One Simple Step to a Healthier Diet

Drinking a fruit smoothie is a simple and effective first step to a healthier diet. It is as simple as 3 ingredients and it’s a natural energy boost every morning. This is one easy step to a healthier diet. It provides me with all of my fruit intake for the day and let’s be real, in this busy world, how often do we get the recommended fruit intake…

A couple important factors to note

How much fruit is recommended?

According to Healthline, most studies suggest that eating two to five servings of fruit per day can promote good health and lower the risk of serious diseases. An adult portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g.

The NHS provides a rough guide for portion sizes:

• Small fresh fruit: Two or more small fruits, such as 2 plums, 2 satsumas, 2 kiwi fruit, 3 apricots, 6 lychees, 7 strawberries, or 14 cherries
• Medium fresh fruit: One piece of fruit, such as 1 apple, banana, pear, orange, or nectarine
• Large fresh fruit: Half a grapefruit, 1 slice of papaya, 1 slice of melon (5 cm slice), 1 large slice of pineapple, or 2 slices of mango (5 cm slices)
• Dried fruit: Around 30 g

Frozen fruit is roughly half a cup for a portion. 

100% fruit juice:

No matter how much fruit juice you drink, or how many varieties of fruit juice, it will still only count as one of your portions per day because the juicing process removes most of the fibre from the fruit. Crushing fruit into juice releases the sugars contained in the fruit.

That being said:

I normally do 2 portions of fresh fruit or one cup of frozen fruits mixed with 4-8oz of 100% fruit juice to equal 3 portions of fruit for the day. This gives me enough for the day but also gives me some room to have more fruit later in the day if I want to. You can adjust the portions to your specific needs. I mix in ground flax seeds. There are so many benefits to flax seeds 

Flax seeds

Flax seeds are rich in fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids, and contain many vitamins and minerals that can support your health. Some potential benefits of flax seeds include: better digestion, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, weight loss, anti- inflammatory, cancer prevention, and omega-3’s. 

 Simple fruit smoothie recipe to jumpstart your day!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8oz) of 100% fruit juice
• 1 cup frozen berry mix
• 1 tablespoons ground flaxseed 

Directions

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy. It’s so simple!

Try this: 

Use different fruits fresh or frozen and use different flavor juices. Just make sure it’s 100% juice. Mix and match flavor and have fun with it. It is best to keep changing it up because each fruit has different nutrients that all work together to keep us healthy. 

**This is a great alternative to caffeine as well. The natural sugars will give you the energy boost you need without the crash.