Previously, our breakfasts typically consisted of cereal or bagels with cream cheese. As we are going through this weight-loss process, and learning more about nutrition, we are learning more about the things our bodies really need. This includes finding the right balance of macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates) to lose weight and stay healthy. And we're learning that what we were previously eating for breakfast wasn't really working towards a healthy lifestyle.
Around the beginning of the year, my wife decided to buy a nice blender in order to make some smoothies (and margaritas). I was all ready to throw some milk and a bunch of fruit in the blender, and she started talking about spinach. Lots of spinach. Spinach in every since smoothie recipe. Needless to say, I was a little less enthusiastic about the smoothies at that point. Why ruin a delicious fruit smoothie by throwing spinach in it?
Well, our first smoothie was a mix of strawberries, a banana, some frozen mixed berry blend, spinach, carrot and water. And it was awesome. I couldn't believe how good it tasted. From there, we tried a number of other recipes, generally involving a banana, some other fresh fruit, and some frozen fruit, along with usually spinach and carrot, although I think we threw in some celery once or twice. Shortly thereafter, we started adding protein powder. At that point, we hadn't really done any nutrition counseling, or been reading many books, but we knew we should be getting more protein. So, we added a couple scoops of vanilla or strawberry protein powder in every smoothie. Also, it helped with the hunger. Protein really helps you feel full, so once we added in protein, we weren't starving again by lunchtime.
We started our smoothie adventure with recipes from Incredible Smoothies, but then we kind of decided we really couldn't go wrong just throwing a bunch of stuff together. It always seemed to taste really good anyway.
As we've progressed along this fitness road, we keep learning new things, either from books, the internet or from the nutritionist at Lifetime Fitness. One of the things we learned was the importance of protein and healthy fats, like omega-3. And a great source of both is the humble egg. We've been encouraged to add a couple raw eggs into our smoothie every morning, and surprisingly enough, it didn't taste like total crap. I wouldn't go so far as to say it tasted better, but it's certainly not worse. And the health benefits outweigh the negatives, as far as I'm concerned.
I should point out that we make smoothies for two, so when I'm talking about adding in two scoops of protein powder, or two eggs, this all gets divided in half once we actually blend it and pour it into glasses.
During my MyHealthScore assessment at Lifetime, I went through a short interview process with the personal trainer, and discussed our daily routine, including the smoothies. He thought we were on the right track, and I even got a high-five when I told him we were putting eggs in our smoothies. But he actually recommended ditching the banana, and substituting something else with fewer sugars/carbohydrates. Like avocado.
Crap. I hate avocado. It seems like every time I go out to grab a sandwich somewhere, they ruin a really good looking sandwich by putting avocado on it. I don't think I'd even seen an avocado until five years ago, and now I can't get away from them. And don't even get me started on guacamole. Ugh.
But avocado is higher in healthy fats and fiber, and very low in carbohydrates. And it will still give a nice creamy texture to our smoothies. I decided to give it a try. And to tell you the truth, it wasn't too bad. It gets a pass in my book, at least in smoothies when it's mixed up with all kinds of other yummy stuff like strawberries.
But I can't eat avocado every day. I needed something else. So, I looked online to find other options besides avocado for a healthy "base fruit" for our smoothies, something that could give it a nice texture. Other suggestions were mangos and pears. You may remember my mango-trouble last week. Well, I've got that all figured out now, and both mangos and pears are in the rotation as base-fruit alternatives to avocado. Neither are quite as healthy as avocado, but both are a little better than bananas.
So, I started the year with dreams of delicious whipped fruit blends like Jamba Juice, and ended up at spinach, carrot, egg and avocado, with a little fruit. But you know what? It's still pretty damn good, and a healthy way to start the day.
We still haven't made a margarita in our awesome blender, though.
Food:
- Breakfast: Fruit / protein smoothie
- Lunch: Protein bar on the way to a meeting
- Dinner: Chicken wrap. I threw a little pico de gallo in there tonight, and it really made it over-the-top delicious. Way better than just some chopped tomato.
Exercise:
- My kids' after-school program called, and my son was throwing up, so I had to leave a meeting this afternoon to go pick him up. While we were at home, I decided to get in a Spinervals workout while he relaxed on the couch watching Spongebob. I decided it was time to step it up and get in a good anaerobic workout for the week. So, I popped in Spinervals 3.0 - Suffer-o-rama, a 45-minute ass-kicker. I think I'd only done this one once or twice before, probably over a year ago, so I didn't remember how hard it was. I'm getting in much better aerobic shape, but my anaerobic engine is still pretty anemic. With just a couple minutes left to go in the workout, my daughter came out to the garage to tell me my son was puking. So, I had to cut my workout short and come inside. Oh well, a really good workout nonetheless, and my son is now feeling much better. Strava report HERE.
- This evening it was off to Lifetime for my kids' swim lessons. My son stayed home, so I just took my daughter. While she was in her lesson, I got in 20 minutes on the elliptical.
Today's weigh-in: 198.0
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