When you think of a meal that is high in fiber, a fiber smoothie is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. I would venture to guess that you might imagine a big vegetable-filled salad when you think “high fiber foods.”
This is not to say that salads aren’t great. We love a salad here. But sometimes you just don’t want to eat one, and does that mean that you can’t eat in a way that makes you feel great? Absolutely not.
Salad’s PR team has just been working overtime. Rest assured that there are PLENTY of other ways to eat nutrient-dense meals and snacks that have nothing to do with putting together a fresh salad. Smoothies are one of those ways.
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Why a Fiber Smoothie?
Most of us aren’t getting quite enough fiber regularly. On average, in the United States adults eat about 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day.
To put that into perspective, the USDA recommends that women up to age 50 get at least 25 grams of fiber per day, and men up to age 50 are recommended to get up to 38 grams of fiber per day.
The recommendations decrease just a bit for adults over the age of 50. However, this isn’t a concern for many of us because we often aren’t meeting our recommended intake to being with.
Enter: The Smoothie
Here are all of the reasons why smoothies and shakes might actually deserve all of the attention that they get.
They Can Be Personalized to Your Taste (and what you have on hand)
Find a smoothie recipe that calls for turmeric, but you hate turmeric? Take the base recipe and add cinnamon instead.
Don’t have frozen blueberries, but a bag of frozen peaches has been sitting in the back of your freezer for months? Go ahead and use the peaches instead!
Smoothies for Reduced Appetite
When the temperature increases, our bodies actually crave less food because our energy production actually goes down during the hot summer months! Cool, huh?
But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still need nourishment. It just means that sometimes it can be a bit more difficult to decide what you want to feed yourself. Smoothies can be packed with energy, carbs, fat, protein, and flavor – and they are easy to drink.
Fiber Smoothie to Help You Meet Your Needs
Increase your intake of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals by throwing together a smoothie or shake. High fiber smoothies don’t have to taste anything short of delicious.
Common smoothie ingredients like berries, dates, nut butter, flaxseeds, and chia seeds are all great sources of fiber.
Sunfiber is another ingredient that can easily up the fiber in your recipes without any added flavor.
What is Sunfiber?
Sunfiber is also known as partially hydrolyzed guar gum. It may help support bowel regularity.
As a prebiotic fiber, it provides fuel for your gut microbes!
For those of us with IBS or similar symptoms, introducing a new fiber-containing food can be hit or miss.
My recommendation is to start slow and speak with your doctor or registered dietitian about adding an ingredient like sunfiber to your diet.
The Beauty of Frozen Bananas in Smoothies
Frozen bananas are by far my favorite ingredient to throw into a smoothie. Why? I’m so glad you asked.
When I buy a bunch of bananas, they are either all green-ish and I don’t want to eat them, or they are suddenly all ripe at the same time. From this moment, I feel like I have about 12 hours to eat all of the bananas at their peak ripeness.
Past those 12 hours and I am left with slightly spotty bananas that I don’t really want to eat for texture reasons. But, I also refuse to throw perfectly okay food away for such a silly reason. This is where freezing comes in.
First, slice your bananas up into chunks. Or if you’re like me, break them up with your hands into a bag that you can seal up really well. Then, set them in your freezer for a day and you’ve got the ultimate smoothie or protein shake ingredient.
Vanilla Fiber Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups milk of choice I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder whey or plant-based
- 2.5 tablespoons Sunfiber AKA partially hydrolyzed guar gum
- 1 frozen banana sliced
- 1 pinch cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
Looking for more recipes? Check out my recipe archives.
