How to make smoothies more filling and slimming
When trying to lose body fat, eating foods more closely to how they appear in nature is one of the best strategies.
There are four main reasons for this.
1. The more processed a food is (from blending to industrial "processing" aka junk foods) the easier it is for your body to digest, which means your body isn't burning as many calories as it would if you had to chew and digest the food in it's natural state. (This is called TEF, the thermic effect of food. TEF = the amount of energy it takes for your body to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat. TEF makes up a part of your daily calorie expenditure (calories out). If you reduce this, you can easily start to over consume without knowing it). *If you want to learn more about TEF I have several free videos on YouTube and Facebook (via Happy Herbivore).
2. You can slurp a 200-700 calorie smoothie (or fancy coffee) in less than a minute, but you could not bite, chew, and swallow the same amount of calories presented as a whole food or salad. This can also lead to overeating.
3. If smoothies have a lot of fruit, or worse--fruit juice, this can spike insulin levels in some individuals which can contribute to weight-gain and/or inhibit weight loss (see my book, The Science of Weight-Loss for a deeper dive on the role of insulin and weight).
4. Numerous studies show that liquid calories are not as satiating as solid foods. (There are many theories and scientific explanation surrounding this phenomena, see my book for a deeper dive).
Still, pureed foods like hummus and applesauce, butternut soup and smoothies, are delicious and desirable. If you're a little strategic with how you consume and prepare them, you can mitigate some of the factors above.
5 WAYS TO MAKE SMOOTHIES MORE "FILLING" AND "SLIMMING"
1) Add a plant-based protein powder, preferably one that is pure protein with negligible carbohydrates and no sugar added (e.g. unsweetened pea protein).
2) Leave some of the ingredients whole or mostly whole so you still do some chewing.
3) Even if it is totally pureed, still chew it before swallowing.
4) Make a "Smoothie Bowl" meaning pour the smoothie into a bowl and eat it with a spoon (like soup or cereal) rather than slurp with a straw or drinking straight out of a glass. If you leave some of the ingredients whole, you can add them right on top. (See the green smoothie bowl recipe in the app or web planner for a terrific picture example---and yummy recipe)
5) Add vegetables (like frozen cauliflower) to create bulk (more to consume) without too many extra calories.
p.s. There are 45+ smoothie recipes in the app (and web planner) for inspiration.