blueberries

1.5 cups Coconut milk

Chopped dried figs

Cinnamon

 

Thanks!

I think it's a good idea to ask yourself if you would eat this quantity of fruit/fat with a meal.

Since you said you were going to eat it with breakfast, this is what your breakfast could look like... 

 

2 fried eggs and leftover ground beef hash from last night

fist sized serving of sweet potato

2cups of roasted vegetables

2 bananas

1cup of blueberries

1.5c of coconut milk (2-4x the recommended serving size)

choppped dried figs

 

That's a lot of food and a LOT of fruit/sugar.  Aside from the problem with satiation and digestion, drinking your food means you can consume exponentially more food than you would ever think of putting on a plate and chewing.