Banana substitute in smoothies?

[Greenleesh]

So I am starting the whole30 on January 1st and it's my first time. I was planning on having smoothies for breakfast b/c I got one of those 1-person size make & go blender kit and like & have access to a bunch of the approved fruits and can just chop & freeze them. And I normally can't eat much the first few hours I am awake but know I'll need something besides coffee & can't have milk on this. But I HATE bananas so normally I use almond flour instead to keep the smoothie from separating, but almonds are on the low tier of approved fats so I don't know if I can have it everyday, plus It's out of cycle at Trader Joes and the only other brand I can find is $12 a bag & it's made from blanched instead of raw almonds so not sure if it's as nutritious.

Is there something else I can use that is more "encouraged" to eat on whole30 to use in the smoothie instead and have the same effect? I saw coconut flour on the shelf at the store for cheaper but don't know if it will work (tried googling & forum searching but had no luck).

Thanks a bunch in advance!

[Snappy Shark]

I'm sure that a mod will chime in here and elaborate, but smoothies are a no-no on the Whole30. Follow the meal-planning template and start your day with real food: meat, vegetables and healthy fat. It's okay to eat some fruit as part of a meal with plenty of protein and vegetables, but drinking a sugary, sweet treat like a smoothie in the morning is really against the ethos of the Whole30.

The program is as much about reforming your relationship with sugar as it is with eating compliant "paleo" ingredients - that's why paleofied baked goods like cookies and pancakes are out, too. Check out the Cooking section of the forum for some yummy breakfast recipes made with whole food ingredients if you're stuck. Welcome aboard!

[Susan W]

You said it perfectly snappy.

[Colleen Roy]

Yup. You need to eat real food, not a smoothie for breakfast. I thought I was not a breakfast eater either, but about a week in to my whole30, I became one. The key for me is having stuff ready to go and reframing what breakfast looks like. I eat leftover dinner for breakfast at least once a week. I make a huge batch of sweet potato hash every week, using different meats and spices each week to keep it interesting, then I have some of that with an egg or two. Now, if I don't eat within 30 minutes of getting up, my stomach starts yelling at me. Loudly!

[Susan W]

Greenleesh, you will become accustomed to eating a good breakfast and it really starts your day on the right foot. It can be as simple as hardboiled eggs and a pile of veggies or even leftovers from the night before.

[MJam]

These smart ladies have you covered...no smoothies...not even green ones. Liquid food is not interpreted by the body like food you have to chew. Start reforming your habits with food and ditch the smoothies....they are just loaded with fruit which is loaded with sugar which spikes your blood sugar. We are meat and veggie breakfasters here.

And while we are on it....no mashed banana pancakes or anything like that either and Lara bars are my personal vendetta. Repeat after me...veggies and meats, veggies and meat, fats, veggies and meats, veggies and meats FAAAAATS!

[Greenleesh]

I know they're not encouraged, but I figured if I put veggies in too it'd be ok. I said up there before I can't eat (but I can drink) until a few hours after I am up or else I get nauseous no matter what I eat, sometimes I get all the way to lunch before my stomach growls if it's a day I don't go to exercise. But they encourage you to eat breakfast b/c it's important, so I dunno what else to do since there aren't many approved on the go foods I can eat at work later when I do get hungry.

[MJam]

Not ok, not even with veggies

My guess is you are nauseous because your hormones are out of whack, and that is what the W30 is about...retraining and fixing whack hormones. Force yourself to eat and your hormones will sort themselves out and I'm willing to bet dollars to bacon that after a few weeks you will look forward to a meaty, veg filled breakfast. Not eating breakfast is not a way to start the day. And the nausea might be all in your head...tell yourself something for long enough and your body starts to believe it.

[Kirsteen]

Hi, I never ever ate breakfast in my life. I never used to have anything until about 1pm. I also used to be a raw vegan so had loads of green smoothies. Breakfast was one of the things I struggled with when I started W30, I though I'd never be able to manage it. However, now, I really look forward to my breakfast in the morning. I realised the Hartwigs are actually right, not being hungry in the morning is a sign your hormones are out of whack. If you've got the book, reread the section on hormones, it explains it really well. If you haven't got it, try to buy or borrow a copy, it's full of brilliant info and really explains things like why we eat real food and don't drink it, the different ways our body processes it etc. Try to find one compliant meal of protein, fat and veg that you think you can face in the morning, even if it's only a small one, start there and I'm sure you'll end up like the rest of us, loving breakfast. If you feel nauseous, one thing I found helped was just relaxing doing nothing for 15 - 30 minutes after I'd eaten. good luck

[kb0426]

If you get nauseous, then something clearly is off. Start small if you have to, but stick to the food template.

The best description I have ever read for a smoothie is that it is "pre-digested food." Since some of the digestion is done for you, you cannot achieve satiety.

You might want to start your day with a cup of bone broth. I found it was a great way when I started to say "here comes breakfast". I was always a good breakfast eater, in the form of breads, peanut butter, and a banana. Moving to proteins, veggies and fats was a challenge, but I didn't expect the whole30 to be a picnic.

[Tom Denham]

All the feedback thus far is great. I want to explain more about the problems with smoothies. Liquid food digests faster than whole foods, so will not keep you full as long eating whole foods. Also, liquid food goes down faster than whole food, so makes overeating easy. So smoothies setup a nasty combination: overeating and getting hungry quicker.

When your hormones are doing right, your cortisol levels are low at night, making sleep easy. Then as morning comes, your cortisol levels rise, you wake up, and feel hungry - ready to eat. When you are not hungry in the morning, it usually means your cortisol is low, which often means your cortisol was high at night and made your sleep restless and erratic. One of the best ways to get your hormones regulated is to eat first thing in the morning. It helps to get the cortisol regulated so that it is high in the morning and low at night. Most people sleep significantly better when they get this rhythm going and good sleep makes almost everything better.

Oh yeah, though I discourage smoothies now that I understand how they work in the body, a good substitute for bananas in smoothies is avocado. And you can use coconut flour during a Whole30, though I've never added any flour to a smoothie - just bananas or avocado.