The Perfect Shake

I love smoothies and shakes.  I’d much rather drink my calories than eat them…and I don’t necessarily mean at the bar. :)  But I really like to have a nutrient dense shake in the morning because I never have much of an appetite.  This helps me to make sure I always have breakfast – the MOST important meal of the day.
So while I do enjoy Jamba Juice, I do not enjoy the outrageous calories and excessive grams of sugar that saturate almost all of their smoothies.  Some of the smoothies have more sugar than TWO Snickers bars.  WILD!  Possibly one of the culprits of America’s out of control obesity rate!  And let me also say that sugar makes you fat….fat doesn’t make you fat.
Now here is my tasty, healthy, nutrient dense shake recipe!  It’s a great breakfast, after-workout recovery drink or anytime you want something delicious – without compromising the scale.

Sugar, Sugar, Everywhere

Since I am on the topic of sugar additives, I wanted to address a few questions I received about Splenda & Stevia.

Splenda

• Primarily made of Sucralose, this non-nutritive sweetener is derived from the natural Sucrose (table sugar), with a chemical structure composed of three alcohol groups, attached to three chlorine atoms.  Yes, chlorine.  Not to be alarmed though.  Chlorine is in our drinking water so it’s something we consume on a daily basis.  But obviously in very small amounts.  According to the American Dietetic Association, they deem Splenda as a ”safe” sugar additive.  And so does the FDA….

Sweet Misery – A Poisoned World

Last night I watched a fascinating documentary on the history of Aspartame suggested to me by my great friend, Allie, who also happens to be my partner-in-crime at CSUN.  Sugar-additives are a very hot topic right now (well…always have been) and I find that most people often ask me about the sugar-additives they can and can’t have.  Since most people shun the high-caloric drinks, many take refuge in the “no calorie, no sugar”versions of the same drink such as Diet Coke, Diet Snapple, Crystal Light, any soda with a ZERO in the name, etc, etc.  This lengthy food list that uses Aspartame as a “sweetener” also includes chewing gum, yogurt, nutritional bars, gelatin, Equal, Nutra-Sweet, cereals, juice drinks, maple syrup, candy and my personal favorite, vegetable juices.  When did we find the need to start sweetening vegetables???!!!!????!!

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