Healthy Smoothie Recipes - Benefits of Using Nutritious Smoothies In Your Diet

Healthy smoothies have really added an edge to health driven people and families all around. The reason for this is because all the benefits they can give to us. Vitamins and minerals partner with enzymes, and vitamins activate these enzymes. The absorption your body obtains with vitamins in smoothies is so much better and beneficial than just eating a vegetable or fruit whole. When the fruit or vegetable is blended, the fiber of the fruit or vegetable becomes part of the smoothie and is readily absorbed in the body quicker.

Smoothies are so beneficial not just for adults, but for children also. Children tend to look at smoothies as milkshakes or fruity drinks, not realizing how many fruits or vegetables they are ingesting. It is so much easier to give your children the daily intake of these fruits and vegetables by simply making them a healthy smoothie.

Blending your favorite fruits or vegetables is refreshing and has a great taste. Many bodybuilders and people that do regular workouts daily tend to replace one of their meals or use a protein smoothie as a snack as soon as their workout is over. The reason for this is because it tends to recover the muscles from the workout and gives them back the carbs and protein that they need.

People make their own smoothies at home, blending the fruits and vegetables that they prefer and some even pick one up at their local workout gym. Protein smoothies replenish carbohydrates and protein to the muscles and help the muscles recover and the whey protein that is used is used relatively quickly by the body.

When making a smoothie, you can use juice, water, organic fruit, or fat free milk as the base of the smoothie. A lot of people use 50 percent water with the juice to dilute the juice down, or use half juice and half water. People even make "green drink smoothies" and add in extra wheatgrass or alkaline water to get the added health benefits. You need to remember when making a healthy protein smoothie, you need at least 18-25 grams of protein . Hormone free whey protein is a lot easier on the digestive system than using soy or rice protein.

A smoothie added to your daily diet tends to give you that extra lift of extra nutrition . You can even add a teaspoon of flax oil or flax seed to give you the heart benefits as well. Smoothies stabilize your blood sugar and encourages your body to lose weight because it is being fed at the right time. Other benefits of smoothies include less muscle soreness and lots more energy for the rest of your day.

Here are some delicious smoothie recipes!

Berry Smoothie:

• 1/2 cup apple juice
  
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
  
• 1/2 cup cashews
  
• blended with ice.
• * add 1 scoop of protein powder to get the extra protein benefits.

Strawberry Delight

• 1/2 cup fat free milk
  
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
  
• 1/2 cup cashews
  
• blended with ice
• * add 1 scoop of protein powder to get the extra protein benefits.

Chocolate Dream

• 1/2 cup fat free milk
  
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
  
• 1 tsp peanut butter
  
• blended with ice

By Melissa Hood