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Entrée Smoothie

Our sun is out. The forecast looks good for this big weekend filled with family, beer and moving. Excited!!

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You know how there are fru-fru salads and entrée salads?

Fru-frus are made with mixed greens, maybe a few nuts or a cheese and a dressing. They’re light and not that filling, but perfect as an appetizer or side.

Then there are entrée salads – filled with bigger portions of lettuce and vegetables and often with a protein source like fish, chicken, egg or shrimp on top – and served with a slice of bread. That’s a meal.

Same thing goes for smoothies! If you make your smoothie out of 100% fruit or fruit juice, it’s a nice snack, but would hardly keep me feeling full for more than an hour or so.

In my house, I make entrée smoothies. Filled with bulkier ingredients that add more protein, whole grains + fat and keep me satisfied for 4 hours. Add things like yogurt, cottage cheese, soy or organic cow’s milk [almond milk has little protein], oatmeal, cereal on top, chia or flax seeds, bread croutons, nut butters, tofu and more in addition to a fruit base. Think of the smoothie in 5 parts to get about 500 calories (about 1/3 of meals for the day + snacks to get to 1800-2000 that most women need]: fruit, protein, complex carbs, fats, garnish.

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Today’s Blend included:

  • Banana [fruit, duh]
  • Blackberries [fruit, duh]
  • 1 cup milk [protein]
  • 1/4 cup dry Quaker Old Fashioned Oats [complex carbs]
  • 1/2 tbsp chia seeds [fat/protein]
  • 1 tbsp sunflower butter [fat/protein]
  • Cville Crunch [garnish/complex carbs/fat]

Feeling full!

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More Lipton. Mom, I think I’m drinking the stash you left here for YOU the next time you visit! Oops!

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Unfortunately, I slept horribly last night. I woke up with a racing mind of all the things I have to do + manage these next few days. I’m not sure if that was the cause or side effect of insomnia, but I ended up also feeling very hungry and came down to have a little bowl of granola. When I have insomnia, sometimes I think it’s good to do something different than lying in bed – so getting up, doing something, and coming back to bed often helps me get back to sleep. The snack worked! But alas, I’m tired and headachy this morning.

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Sunshine = BIKING!!!

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Comments

  2. Your smoothies are always such pretty colors. I always add spinach, which is great (you can’t taste it!) but it makes the color a little… questionable… 🙂

    I like to add protein powder for some additional bulk. Definitely going to try it out with cottage cheese next!

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  6. Thanks for breaking down how you make your entree smoothies! I can’t wait to experiment with my next one. Hope the move goes well this weekend!

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  9. I can never master the entree smoothie! I wish there was some formula to a great smoothie. Mine either come out too watery, an ugly color, or just a mehh taste!
    Entree salads on the other hand I have some to a T!

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  12. That’s a neat tip about the smoothies. Because I usually don’t add anything like yogurt to my smoothies, I make sure to eat something with it that will help fill me up, like nuts or cheese. Or, I might even have a meal with it, to balance things out a bit more.

    If I ever try the entree smoothies, I’ll probably try adding one bulkier ingredient first, like peanut butter, and then work my way up to adding more ingredients, like the rolled oats and chia seeds.

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  17. YUM! I always mix my nut butter into my smoothie, but it looks so pretty sitting on top like that. I love the title entree smoothie–I’ll eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and when it’s 115 out, sometimes I want to eat them for all three!

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  20. I was shocked when I realized my smoothies clocked in at around 4-500 calories. For some – even though they’re a full meal for me – I felt like they should’ve been lighter! But I’d rather have one chalk full of nutrient-dense stuff like soy yogurt, flax and hemp than a wimpy one that’ll leave me hungry in the hour!

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  29. I always load my smoothies up – protein powder, oats, peanut butter, bananas, milk – yum! I don’t often garnish mine, though, I have trouble getting them to be thick enough for the garnish to float.

    Entree salads are a favorite of mine, too. Done right, they are delicious.

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  31. Hopefully you’ll sleep well in your new home 🙂 I totally understand the mind racing syndrome, and I agree it helps to get out of bed and do something different for a few minutes before I try to go back to sleep.

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  32. The night before last I woke up at 2AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. Insomnia anyone? I enjoyed the extra morning time – got lots done. Last night I slept hard and didn’t want to get up this morning. Can you say happy medium?

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  33. I did not have a good night’s sleep either… I spent the night in a hotel room & never sleep so well in when not in my own bed! I also have been on a week’s vacation from work & will have to go back tonight (3rd shift) & am soooo not looking forward to that. 😉

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  35. What a GREAT analogy! That is so true… I love love love salads of any kind but those fru fru salads sometimes have super bitter/grassy/weedy/stringy greens… I guiltfully adore iceburg lettuce for its crisp crunch!

    That mason jar table cloth is my favorite! The colors are just so charming.

    Good luck this weekend Kath! Hopefully all the dreary weather is over and it stays sunny for you all 😀

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  36. Sorry about the poor sleep 🙁 I hate those nights. I always do a bowl of cereal as well and it usually does the trick but sometimes it’s too late and the damage is done!

    Don’t worry (I know, easier said than done) – everything will somehow, someway get done!!

    PS – I’m totally on board with the entree smoothie, that’s exactly what I do to bulk up my breakfasts! Nut butters, yogurts, oats, etc 🙂

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  38. I’m surprised to hear you and other commenters say all-fruit smoothies don’t fill you! I love the all-fruit smoothie, and find it keeps me as full if not fuller than others- but probably because I carry it with me and keep sipping for hours. I like them super thick, like a Jamba Juice but without the sherbet. I do put soaked chia seeds in, and find those usually make the full-feeling last a bit longer. Also, I only use a half cup of juice, the rest is a quarter cup of soaked chia and several cups of fruit. Maybe it’s all that fiber, and the strawberries are so low in calorie it add bulk and flavor without becoming a crazy meal. And if I have a fru-fru salad, I’ll usually have 4x the amount of everyone else! It does take volume to have any sense of hunger-quelling there.

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  40. Hey Kath! I just found your blog through Open Sky. Love it! I think it’s awesome that you are able to post 3x a day and you’ve been doing it for a while! That’s a lot of bloggin’… Good luck with the move!

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  43. OMG can’t believe you posted about your snack..same thing happened to me too! I woke up at 4.30 to hunger growls so I ate a bowl of granola with milk and went back to bed…did the trick 🙂

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  44. I hope all goes well with your move, Kath! Try to hang loose and just enjoy gathering with your friends…things will fall into place. Just think about how much fun you are going to have with this new opportunity to organize and decorate…Whee! 🙂

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  46. I always feel like a smoothie could never fill me up if used as an entree. but now that I see your points about being sure that you have all of the necessary compenents of an entree.. in the smoothie. Smart girl!

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  48. Kath, I would love to know what you think about the people out there who say that bread, grains, oats–even whole grain things–are bad for us. As an RD (and not just a bread & oats lover! 🙂 ), what is your take? I’m not sure what to think. Thanks! 🙂

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    • I don’t know why a plant that provides us with complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, protein and fiber would ever be bad for us?

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      • Thank you for saying so! I keep reading all this stuff about how grains are killing all of us slowly but I find it so hard to believe. Plus I would never want to give up oatmeal or bread! Thanks for taking a minute to answer this, I really appreciate it.

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  52. I know what you mean about the racing mind. It was such a stressful time back when we were moving…also because the house was half torn apart, literally. haha It will be over before you know it, and I’m sure in about 5 days you will have everything unpacked and in it’s perfect spot. However, if you don’t…just think about the fact that we have not hung 1 thing on our walls yet. 😉

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  54. Thanks for smoothie tips! I’ve been looking to bulk up my smoothies a little bit so I don’t always need a snack later on in the morning after having one.

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  57. SO true- I hate when people ignorantly say smoothies and salads “don’t fill them up”! It’s the ingredients they’re using that doesn’t do the trick. People really need to educate themselves! 🙂

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  58. that’s why I’m so thankful to be part of the blogworld and have had my eyes opened. I can see! 😀 Although food is definitely pleasurable and a great way to bond with other people, I really like to think of the nutrients I’m absorbing as well.

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  59. Sorry you’re not feeling well 🙁 the stress gets to me sometimes too, and causes the wake-up attacks in the middle of the night!
    Usually just using the bathroom and getting water or whatever helps me to feel better and get sleep.

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  62. Yes, when i can’t sleep, there’s no sense just laying there…I get up and do something! However, I usually only get about 5 hours of sleep a night so when I am laying there for my 5, usually I’m out cold, asap.

    But the more stress I have, the more fitfully I do sleep…hang in there Kath! 🙂

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  63. I agree, I cannot be sustained by frou frou smoothies!! This one is much more my style 🙂 looks like a great day for the bike here, too. Can’t wait to be out of work in an hour, enjoy your day and feel better!!

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  65. I love your bowl/mug. You have the cutest dishes. It makes me want to go to the antique shops and see what I can find.

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  67. Loved this post – great reminders/ideas for what to pack into my entree smoothies! Unfortunately, I’m still in weight-loss mode, so I’m only taking in about 1350 to 1500 calories per day… It’s usually a sad face when I realize what I’ve put into my smoothie or my oatmeal is more than that meal’s allotment, but worth it!

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  69. I love this little primer on making smoothies more nutritious. I must admit to making fru-fru smoothies more often… probably so I can justify the half block of chocolate I eat each day in terms of balancing out, but I know deep down that’s probably not the best for me!

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  71. I love how you explained your formula into what makes your entree smoothie! I love me an entree smoothie too, and because of you eating it from a bowl is now my fav way to eat one! Makes me feel like I’m actually eating something, as opposed to just drinking it 😉

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